SMITH, CONNIE
(*1941)
SMITH, CONNIE (b. Constance June Meador, Elkhart, Ind., August 14, 1941) Connie Smith was one of the great throbbin', sob-bin' singers of the 1960s who gave it all up for Jesus, her personal heartache mirrored in her choice of material. Born to an abusive father of a large family (she was one of thirteen siblings), Smith had a troubled young life that culminated in a nervous breakdown at the end of her teenage years. By 1963 she had settled into being a rural housewife when she won a talent…