Lawanda Lindsey Born:  January 12, 1953

About The Artist LaWanda Lindsey spent somewhat more than a decade as a professional country vocalist. In that period she chalked up fourteen songs on the Billboard listings (four in duets) and retired as an active performer at the age of twenty-five. Then she began a whole new career as a wife and mother. Lindsey was born in Tampa, Florida, but as a child moved to Savannah, Georgia where her father managed country&western radio station WEAS and also had a country band. This gave young LaWanda the opportunity to develop her singing skills at an early age. According to one story, fans were asking for her autograph before she could write her name. With such experience, one could hardly be surprised that she signed a contract with Chart Records at fourteen (her first record was "Beggars Can't Be Choosers") and had her first Billboard chart listing when barely sixteen (a duet with Kenny Vernon). When she signed with Chart Records, Joe Taylor was her manager while Joe Gibson was her producer. In 1970, one of her personal appearances took her to Hank Locklin's Nashville Room in Pensacola, Florida. It went so well for her and the audience; neither wanted to leave. Joe Taylor sent a note to Country Music Reporter magazine telling them that Lawanda did her last show there nearly in tears, capturing the audience and had a standing invitation to return there anytime. After touring with Conway Twitty for a time, Lindsey joined Jamboree, U.S.A. at seventeen where one of her Chart singles "Wave Bye-Bye to the Man" appeared on a long-play album featuring a variety of WWVA stars. Through 1971, she had fourteen singles and three LPs during her time with Chart. A feature article in Country and Western Hit Parade magazine in the fall of 1971 indicated that as a senior in high school (Robert W. Groves High School in Savannah), she was taping a syndicated television show with Stu Phillips in Louisville called "Music Place." She was also doing about six personal appearances a month around the country. The next chapter in Lindsey's career took place in January 1972 when she became friends with Susan Raye who was the main female singer with the Buck Owens Show. Through her influence LaWanda signed with the Owens controlled OMAC Agency that March, gained a new contract with Capitol Records, and relocated to Bakersfield. In addition to touring with Buck, she appeared several times on Hee Haw, of nine singles on Capitol, five made the Billboard listings, but none higher than no. 28. When her contract ended, she signed with Mercury, and of three 45s, two entered the lower echelons of the charts. However, by the time her last single came out, LaWanda was leaving show business behind. She married Bill Smith, Jr., moved to Albuquerque, and her life entered a new phase. Credits & Sources Hillbilly-Music.com would like to express its thanks to Ivan M. Tribe, author of Mountaineer Jamboree — Country Music in West Virginia and other books that can be found on Amazon.com and numerous articles in other publications for providing us with information about this artist. Taylor-Made News; August and September 1970; Country Music Reporter; Pres. G. W. Beckham; Grand Prairie, TX Lawanda Lindsey"; September 1971; Issue No. 69; Country and Western Hit Parade; Charlton Publications, Inc.; Charlton Building, Derby, CT Super Senior Lawanda Lindsey"; Nay 1971; Issue No. 142; Country Song Roundup; Charlton Publications, Inc.; Charlton Building, Derby, CT

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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)   Capitol Rec. No. Side Song Title   3652 A Today Will Be the First Day of the Rest of My Life   3652 B Paint Me a Picture of Our Love   3739 A Sunshine Feeling   3739 B Love Makes the World Go Round   3819 A Hello Trouble   3819 B Your Tender Loving Care   3875 A Hello Out There   3875 B Top of the Morning to You   3950 A I Ain?t Hangin? ?Round   3950 B Your Monkey Won?t Be Home Tonight   4048 A Comin? Down with Love   4048 B Postcard Blues   4094 A We?re Gonna Let the Good Times Roll   4094 B Good Time Baby   4127 A Let Your Fingers Do the Walking   4127 B You?re the One I Was Born to Love   4195 A A Matter of Pride   4195 B Road, I?ll Follow You Down   Chart Rec. No. Side Song Title   1019 A Beggars Can?t Be Choosers   1019 B Faded Blue   1036 A The Decline and Fall of Me   1036 B Wave Bye-Bye to the Man   1054 A I Did My Duty   1054 B What Kind of Woman   1063 A Eye to Eye (w/Kenny Vernon)   1063 B Looking Over Shoulders (w/Kenny Vernon)   5003 A Take Me Home   5003 B Woman?s Intuition   5024 A I?m Not Half as Strong   5024 B Strike Three, You?re Out   5042 A Partly Bill   5042 B Making Waves   5055 A Pickin? Wild Mountain Berries (w/Kenny Vernon)   5055 B We Don?t Know Each Other (w/Kenny Vernon)   5076 A We?ll Sing in the Sunshine   5076 B I?ll Just Take Your Word for It, Baby   5090 A Let?s Think About Where We?re Going (w/Kenny Vernon)   5090 B Puzzles of My Mind (w/Kenny Vernon)   5107 A Day of Our Love   5107 B No Matter How You Do Me   5114 A The Crawdad Song (w/Kenny Vernon)   5114 B Wrong Number (w/Kenny Vernon)   5129 A You Make My Day   5129 B Why Should I Care   5144 A Partin? of the Ways   5144 B Say It with Flowers   5153 A I Wish I Was a Little Boy Again   5153 B Time Heals All Wounds   5177 A One Time too Many   5177 B Partly Bill   Mercury Rec. No. Side Song Title   55007 A Faithless Love   55007 B Gone Forever   55041 A I?m a Woman to Love   55041 B Let Your Body Speak Your Mind   73889 A Walk Right Back   73889 B Try to Love Him a Little Bit More