Noticed By Red
After she sang the national anthem at the National Rodeo in Oklahoma City in 1974, everything changed. Red Steagall, a country music star, who also performed there, was seriously impressed with her singing abilities. He helped launch her career in Nashville. Just a year after she recorded her demo tape, she signed her first record deal with Mercury Records.
Her First Single
Right when he career started out in 1976, she married rodeo star Charlie Battles. She also released her first debut single “I Don’t Wanna Be a One Night Stand.” It didn’t perform so well on the charts, and neither did the following singles she released, but she never gave up. In 1979, when she covered Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams,” it reached #19 on the Billboard country charts. This was only the start of her success.