Melba Montgomery

Montgomery was raised by a farmer fiddler and guitarist and grew up playing banjo, fiddle, and guitar with her brothers Carl and Earl, who both became songwriters. Montgomery moved to Nashville at age 19 where she entered and won a talent contest by WSM Radio, home of the Grand Ole Opry. Roy Acuff was amazed by her talent and invited her to join his touring troupe. She notably became duet partners with George Jones and made their hit song, “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds,” after she signed with United Artist Records. That duet has since been recorded by more the two dozen artists. 
 
Her songwriting led her to work with Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Jr., and more. For the next 20 years, she helped write for iconic artists, including Reba, Emmylou Harris, and George Straight. 

Montgomery went on to release four more albums, but upon the death of her husband, Jack Solomon, she decided to retire in 2015. As a songwriter, she had more than 100 of her songs recorded.