NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Country singer Dottie West died Wednesday during surgery to stop internal bleeding suffered in a car wreck last week, hospital officials said. She was 58.
West's liver been bleeding ever since the accident and the operation at Vanderbilt University was the third attempt to correct the problem. She died at 10:34 a.m. after about two hours of surgery.
West was best known for her bouncy hit 'I Was Raised on Country Sunshine' but her life had been filled with tragedy in recent years, including an earlier car accident, a bankruptcy filing and tax problems.
Doctors had been pessimistic about West's chances of survival ever since the crash last Friday. West had been on her way to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry when the car, driven by George Thackston, 81, hit an exit ramp to the Opryland USA theme park. Thackston also was critically injured.
West, who survived a July traffic accident with minor injuries, was the first woman to win a country music Grammy Award for her 1964 hit 'Here Comes My Baby.'
More recently she was known for duets with Kenny Rogers and 'I Was Raised On Country Sunshine,' which not only was one of her greatest hits but the main ingredient of an award-winning Coca-Cola commercial as well.
'What made Dottie unique is that when she sang about pain, she felt pain,' Rogers said from Los Angeles. 'When she sang about love, she felt love. And when she sang about beauty, she felt that beauty.
'While some performers sang words, she sang emotions.'
Dorothy Marie Marsh was born in rural poverty Oct. 11, 1932, in McMinnville, Tenn., the oldest of 10 children. In her early days, she had to chop cotton and work in sugar cane fields, sometimes cooking for her big family. Also, as a child, she began learning from her father how to play the guitar.
Dottie attended Tennessee Tech as a music major where she met her future husband, Bill West. Her career began to take off when, in 1959, she landed her first recording contract, with Bill playing in her band and helping her write songs.
They collaborated in 1964 on 'Here Comes My Baby,' a catchy tune that not only won her a Grammy but proved very popular with her contemporaries. According to country music archives, about 100 other artists have released versions of it.
The Wests' marriage began wilting, however, and in 1969, they were divorced. They had two children, daughter Shelly and son Kerry.
Dottie put spark in a sagging career when she signed with Coca-Cola to write 'I'm a Country Girl' and other music for commercials, leading to 'Country Sunshine,' which she co-wrote with Billy Davis in 1973. It won her new fame, earned her Clio Award for best commercial and became her theme song.
Her career moved to a different plateau when she teamed with Rogers in the late 1970s for a series of popular duets, such as 'Til I Can Make It On My Own' and 'All I Ever Need Is You.' She also did notable duets with Jim Reeves, Don Gibson and Jimmy Dean.
Personal misfortunes again caught up with her in 1990 when she filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $1 million in debts. In June, her belongings were auctioned to satisfy Internal Revenue Service and other creditor demands totalling $2.4 million. The following month, on July 19, she escaped with minor injuries in a car crash.
Doctors had been pessimistic about West's chances of survival ever since the crash last Friday. West had been on her way to a performance at the Grand Ole Opry when the car, driven by George Thackston, 81, hit an exit ramp to the Opryland USA theme park. Thackston also was critically injured.
West, who survived a July traffic accident with minor injuries, was the first woman to win a country music Grammy Award for her 1964 hit 'Here Comes My Baby.'
More recently she was known for duets with Kenny Rogers and 'I Was Raised On Country Sunshine,' which not only was one of her greatest hits but the main ingredient of an award-winning Coca-Cola commercial as well.
Dorothy Marie Marsh was born in rural poverty Oct. 11, 1932, in McMinnville, Tenn., the oldest of 10 children. In her early days, she had to chop cotton and work in sugar cane fields, sometimes cooking for her big family. Also, as a child, she began learning from her father how to play the guitar.
Dottie attended Tennessee Tech as a music major where she met her future husband, Bill West. Her career began to take off when, in 1959, she landed her first recording contract, with Bill playing in her band and helping her write songs.
They collaborated in 1964 on 'Here Comes My Baby,' a catchy tune that not only won her a Grammy but proved very popular with her contemporaries. According to country music archives, about 100 other artists have released versions of it.
The Wests' marriage began wilting, however, and in 1969, they were divorced. They had two children, daughter Shelly and son Kerry.
Dottie put spark in a sagging career when she signed with Coca-Cola to write 'I'm a Country Girl' and other music for commercials, leading to 'Country Sunshine,' which she co-wrote with Billy Davis in 1973. It won her new fame, earned her Clio Award for best commercial and became her theme song.
Her career moved to a different plateau when she teamed with Rogers in the late 1970s for a series of popular duets, such as 'Til I Can Make It On My Own' and 'All I Ever Need Is You.' She also did notable duets with Jim Reeves, Don Gibson and Jimmy Dean.
Personal misfortunes again caught up with her in 1990 when she filed for bankruptcy, listing more than $1 million in debts. In June, her belongings were auctioned to satisfy Internal Revenue Service and other creditor demands totalling $2.4 million. The following month, on July 19, she escaped with minor injuries in a car crash.
