Facts about Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell Biography
Barbara Mandrell came from a musical family, and by her teens was a multi-instrumentalist (including sax, steel guitar, banjo and bass). In the 1970s she began to gain national attention with hits like "Sleeping Single In A Double Bed" and "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right." The Country Music Association chose her as Entertainer of the Year in 1980 and again in 1981, and she and her two sisters, Irlene and Louise, had a hit TV show on NBC from 1981-82. After dominating the country charts for a decade, Mandrell was seriously injured in a 1984 car crash and was out of action for over a year. A year later she was back in action and finished out the 1980s with the singles “No One Mends a Broken Heart Like You” and “I Wish That I Could Fall in Love Today.” Since then she’s continued to tour and perform live as the flavor of the country charts changed and her traditional style became less popular. Her long, successful career earned her a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Extra credit
She told the story of her career and her survival in an autobiography, Get to the Heart: My Story.