BILLIE JO SPEARS, R.I.P.

Billie Jo Spears (January 14, 1937 – December 14, 2011)

Country singer Billie Jo Spears, best known for her 1975 hit Blanket on the Ground, has died at the age of 74.

The sultry-voiced singer, who had 25 Top 40 country hits between 1969 and 1984, died at her home in Vidor, Texas on Wednesday, according to reports.
Famed for her bluesy vocals, Spears had her first chart hit with Mr. Walker, It's All Over.
Her other Top 10 hits included What I've Got in Mind, Misty Blue and If You Want Me.

Though her popularity waned in the 1980s Spears continued to tour, despite having triple bypass heart surgery in 1993.
The Texan star had been scheduled to make a number of UK appearances next May as part of a touring show entitled Ladies of Country.
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VIDOR, Texas (AP) -- Billie Jo Spears, whose performance of "Blanket on the Ground" went No. 1 on the country charts in 1975, has died at age 74.

Carl Willis of R.S. Farmer Funeral Home in Silsbee, Texas, which is handling funeral arrangements, confirmed her death. He had no details, but The Orange Leader reported that she died Wednesday morning at her home in the Southeast Texas town of Vidor, 85 miles northeast of Houston. She died of cancer on December 14, 2011.

The native of nearby Beaumont, Texas, was voted most promising female vocalist by the Academy of Country Music in 1976. Her other hits included "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" in 1969; "What I've Got in Mind' in 1976; "Misty Blue" in 1976; and "If You Want Me" in 1977.

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