Bonnie Lou: American rock and roll and country music singer (1924-2015)
Mary Joan Okum (née Kath; October 27, 1924 – December 8, 2015), known by her performing name Bonnie Lou, was an American musical pioneer.
She was one of first female rock and roll singers. She was also one of the first artists to gain crossover success from country music to rock and roll. She was the "top name" on the first country music program regularly broadcast on a national TV network.
Bonnie Lou | |
|---|---|
 Bonnie Lou in a 1972 publicity photo | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mary Joan Kath |
| Also known as | Bonnie Lou |
| Born | October 27, 1924 Towanda, Illinois, United States |
| Died | December 8, 2015 (aged 91) Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Country, rock and roll, rockabilly |
| Occupation(s) | Singer Musician TV and radio host |
| Years active | 1940s–1980s |
| Labels | King Records Fraternity Records |
Lou was one of the first female co-hosts of a successful television talk show, and a regular musical performer on popular shows in the 1960s and 1970s. She "was a prime mover in the first days of rockabilly," and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Lou died from complications of dementia under hospice care in Cincinnati, Ohio, aged 91.
References
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