Jeannie Seely, the country music singer best known for her hit song Don’t Touch Me, has died at 85.
Seely died on Friday at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, from complications brought on by an intestinal infection, according to People.
Her death follows the loss of her husband Eugene Ward from cancer in December.
Following news of Seely’s death, her longtime friend Dolly Parton posted a tribute to her on Instagram.
‘I have known Jeannie Seely since we were early on in Nashville. She was one of my dearest friends,’ Parton wrote.
‘I think she was one of the greater singers in Nashville and she had a wonderful sense of humor. We had many wonderful laughs together, cried over certain things together and she will be missed,’ the country icon added.
Jeannie Seely, the country music singer best known for her hit song Don’t Touch Me, died on Friday at 85 at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee, according to People; pictured in 2022 in Nashville, Tenn.
Dolly Parton posted a tribute to Seely, whom she called one of her ‘dearest friends,’ later on Friday; pictured January 28 in Nashville
Parton praised Seely’s ‘wonderful sense of humor’ and reminisced about how they ‘had many wonderful laughs together’ and ‘cried over certain things together’
Seely had been plagued by health problems since last year, and she announced in May that she had undergone multiple surgeries on her back to repair her vertebrae.
The performer also said she had two emergency abdominal surgeries and developed pneumonia during an 11-day stay in the intensive care unit.
‘Rehab is pretty tough, but each day is looking brighter and last night, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And it was neon, so I knew it was mine!’ she said at the time. ‘The unsinkable Seely is working her way back.’
Seely was known for her distinctive soul-inflected vocal delivery, which earned her the nickname ‘Miss Country Soul.’
Her 1966 single Don’t Touch Me became a hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart after ascending to number two, and she followed it up with more hits including A Wanderin’ Man (1967) and I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need) (1968).
All three songs were written by Seely’s future husband, Hank Cochran, whom she wed in 1969.
The couple separated later in the 1970s, and their divorce was finalized in 1979. Cochran died in 2010 at age 84 from cancer.
While Seely was collaborating with her husband behind-the-scenes, she regularly sang duets with country star Jack Greene starting in the late ’60s.
Seely was known for her distinctive soul-inflected vocal delivery, which earned her the nickname ‘Miss Country Soul’; pictured circa 1970
Several of Seely’s biggest hits — including Don’t Touch Me, A Wanderin’ Man and I’ll Love You More (Than You’ll Need) — were written by her first husband, Hank Cochran. They divorced in 1979, and he died in 2010; Seely is pictured in June 2024 in Nashville
