Janet McBride

Country singer, yodeler, and songwriter. Born: 5 April 1934, Inglewood, California, USA. First husband songwriter Claude McBride. Second husband singer John Ingram (8). Mother of singer Mark McBride (2). In 1941, her family moved to Maine, where McBride grew up, developing a keen interest in country music and yodelling as a child. She sang with siblings at local venues but after marrying Claude McBride in 1955, they returned to California, where she began a solo career. She first recorded for Toppa in 1960 with Wynn Stewart’s band and during the early 60s, she worked shows with many artists including Merle Haggard and Buck Owens and featured in television shows. Accompanied by her husband and songwriter Vern Stovall, she played Las Vegas venues and toured to Canada. In 1968, after further tours with Roy Clark and Tex Williams, she relocated to Nashville. When Claude died, in 1973, she retired from singing until 1976. In 1981 Janet and her new husband John Ingram bought the Texan Theatre and started a 15 year run of the Mesquite Opry Saturday Night Country Music Show. Janet started recording again in 1981. In 1984, she achieved a lifelong ambition by singing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry with Patsy Montana, whose yodelling had always been her inspiration. (She had recorded Patsy’s ‘I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart’, as her tribute, years before). During her career McBride, an excellent exponent of the art, has written several yodelling numbers including ‘Best Dern Yodeler’, ‘Yodelling Jan’ and her popular ‘Yodeling Tribute’, which mentions great yodellers including Jimmie Rodgers, Elton Britt and others. She was awarded Western Music Association’s Female Yodeler Of The Year in 1991. Her autobiography "Still Lovin' the Ride, The Janet McBride Story", was released in 2011.