Becky Hobbs

A native Oklahoman and daughter of a violinist, piano-pounding honky-tonker Becky Hobbs first touched keys and invented melodies at nine. By fourteen she was composing Bob Dylan-influenced protest material and performing it in a folk duo alongside Beth Morrison; the next year she assembled the all-girl outfit Four Faces of Eve. While enrolled at Tulsa University she joined Sir Prize Package, then in 1971 appeared with Swampfox. Three years afterward she relocated to Los Angeles, where songwriting credits for Helen Reddy and Jane Olivor preceded her eventual move to Nashville. Her self-titled debut arrived in 1974, followed in 1975 by From the Heartland and in 1977 by Everyday. The 1978 single “The More I Get the More I Want” marked her first minor chart entry; its successor, “I Can’t Say Goodbye to You,” reached the Top 50 and opened the door to three additional modest successes. Throughout the 1980s she kept supplying material, placing songs with Lacy J. Dalton and the Tennessee Valley Boys.

Columbia delivered her first Top Ten in 1983 via the Moe Bandy duet “Let’s Get Over Them Together.” Over the ensuing two years Liberty/EMI-America issued four charting sides, among them “Hottest ’Ex’ in Texas.” Other artists cutting her compositions included George Jones and Loretta Lynn on “We Sure Made Good Love,” Alabama with “I Want to Know You Before We Make Love” and “Christmas Memories,” Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley on “Still on a Roll,” and Shelly West via “I’ll Dance the Two Step” and “How It All Went Wrong.” Hobbs stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage for the first time in 1985. Two years later Conway Twitty, Glen Campbell, and Emmylou Harris each enjoyed hits written by her. The 1988 album All Keyed Up yielded three strong singles, one of which was “Jones on the Jukebox.” In 1992 she and her band the Heartthrobs traveled through Africa under the auspices of the U.S. government program Arts America, and the 1998 release From Oklahoma with Love followed.