Betty Cody

Betty Cody
Born Rita Francis Cote
(1921-08-17)August 17, 1921
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Died July 1, 2014(2014-07-01) (aged 92)
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Cause of death Undisclosed illness
Occupation Singer
Spouse(s) Harold Breau (1940-19??; divorced); 4 children
George Binette (19??-2002; his death)

Musical career

Genres Country

Betty Cody (August 17, 1921 – July 1, 2014)[1] was an American country music singer.

Early years

She was born Rita Francis Cote to Alphonse and Albina Cote in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, the sixth of 11 children. When still a child she moved to Auburn, Maine. In 1979, Cody was inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall Of Fame. Her main singles were "Tom Tom Yodel" (hit from 1952) and "Please Throw Away The Glass".[1]

Career

In 1940, Betty Cody married Harold Breau, a musician who performed as Hal Lone Pine. The couple started performing together and she adopted the stage name of Betty Cody. Cody signed a contract with RCA Records in the early 1950s. In 1952 she had her hit in the U.S. country charts with "Tom Tom Yodel".[1] Her 1953 hit single "I Found Out More Than You Ever Knew" reached No. 10 on the Billboard country chart.[2][3] Slim Andrews, the chair on the board of directors of the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame called her "the number one country singer to ever go out of the state of Maine."[4]

Personal life

After splitting from her husband she gave up her career and worked in a shoe shop in Lewiston, Maine to care for her three younger sons. Betty and Harold eventually divorced. Her eldest son, Lenny Breau, who had lived with his father, later moved to California. Lenny became a noted jazz guitarist.[5] In 1984, Lenny Breau's dead body was found in a swimming pool. The death was ruled a murder and the case was never solved.[6] Another son, Denny Breau, is also a musician.[1]

Cody married, secondly, to George Binette, by which marriage she became stepmother to four children. Binette died in 2002.[7]

Death

Betty Cody died from undisclosed illness on July 1, 2014 at age 92 in Lewiston, Maine, survived by three sons, four stepchildren, five siblings and a large extended family.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Acclaimed Maine country singer Betty Cody dies at 92". Portland Press Herald. July 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  3. ↑ Clifford R. Murphy (November 13, 2014). Yankee Twang: Country and Western Music in New England. University of Illinois Press. pp. 59–. ISBN 978-0-252-09661-7.
  4. ↑ "Maine Country Music Legend Betty Cody Dies". News.mpbn.net. 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  5. ↑ Charles Alexander (2002). Masters of Jazz Guitar: The Story of the Players and Their Music. Backbeat. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-0-87930-728-8. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ Associated Press (July 7, 2014). "Maine country singer Betty Cody dies at 92". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  7. ↑ Obituary, albert-burpee.com; accessed February 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Staff (2014-07-03). "Betty Cody, a legend in Maine Country Music, dies". Wcsh6.com. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
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