Fourteen years ago today, on 16 July 2012, country music legend Kitty Wells died aged 92 in Madison, Tennessee, from complications of a stroke. Known as the genre's original queen, Wells broke through the male-dominated country establishment of the 1940s and 1950s with her 1952 hit "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", the first single by a woman to top the Billboard country charts, opening the door for later stars such as Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton.

Born Ellen Muriel Deason in Nashville in 1919, Wells initially struggled to establish a solo career after being dropped by RCA Victor in 1950, and had considered quitting music before Decca Records executive Paul Cohen offered her the song that made her name. Despite being banned by some radio stations and the Grand Ole Opry for its controversial subject matter, the track spent six weeks at number one and became one of the first million-selling singles by a solo female country artist. Wells went on to be voted the genre's top female vocalist for 14 consecutive years and was the first woman to headline both a major tour and a syndicated television variety show, cementing a legacy that endures today.