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Born 109 Years Ago Today in Illinois, the “Straight Shootin’ Cowgirl” and Second Wife of “Mr. Country Music”
Judy Martin, the American country singer born Eva Alaine Overstake in Decatur, Illinois, on 23 July 1917, is being remembered on the anniversary of her birth. She first found fame as part of a sibling harmony trio and later became the second wife of Country Music Hall of Fame star Red Foley, a marriage that placed her at the heart of the golden age of American country radio.
Martin began singing with her sisters Evelyn and Lucille as young children, performing for the Salvation Army before being spotted by radio station WLS in Chicago in 1931. As the Three Little Maids, the trio became regulars on the influential National Barn Dance programme and once performed for 10,000 fans at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. That same year, Martin married Red Foley, after which the group disbanded; she remained a National Barn Dance regular until 1947 and had three children with Foley before dying by suicide in 1951 at the age of 34.
In short
- Country singer Judy Martin was born in Illinois 109 years ago today
- She rose to fame with sisters as the Three Little Maids
- She married country star Red Foley; died by suicide at 34
Explained simply
Judy Martin was an American country music singer born in Illinois in 1917. She first came to prominence in the early 1930s as part of the Three Little Maids, a harmony group with her sisters. The trio became popular on early American country radio through the National Barn Dance programme based in Chicago.
Martin married Red Foley in 1933, a country music star who later became known as "Mr. Country Music". Though she left the Three Little Maids after their marriage, she continued performing on the National Barn Dance until 1947. She and Foley had three children together before her death in 1951 at the age of 34.
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