Born in Karnes County, Texas, in 1933, country vocalist Goldie Hill entered the world as the younger sister of Tommy Hill. The Hill household revolved around music, which offered an escape from the grueling routine of harvesting cotton. Absorbing the era’s dominant country sounds, Goldie cultivated her own vocal abilities at an early age. Tommy and another sibling, Ken, soon abandoned farm labor to chase careers in the genre; before long they were providing instrumental support for Hank Williams, Johnny Horton, and Webb Pierce. Goldie launched her professional path in 1953 on the Louisiana Hayride, performing alongside Tommy’s band. Marketed as “the Golden Hillbilly,” she reached the top of the charts that same year with her second release, “I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes,” a song Tommy had originally composed for Kitty Wells. Additional entries on the charts included duets with Justin Tubb—Ernest Tubb’s son—and with Red Sovine, among them the major success “Yankee Go Home.” After Carl Smith’s divorce from June Carter, Goldie married the country singer in 1957. A brief return to recording in the late 1960s under the name Goldie Hill Smith attracted little attention. Once Carl stepped away from music in the late 1970s, the couple settled on a horse farm near Franklin, Tennessee, and spent the following decade competing professionally in equestrian events.
