Song:(Jeanne Marie) You Were A Lady
Album:20 Classic Songs Of Tommy Overstreet
Smooth singing Tommy Overstreet was a proponent of what was known in the 60s and 70s as Countrypolitan. He had several top ten country music hits in the 70s. He was born Sept. 10, 1937 in Oklahoma City and her grew up in Houston and Abeline, TX. His cousin was jazz singer and songwriter Gene Austin and Overstreet got interested in music at an early age. While studying broadcasting at the University of Texas, Overstreet toured with Austin as Tommy Dean. After a stint in the Army, Overstreet moved to Los Angeles. He was signed to a record deal but nothing was ever released. So he moved back to Texas and formed his own band. In 1967, he moved to Nashville to work as a regional manager of Dot Records. But he also wanted to record. After releasing a few singles, Overstreet released his debut album in 1971. The title track Gwen (Congratulations) reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. This began a string of top ten hits. His biggest hits were Ann (Don't Go Runnin') and Heaven Is My Woman's Love in 1972. (Jeanne Marie) You Were A Lady is from Overstreet's 1974 album Woman, Your Name Is My Song. It reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. The song was written by Ricci Moreno and Charlie Black. Moreno produced all of Overstreet's 70s albums. Overstreet had a few more hits. But then it all ended when Dot's parent company ABC Records was sold to MCA in 1978. Overstreet lost his job and his record contract. You can get all his hits on this Varese comp. Overstreet also recorded for Elektra and the German label Intercord. But by the late 80s, he didn't have a record deal. Overstreet was one of the first performers to move to Branson, MO and open his own theater in 1989. After several years, Overstreet retired and moved to Oregon. He got married and had two more kids. Tommy Overstreet died on Nov. 2, 2015 at age 78. Here's a video of (Jeanne Marie) You Were a Lady by Tommy Overstreet.
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