Sandy Posey

Sandra Lou "Sandy" Posey (born June 18, 1944 in Jasper) is a singer who is probably best known for her 1966 recording of Martha Sharpe's composition, Single Girl. She is often described as a country singer, although her output has varied and, later in her career, the term, "countrypolitain", associated with the "Nashville sound", was sometimes applied. Posey had three "hit" singles in the United States in the 1960s, all of which peaked at number 12 in the sales charts.

Posey's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee while she was in school, and she graduated high school there in 1962. One of her aunts recommended her to a friend in the television industry as a singer, and she began to get work as a session vocalist on tracks produced by Chips Moman for Elvis Presley, Percy Sledge, Joe Tex, Bobby Goldsboro and Tommy Roe.

She recorded her first single, William Cates' "Kiss Me Goodnight" on Bell Records in 1965 under the name Sandy Carmel. The single had little impact, but she did hire a manager, music publisher Gary Walker, who had her record another demo, of Martha Sharpe's '"Born a Woman". Moman loved the sound of the demo and helped her sign with MGM Records in Nashville. On March 15, 1966 Moman produced a re-recording of "Born a Woman", which became her first MGM hit, reaching #12 on the US charts that September. She received Grammy nominations for "Vocal Performance (Female)" and "Best Contemporary (R&R) Solo Vocal Performance (Male or Female)". She lost out to Eydie Gorme for "If He Walked Into My Life" and Paul McCartney for "Eleanor Rigby".

Posey's next single, "Single Girl" was another Martha Sharpe tune. She recorded it in Nashville on August 19, 1966 and reached #12 again the following January, and also charted in the UK. Her third Top 20 single, "I Take it Back" peaked again at #12 in July 1967. She married Elvis-impersonator Wade Cummings in 1968. Though she had no more hit singles, she continued to record through the 1980s before going back to session work. During the mid 1970s she had a Christian conversion experience and her work took on more Christian themes.

References

• "Sandy Posey." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Apr 2007, 20:41 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 8 May 2007 [1].

External link

• Sandy Posey discography