‘Sweet Kitty Wells’: Soulful Country Ballads and Down-Home, Southern Cooking

Edited album compilation of Kitty Well's 1961 "Heartbreak U.SA." and the 1962 "Queen of Country Music," Decca label. (Public Domain)

One of country music’s brightest stars, Kitty Wells amassed 64 Top 40 hits during her tenure performing from 1936 to 2000. Getting her start by recording gospel music with her husband, Johnnie Wright, throughout the ‘30s and ’40s, her 1952 breakout hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” ushered her forward to become one of country music’s bestselling recording artists. Her relatable lyrics and emotional vocals made her music a staple in countless households, and her knack for down-home Southern cooking meant that her recipe books were staples in kitchens across the South as well.

A Nashville Native With Gospel Roots

Kitty Wells posing with her guitar in 1956. Photograph by Walden S. Fabry in Nashville, Tenn. The Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. (Public Domain)

Born Ellen Muriel Deason in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1919, Kitty Wells grew up in a big, musical family. Her mother, Myrtle, loved to sing gospel music; and her father, Charles, taught her how to play guitar. When she was still just a teen, she performed regularly with her siblings as The Deason Sisters on radio-hosted variety shows.

When she was 18, she fell in love with fellow musician Johnnie Wright and they got married. With a shared love of music, they began performing together. It was actually Johnnie who came up with Kitty’s moniker, borrowing the name from a character in one of his favorite old folk tunes.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Wells focused on performing and recording gospel music but experienced little commercial success. By the early 1950s, she was a mother of three and was considering hanging her hat up for good after decades of traveling and performing.

While she enjoyed the many years she spent working as a professional musician, she also loved family life and felt a sense of pride and fulfillment as a homemaker caring for her loved ones. This authentic duplexity would play a pivotal role in her career as a country music star later on.

One Last Recording Session

Kitty Wells's 1956 studio album on the Decca label featuring "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." (Public Domain)

In 1952, Wells decided to enter a recording studio for the last time. She wasn’t crazy about the song she was scheduled to record, but her management team thought her vocal range was ideal for it. Her languid, expressive voice lent itself well to the country western ballad “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.” While Kitty was most excited about the payment she received for the service she provided, she had no idea just how popular the song would become.

The song didn’t receive much airplay. But her genuine live performances coupled with grassroots word-of-mouth promotion prevailed. Country music listeners clamored for the heartfelt tune, purchasing over 800,000 copies of the single after its debut, and sending it all the way to No. 1 on country charts.

Soon, Kitty found herself performing across the nation and on America’s most-watched prime-time variety shows.

A Family Affair

Billboard magazine ad featuring Kitty Wells and her husband, Johnnie Wright, from Decca Records, 1968. (Public Domain)

Even at the peak of her success in the 1950s and 1960s, Kitty remained a steadfast matriarch to her family and released collaborative records with her husband, Johnnie Wright, including their debut album, “We’ll Stick Together.” A country music success in his own right, Johnnie was one half of the popular duo Johnnie and Jack, featuring himself and fellow musician Jack Anglin.

In 1969, she got the whole family involved when she and her husband were offered a syndicated TV show, which she appropriately named “The Kitty Wells and Johnnie Wright Family Show.” Aside from performances together, the pair also brought their three children on stage to perform with them while filming the show.

Kitty Wells Country Kitchen Cook Book

Cover of Kitty Wells's 1964 "Country Kitchen Cook Book." (Public Domain)

Fans loved Kitty’s understated, traditional dresses and inviting Southern warmth. Known as the “gutsy good girl,” though good-time, honky-tonk figures were popular during her career, she carved out a niche for herself that authentically promoted family values and a more modest approach to living.

While many artists simply released songbooks featuring lyrics and music to go along with their records, Wells wanted to connect with her audience on a deeper level. And in true Southern fashion, she knew that the best way to do that was through food—one of the South’s most important and enduring cultural pillars besides country music itself.

Although Kitty released several different recipe books, the first edition she authored remains the most popular. “Country Kitchen Cook Book” debuted in 1964 and showcases her family’s favorite recipes. Southern dessert mainstays like 7-Up Pound Cake and Banana Bread are included, each with a little ingredient twist by Kitty to add unique flavor.

Kitty’s famous Orange Coconut Cake makes an appearance as well—a grand, old-fashioned-style sweet treat that was her husband’s favorite.

While raising a family, recording, and performing, Kitty and Johnnie somehow found the time to also run a country store in Madison, Tennessee, close to their Nashville home. The small-town destination offered locally grown food and one-of-a-kind gifts and crafts designed by Southern artists.

Still available for purchase today, Wells’s country-inspired recipe books became household favorites much like her music, passed down from one generation to the next. Sometimes referred to as the Queen of Country Music, or simply “Queen Kitty,” she combined her love of family with her love of music and produced a wholesome, commendable legacy that country music fans continue to admire even today.