Despite my longtime love of country music, I must admit that it took me a while to learn about Barbara Mandrell. I knew she was something special the moment I heard her voice.
Currently a living legend, she will be remembered as one of the greatest and most talented female entertainers in history.
Barbara, also known as “The Sweetheart of Steel,” has contributed significantly to Nashville’s sound and country music.
She also appears to be a lovely and caring person in addition to being a fantastic singer.
This icon is still shining brightly at 73 years old despite having reached this milestone in age.
Barbara Mandrell, who was born on December 25, 1948, grew up in Los Angeles and was infused with music from birth. She learned to read piano notes before learning to speak English as a young child. She started learning how to play the accordion at age 5, and at age 11 she appeared in a Las Vegas show.
Music had always been Barbara’s passion, so there was never any question about the direction she would take in life.
In many ways, Barbara’s father was the one who encouraged and pushed her to become well-known in the music business. Later on, he would also take over as her manager. After relocating to Nashville, the center of country music, in 1968, the family quickly experienced success. Following Barbara’s signing of a record deal, her songs quickly rose to the top of the charts.
Barbara’s future husband, Ken Dudney, was also introduced to her by her father. Ken and Barbara first came into contact when Ken was hired by the Mandrell Family Band’s father to play drums.
She was 14 at the time, and Ken was 21.
Both fell in love right away, but there was a major obstacle because Ken was already engaged to another girl. He eventually made the decision to call off the engagement. The couple wed on May 28, 1967, four years after they first met.
“He was wise enough to be courteous and kind while still being cool. I had a severe fall. We attended high school together. We were deeply in love and eager to wed. First and foremost, I had to complete high school, Barbara told CBN.
Like any relationship, Barbara and Ken’s had its difficulties. Ken spent some time as a pilot in the Navy while Barbara put a lot of emphasis on her career.
It was a trying time for the couple because Ken couldn’t see Barbara until he returned from Vietnam.
Kenneth Matthew Dudney (b. 1970), Jaime Nicole Dudney (born 1. 1976) and Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney (b. 1985).
In 2009, Barbara revealed the reason behind her and Ken’s enduring relationship as well as the key to their successful marriage.
There are times when Ken and I want to throw each other through a wall, but since we’ve been married forever, keeping God at the center of our lives has made it work and made it blessed and happy. The Boot quoted Barbara as saying, “Ken and I are both talkative people; we shout and scream, but we’re also passionate about making up.
Barbara had mentioned God before as the reason she and Ken had remained together for all those years.
By our heavenly Father and solely—wholly—due to God.
We are similar to other couples.
We don’t always get along well; there are disagreements and fights—as I like to refer to them—as well as heartache, pain, and inflicting harm on one another.
But in a marriage, there are three of us,” she said to CBN in 2002.
That wasn’t the first time Barbara cited God as the reason she and Ken had been able to remain together for all those years.
By our heavenly Father and solely and completely because of God. We are similar to other couples. We do not always get along well; there are disagreements, or as I like to refer to them, fights, that cause us heartache, pain, and even hurt each other. But a marriage is three of us,” she said to CBN in 2002.
Barbara has won the majority of the music awards given out worldwide and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009. But over the years, she has also been given some unusual awards; twice, Barbara has appeared in PEOPLE magazine’s issue featuring the Most Beautiful People.
She is, in my opinion, the most beautiful woman in country music to have ever lived, so what is the secret to her youthful beauty at 73?
“My mother is just really cute, as far as beauty goes. I once had her body. At every show, I did 90 minutes of aerobics because I was very disciplined while I was working. My mother is a size 2 at most, which just makes me sick! [laughs] So I keep hoping one day I’ll just turn into her,” Barbara says. “So I was lean and mean.
What a wonderful couple to have remained together all these years!
Barbara possesses the true makeup of who God intended us to be. She learned how to love without conditions and how to let that love shine.
Along with Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell is the ultimate performer and greatest country singer of all time in my opinion.
