Jeannie C. Reilly

“Harper Valley PTA” was released in 1968 and immediately became a hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts, a feat not repeated by a female artist until Dolly Parton’s 1981 hit “9 to 5”. The song is about Mrs. Johnson, a widowed woman who confronts members of the PTA after her daughter brings home a note from school critical of her mother’s penchant for miniskirts and dating various men. Mrs. Johnson turns the tables on the PTA and exposes its hypocrisy one member at a time, noting that their private behavior is far worse than hers.

Riley became an overnight sensation as the single earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and was named the Country Music Association Single of the Year. Riley also became one of the few Country artists ever nominated in the major Pop Grammy Award categories of “Best New Artist” and “Record of the Year”. The single sold over five and a half million copies worldwide and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. just four weeks after its release. The album of the same name sold over one million units to earn Riley another gold record.

The song’s success helped Riley make Country music history in 1969 as the first female vocalist to have her own major network variety special, Harper Valley U.S.A., which she hosted with Jerry Reed. The show featured performances by Mel Tillis and the song’s writer, Tom T. Hall. The song spawned a 1978 film and a 1981-83 television series, both titled Harper Valley PTA and starring Barbara Eden as the widow Mrs. Johnson.

Other hits following “Harper Valley PTA” include “The Girl Most Likely,” “There Never Was A Time,” “The Rib,” “The Back Side of Dallas,” “Country Girl,” “Oh Singer,” and “Good Enough to Be Your Wife.”