Overview

• Seely passed away on August 1, 2025 at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, after complications from an intestinal infection following multiple back and emergency abdominal surgeries.
• She earned the Grammy for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance – Female in 1966 with her breakthrough hit “Don’t Touch Me” and wrote songs recorded by Merle Haggard, Ray Price and Dottie West.
• A Grand Ole Opry member since 1967, she set the institution’s record with 5,397 stage appearances during her 58 years of continuous membership.
• Known as “Miss Country Soul,” Seely shattered norms for women in country music by becoming the first female to regularly host Opry segments and the first to wear a miniskirt on its stage.
• The Grand Ole Opry will honor her legacy with tribute performances, and peers including Dolly Parton and Country Music Association leaders have paid homage to her impact.