Goldie Hill

Hill was born in Karnes City, Texas in 1933, a small town southeast of San Antonio. She was the sister of singer Tommy Hill. She also performed with her brothers Tommy and Ken. Then she auditioned as a solo singer at Decca Records. Her first single, “Why Talk To My Heart”, was released in 1952. Hill recorded the song “I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes” the same year a riposte to Perry Como’s “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes”, written by her brother, Tommy Hill. It became a number 1 hit. In 1954, she followed up with two hit duets with singer Justin Tubb, son of Ernest Tubb. In the early 1960s, she recorded two albums for Decca Records. She regularly performed on Louisiana Hayride, Grand Ole Opry and Ozark Jubilee. She married Country singer Carl Smith in 1957 and the couple had two sons, Carl, Jr. and Larry Dean, and one daughter, Lori Lynn. They remained married for 47 years until her death. She made a short-lived comeback in the late 1960s with the label Epic Records under the name Goldie Hill Smith.

Hill was one of the first women in Country music, and became one of the first women to reach the top of the Country music charts with her No. 1 1953 hit, “I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes”. Along with Kitty Wells and Jean Shepard she helped set the standard for later women in Country music.