Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Jean Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She was known for a series of singles whose characters often represented women in assertive positions. Among these recordings was a song about sexual harassment ("Mr. Walker, It's All Over"), and a song about rekindling sexual desire ("Blanket on the Ground").
Spears was raised in a working-class Texas family. She made her first recording at age 13 on the Abbott label. Singer–songwriter Jack Rhodes discovered her early music and helped her secure a professional partnership with producer Kelso Herston. Under Herston's production, she had her first top-ten song with 1969's "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" (issued on Capitol Records). Several follow-up releases were not as successful, and after recovering from a vocal setback she returned to United Artists. Her second release was 1975's "Blanket on the Ground", which topped the American country chart and became a commercial pop success in several countries.
Spears followed with several more American top ten and top 20 country songs like "What I've Got in Mind", "Misty Blue", "If You Want Me", "'57 Chevrolet" and a cover of "I Will Survive". Spears continued to have success overseas, particularly in the United Kingdom where she had several more top 40 songs. In 1981, Spears left United Artists (now Liberty) and recorded several albums with British labels during the 1980s and 1990s. She also continued to tour throughout, most notably in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Spears married and divorced five times between the 1960s and 1990s. In 2011, Spears died of cancer aged 73.
Billie Jean Moore was born in Beaumont, Texas and was one of six children. Her father was a truck driver, while her mother worked as a shipyard welder and waitress. Moore was usually called "BJ" during her childhood and the nickname stuck throughout her adult life. She was routinely exposed to country music throughout her childhood. Her mother spent some of her free time performing as a guitarist in a western swing band called the Light Crust Doughboys.
Moore's sister Betty first had aspirations of becoming a country artist and even signed a recording contract, but she chose a domestic life over a professional career. Moore began singing professionally at age 13. She was discovered by songwriter Jack Rhodes, who helped her land an appearance on the Louisiana Hayride television program. This brought Moore to the attention of the Abbott label. In 1953, the company released her first single while she was still a teenager titled "Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys". The track was issued under the name "Billie Jo Moore". According to the Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century, the record brought in an estimated $4,200. However, a separate statement from The Independent claimed that the record only brought Moore $2000.
Moore graduated from Beaumont's French High School in 1955. Upon graduating, she worked a series of jobs outside the music industry. This included working as a carhop for four years at Neva's, a restaurant near her hometown. She also held a position as a clerical worker for the Beaumont Bag and Burlap Company. Meanwhile, Jack Rhodes persuaded Moore to pursue a career as a country music artist. In 1964, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee. During this period, she changed her professional name to "Billie Jo Spears".
Spears tried to find a recording contract after moving to Nashville. She first made several demonstration records with producer Pete Drake. In 1964, she secured a recording deal with United Artists Records. She cut several singles that were issued by United Artists but failed to become successful. Her producer at the time was Kelso Herston, who would move to Capitol Records. Believing in her musical abilities, he helped her switch to Capitol in 1968. Spears's first single for the label was the song "Harper Valley PTA". Released at the same time was a competing version by Jeannie C. Riley which became the commercially successful version. Spears's next single, "He's Got More Love on His Little Finger", became her first to make the American Billboard country chart. It was followed later in the year by her debut studio album titled The Voice of Billie Jo Spears.
Spears' next single release was 1969's "Mr. Walker, It's All Over". Its musical style and lyrical themes were said to resemble that of "Harper Valley PTA". The song told the story of a New York City secretary who confronts her boss after facing sexual harassment in the work place. The song became Spears's commercial breakout, reaching the top five of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the top 80 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the top ten of the Canadian RPM Country Tracks survey. Capitol then issued Spears's second studio album of the same name, which reached the Billboard Top Country Albums top 30. The disc featured several new recordings that followed similar storylines to her top ten single and included a cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man".
Capitol released several follow-up singles by Spears that discussed social issues. Among them was 1969's "Stepchild", which told the story of a boy who murders his abusive stepfather. It only reached number 43 on the Billboard country chart. Another follow-up single was 1970's "Marty Gray", a song that told the story of a teenage girl who becomes unexpectedly pregnant following a sexual encounter with a high school football player. It reached number 17 on the Billboard country chart. Her third Capitol studio album, Miss Sincerity, was her second to make the Country Albums chart.
With her new success, Spears toured in the United Kingdom for the first time as part of the "Capitol Country Caravan". She would later find her greatest success overseas. Critics and writers also took notice of Spears's music for the first time. Alan Cackett of Country Music People called her "a fine singer" with "emotional styling". In reviewing her second album, AllMusic's Richie Unterberger praised Spears's assertive vocal style and song choices: "It's a quite strong set of material, hewing to the gutsier side of late-'60s country-pop, with Spears proving herself as one of the tougher, harder-edged, commercial country singers of the era."
In 1970, Spears began working alongside Capitol producer George Richey. He attempted to move her music in an orchestrated pop direction. Studio albums like With Love, Billie Jo Spears (1970) and Country Girl (1971) featured remakes of Johnny Bond's "Your Old Love Letters" and Cole Porter's "True Love". Through 1971, the singles "I Stayed Long Enough" and "It Could 'A Been Me" made the Billboard country top 40. When her next releases failed to prove successful, Capitol Records dropped Spears from their roster. Following her departure, Spears was forced to have vocal chord surgery which set her career back as well. After recovering, she returned on the independent Brite Star and Cutlass labels. However, the label made poor business choices. "Everyone involved with them should be behind bars, and some of them are," she later commented.
1974–1981: Comeback, international success and peak years
In 1974, Spears returned to United Artists Records. She was signed by producer Larry Butler, who was growing his country roster at the label. Her first United Artists release was a remake of Bobby Goldsboro's "See the Funny Little Clown". It failed to become successful and Spears began looking for her next hit. Butler brought Spears to the attention of a new song penned by Roger Bowling called "Blanket on the Ground". It had been previously rejected by several producers who thought the song's sexual themes were too controversial. "It sounded like a cheating song, and the public don't think girls should sing cheating songs!" she commented. "Blanket on the Ground" reached number one on the Billboard country chart, number 78 on the Hot 100 and number two on the RPM country chart. It also became an international crossover success, reaching number six in the United Kingdom number 11 in Ireland among other countries.