Billie Joe Spears has died at age 73 [VIDEO]

Billie Joe Spears, best known for her 1975 hit, 'Blanket on the Ground,' has died of cancer at age 73.

Spears was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and began performing when she was a child.
Her first radio single titled 'Too Old for Toys, Too Young for Boys,' was released when she was just a teenager.

After performing for years in night clubs, she found a mentor who jump-started her career. That was famed songwriter Jack Rhodes ('A Satisfied Mind,' 'Silver Threads and Golden Needles').

Rhodes helped Spears find and record material that eventually landed her a major label record deal.

"Blanket on the Ground" The song had been previously turned down by Nashville producers who feared controversy with the chorus line "slipping around", even though the tune was not about adultery.

Although Spears had her biggest country hits in the 1970s, she sounded more earthy and more grounded on records than other country music singers during that time. This was because during the height of Spears' career in the 1970s, country's sound moved more pop-sounding.

This new type of Country was called countrypolitan, and the popular singers of this genre at the time were Crystal Gayle, Lynn Anderson, Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap, and Mac Davis. However, Spears, unlike so many of her contemporaries, did not follow the trends of the day, and proved to Nashville that country music can still have a more earthy sound.

Spears' first hit came in 1969, when her "Mr. Walker It's All Over" reached number 4 on the Country chart.[1] It also reached the Pop charts at #80. The song told of a secretary who resigned a job where she was discriminated against. She gained four more top 40 country hits during the next two years and then went four years without a hit.[1] During this time at Capitol, Spears recorded some cover versions of popular Country hits, like "Ode to Billie Joe" (originally by Bobbie Gentry) and "Harper Valley PTA" (originally by Jeannie C. Riley). She also recorded novelty songs, like "Get Behind Me Satan and Push". According to the book Country Music: The Rough Guide, her vocals in that song sounded similar to that of Loretta Lynn. Soon however, she decided she would have more success it she switched record companies.

In 1975, Spears returned to United Artists Records, which was now the home to some of country music's pop-based acts, like Kenny Rogers. She returned to the charts in 1975 with "Blanket on the Ground" The song had been previously turned down by Nashville producers who feared controversy with the chorus line "slipping around", even though the tune was not about adultery. The expected controversy never materialized, and it became her only number-one song. In the United Kingdom the song climbed into the top ten of the UK Singles Chart. An album of the same name was released that year, which was also a success.

Spears' followed up "Blanket on the Ground" with the Top Ten "What I've Got In Mind." The track did even better across the Atlantic, turning out to be a top five British hit. Spears had successes with "Misty Blue" (a song covered by numerous other artists, including Wilma Burgess in the '60s, who made the song a Top ten Country hit), "'57 Chevrolet," "Love Ain't Gonna Wait For Us," "If You Want Me," and others. 1981's cover version of Tammy Wynette's 1960s hit, "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," was Spears' last voyage into America's country top 20. Her Greatest Hits album was a Top Ten best seller, and furthered her fan base.