Billie Jo Spears
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Spears made a full recovery, however, and returned to United Artists in 1975. She scored her first number one hit with the sensual Blanket on the Ground that year, and two of her 1976 singles -- Misty Blue and What Ive Got in Mind -- reached the Top Five. She had several other minor hits that year and also cut an album of duets with Del Reeves. If You Want Me made the Top Ten in 1977, the last time Spears would visit that territory; several more singles reached the Top 20 by decades end, but songs like 57 Chevrolet and Lonely Hearts Club were much bigger hits in Britain, and Spears began to devote more of her touring attention to the overseas market. Her last Top 20 single was 1981s Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad, after which she and United Artists parted ways. Spears recorded sporadically for independent labels, usually based in the U.K. or Ireland, during the 80s and early 90s. She recovered from triple bypass surgery in 1993 and continued to tour, traveling regularly to the U.K. to perform for a still-affectionate fan base.
