VIDOR —
Country music singer and Vidor resident Billie Jo Spears died at her home Wednesday morning. She was 73.
Spears rose to stardom during the 1970s with a string of Top 10 country music hits, including the number one single “Blanket on the Ground” in 1975 (see video below). She used her powerful voice, which was described as both earthy and bluesy, to score other Top 10 hits with songs “Mr. Walker It’s All Over,” “What I’ve Got in Mind,” “Misty Blue” and “If You Want Me.”
Her last song to break the Top 20 was “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad,” a cover of the Tammy Wynette song, which peaked at number 13 on the country charts.
On Nov. 1, 2010, Spears was inducted in the inaugural class of Vidor’s Walk of Fame, which is located at Vidor City Hall on North Main Street and features many other notable musicians, actors, athletes and members of the business world who have achieved great success and notoriety. Inductees, along with Spears, included fellow musicians George Jones, Tracy Byrd, Clay Walker, Don Rollins, as well as attorney Brent Coon, 1952 Olympic gold-medalist Walter “Buddy” Davis and many others.
R.S. Farmer Funeral Home in Silsbee is handling funeral arrangements. No other information has been made available at this time.
