October 11, 1932 - September 4, 1991

Dottie West's career spanned more than 25 years and yielded an array of Top-20 hits. She was the first female to win a Grammy for a country music performance. The Grammy was for her 1964 hit single, Here Comes My Baby. She's probably best remembered for her notable success as the singing partner of Kenny Rogers. Their biggest single was a No. 1 song titled Every Time Two Fools Collide. Dottie's show business saga ended when she died in a freaky automobile accident.

Dottie moved to Nashville in 1959 and made unsuccessful recordings with Starday and Atlantic. In 1961, she signed a recording deal with RCA Records. Two years passed before she made Billboard's Top-40. Dottie entered the charts in 1963 with a song called Let me Off at the Corner. She debuted on the Grand Ole Opry in 1962. After a few more minor singles, West finally broke into the national limelight on a duet with Jim Reeves entitled Love is No Excuse. The single was still on the charts when Reeves died in 1964.

In 1964, Dottie joined the Grand Ole Opry and was a lifelong member. Country Sunshine, which West co-wrote, became a theme for Coca-Cola commercials and earned West an award. Dottie was a mentor for young aspiring singers. She also helped many of them break into the business. West brought Larry Gatlin to Nashville and hired Steve Wariner as a bass player. Wariner worked in her band for several years. Dottie maintained an active touring schedule until her untilely death.

On August 30, 1991, Dottie was critically injured in an auto accident outside Nashville. She was being driven to the Opry by 81-rear old George Thackston, who West had asked for a ride after her car broke down. Dottie underwent surgery at Vanderbuilt Medical Center the night of her accident to remove her spleen and repair her damaged liver. West died on September 4, during a third operation to repair deep cuts in her liver. Neither operation successfully stopped the bleeding, surgeons later said.

With a cache of music that resulted from a 20-year chart run, very little has been released on CD format. Only a couple of CD's are available, which are an assortment of her biggest hits. Our recommendation is the above-pictured CD entitled The Essential Dottie West. Released by RCA Records in 1996, the unit contains most of her big recordings from 1964 - 1974, when she was a staple on that label. The CD contains such standards as Country Sunshine, Here Comes My Baby, Last Time I Saw Him and 17 other cuts. This package will quench your thirst for Dottie West music.

The Essential Dottie West is currently available at


Career Highlights

Birth Place - McMinnville, Tennessee

Major record label - RCA

First Top 10 - Love Is No Excuse (1964)

Biggest Hit - A Lesson In Leavin' (1980)

Chart Run - 1963 - 1985

14 Top-10 Hits

Made Commercials for Coca Cola

Major Awards/Achievements

Grammy - Here Comes My Baby

Grammy - Country Sunshine

In the film Second Fiddle To a Steel Guitar

CMA Vocal Duo of the Year 1978 & 1979 with Kenny Rogers

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Revised: 11/4/1999 | Thanks for visiting!