Uploaded June 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Kitty Wells' 1950s and 60s country music tunes still surprise unsuspecting listeners. She wore demure gingham dresses and sang sweet plaintive melodies, but Wells was a radical. Some of her songs all but declare infidelity and promiscuousness:

"I don't claim to be an angel, my life's been full of sin."

"I Don't Claim to Be an Angel" wasn't the first time those issues had been broached in country music, but Wells made hits. The Grand Ole Opry tried to ban the song, but, as Laura Cantrell tells Kurt Andersen, "the horse was out of the barn." Wells revolutionized what a woman could sing about and paved the way for Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette a generation later. Cantrell's new record, "Kitty Wells Dresses," is a top-to-bottom tribute. She performs "I Don't Claim to Be an Angel," from the album with her band: Jon Grabof, Kenny Kosek, Jeremy Chatzky, and Mark Spencer. For Laura Cantrell's interview with Kurt Andersen, visit: studio360.org/2011/jun/17/laura-cantrell-sings-kitty-wells