Sandy Posey

All Music Guide:

Despite having several moderate hits in both the country and pop charts, Sandy Posey was never fully embraced by either audience and is far from being a household name.

Posey was born in Jasper, AL, in 1947. In her teens she relocated to Memphis, where she secured a job as a receptionist in a local studio. Eventually she was given a chance to sing backup during recording sessions which led to work at several other studios in Memphis and Nashville -- where her clear voice was perfectly suited for the ultraslick Nashville "countrypolitan" sound of the day. MGM Records signed her at age 18 to a solo deal on the strength of her demo recording of "Born a Woman," and despite her country roots and the country feel of her material, MGM marketed her as a pop singer -- in retrospect, a wise decision. "Born a Woman" and "Single Girl" became her first two hits (both reached number 12 in the pop charts in 1966). Since both songs were written by Martha Sharp, it was mistakenly reported during this time that Sandy Posey was a pseudonym assumed by Sharp for recording purposes. Posey had two more pop hits with the Top 40 "What a Woman in Love Won't Do" and the number 12 "I Take It Back." By 1968, Posey's woman-as-a-helpless-victim themes were decidedly out of touch with the times, and the hits stopped coming. She went into semiretirement.

She returned in 1970 for phase two of her career -- "the country years." She signed to Columbia Records, where she had another string of hits -- this time in the country charts, including the Top 20 Vietnam War-inspired "Bring Him Home Safely to Me," the slightly risqué "Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love" (a minor hit in 1975), "Happy Birthday Baby," and "Don't" (both Top 40). She moved to Monument Records in 1976 and later to Warner Brothers, where she hit again with a series of oldies revivals -- the Chordettes' "Born to Be With You" and a medley of "Love, Love, Love" and "Chapel of Love." Her last hit was in 1979 with "Love Is Sometimes Easy." In 1983, she signed to the independent label Audiograph and released her final solo album. She then stayed busy as a session singer and infrequently toured with her husband, Wade Cummings, an Elvis impersonator.

Wikipedia:

Sandy Posey (born June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer, who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharpe's composition, "Single Girl." She is often described as a country singer, although, like Skeeter Davis (to whom she has been frequently compared) her output has varied. Later in her career, the term "countrypolitan," associated with the "Nashville sound", was sometimes applied. Posey had four hit singles in the United States, three of which peaked at number 12 in the sales charts.

Session singer

Sandy Posey was born Sandra Lou Posey in Jasper, Alabama. She graduated from high school in West Memphis, Ar. in 1962. Posey obtained work as a session singer, after she was recommended by an aunt to an acquaintance who worked in television. In addition to working as a receptionist at a studio in Memphis, she took part in recordings across the Deep South and appeared, for example, on recording sessions produced by Lincoln “Chips” Moman for Elvis Presley and on Percy Sledge’s "When a Man Loves a Woman" (a number one hit in the US in 1966). Other singers whom she backed included Joe Tex, Bobby Goldsboro and Tommy Roe.

Solo career

Posey's first single record, under the name Sandy Carmel was "Kiss Me Goodnight" (1965), written by William Cates, which was coupled with "First Boy". This was released by Bell Records, but received minimal publicity and made little impact. Assisted by Gary Walker, a music publisher who became her manager, Posey then made a demonstration recording of "Born a Woman", written by Martha Sharpe. According to Posey, Chips Moman "went wild" when he heard this and helped her to obtain a contract with MGM in Nashville.

Born a Woman

Posey had her first hit with "Born a Woman", which Moman produced in Nashville on March 15, 1966. This reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard sales charts in August 1966. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. "Born a Woman" was a somewhat melodramatic ("You're born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on") but musically adept song featuring prominent piano, understated strings and horns, and distinctive multi-tracked vocals. Posey received two Grammy Award nominations for "Born a Woman" in the categories of vocal performance (female) and contemporary (R&R) solo vocal. "Born A Woman" was later covered by Nick Lowe (Bowi EP) and Hubble Bubble.

Single Girl

Posey's next single release was "Single Girl", also written by Martha Sharpe, which was notable for the gentle crescendo and piano refrain of its final verse. Recorded in Nashville on August 19, 1966, this also reached number 12 in America in January 1967 and number 15 in Great Britain, where it benefited from airplay on pirate radio (peaking, for example, at number 7 in Radio London's non-sales-based Fab 40 on New Year's Day, 1967). It followed "Born a Woman" by selling in excess of one million copies. "Single Girl" was re-released in Britain in 1975 and reached the top 50 for a second time.

Other work

Posey’s final pop top 20 hit was "I Take It Back", another US number 12 in July 1967, although she made other recordings for MGM Records until 1968, including "What A Woman In Love Won't Do" that peaked at number 31 in the US in late 1967. These were mostly produced by Moman, but a few, including a version of the Shirelles' hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (1968), were produced by Joe South.

Country Recordings

Posey turned to the country music field in 1971, signing with Columbia Records and produced by Billy Sherrill. Sherrill had just successfully turned another 1960's pop star, Jody Miller into a leading country female vocalist and it appeared Posey might be another one when the first single, "Bring Him Safely Home to Me" hit the top 20. However it was not to be with only two other singles barely scraping into the top 40. Posey signed with Monument Records in 1976 with just one single to chart and later in the year moved to Warner Bros. Records. Her first single for the label inauspiciously peaked at #93 but in 1978and 1979 enjoyed three top 30 country hits before this brief comeback faded away with the new decade.

Posey occasionally recorded as a solo artist into the early 1980s but she reverted to occasional background session work and later briefly performed as a background vocalist for Skeeter Davis on an international tour. She made a number of country recordings with a religious theme after embracing Christianity in 1974.

In 1983, Posey had another charted single on the country charts, titled "Can't Get Used To Sleeping Without You". In 2004, Posey recorded an album for King Records in Nashville, Tennessee. She is now signed with Crossworlds Entertainment of Lebanon, Tennessee. During 2007, Posey released several songs through Crossworlds Entertainment which have been available for purchase online.

The Elvis connection

In 1968, Posey married Wade Cummings, who performed as an impersonator of Elvis Presley under the name of Elvis Wade. Posey appeared with Presley during an engagement in Las Vegas in 1969.