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A "Dear John letter" is a letter written to a husband or boyfriend by his wife or girlfriend to inform him their relationship is over, usually because the author has found another lover. Dear John Letters are often written out of an inability or unwillingness to inform the person face to face. The reverse situation, in which someone writes to his wife or girlfriend to break off the relationship, is referred to as a "Dear Jane letter."

Origin and etymology[link]

While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than wait for their old one to return.

As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language (such as "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John", or simply "Darling"), a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose.

A writer in the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, NY, summed it up in August 1945:

"Dear John," the letter began. "I have found someone else whom I think the world of. I think the only way out is for us to get a divorce," it said. They usually began like that, those letters that told of infidelity on the part of the wives of servicemen... The men called them "Dear Johns".

An early reference to Dear John letters was made in a United Press article of March 21, 1944.^[1]

There are a number of theories on why the name John is used rather than any other. John was a common name in the United States at the time the term was coined. John is also the name used in many other terms that refer to an anonymous man or men, such as "John Doe" or "John Smith". Another possible source for the term is the "Dear John" soap opera which was on the radio from 1933 to 1944.

See also[link]

• Love letter

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• "Origin of the Dear John letter"
• "Do-it-yourself form for 'Dear John' letter"
• "Video bye-bye" - on the urban legend of Dear John letters

Look up Dear John letter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Dear John may refer to:

• Dear John letter, a break-up letter to an absent boyfriend or husband
• Dear John Doe letter, a letter sent to a soldier's family notifying them the soldier has died.

Film and television[link]

• Dear John (1964 film), a 1964 Swedish film
• Dear John (2010 film), a film based on the Nicholas Sparks novel (see below)
• Dear John (UK TV series), a 1986–1987 British sitcom
• Dear John (U.S. TV series), a 1988–1992 American sitcom, originally based on the British show.

Literature[link]

• Dear John (novel), a 2006 novel by Nicholas Sparks
• "Dear John", a column written for The Stage newspaper (UK) by John Byrne

Music[link]

• "A Dear John Letter" or "Dear John", a song by Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard
• Dear John, an album by Ilse DeLange
• Dear John, an album by Loney, Dear
• "Dear John", a song by Cyndi Lauper from Hat Full of Stars
• "Dear John", a song by Elton John from Jump Up!
• "Dear John", a song by Hank Williams, the B-side of the single "Cold, Cold Heart"
• "Dear John", a song by Ryan Adams from his album Jacksonville City Nights
• "Dear John", a song by John Lennon from John Lennon Anthology
• "Dear John", a song by Klymaxx from One Day
• "Dear John", a song by Status Quo from 1+9+8+2
• "Dear John", a song by Styx from Return to Paradise
• "Dear John", a song by Taylor Swift from Speak Now
• "Dear John", an instrumental by Freddie Hubbard from Bolivia
• "Dear John", a song by Aimee Mann from The Forgotten Arm
• "Dear John", a song by Amerie from In Love & War
• "dearjohn", a song by Musiq Soulchild from OnMyRadio
• "Dear John", a song by Jessie James

See also[link]

• "Dear John Letter (To the Devil)", a song by Keith Green from No Compromise
• "Dear Johnny", a song by Poe from Haunted

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jean Shepard
Jean Shepard in 2006 (Sister Sisters Photography)
Background information
Birth name	Ollie Imogene Shepard
Born	(1933-11-21) November 21, 1933 (age 78)
Origin	Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres	country, honky tonk
Occupations	singer-songwriter
Years active	1952–present
Labels	Capitol United Artists GRT Laserlight
Associated acts	Ferlin Husky, Ray Pillow

Ollie Imogene Shepard (born November 21, 1933), better known as Jean Shepard, is an American honky tonk singer-songwriter who was a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the No. 1 spot. She recorded a total of 24 studio albums between 1956 and 1981, and has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years.

After Kitty Wells' 1952 breakthrough, Shepard quickly followed, and a national television gig and the Opry helped make her a star when few female country singers had enduring success. Her first hit, "A Dear John Letter", a 1953 duet with Ferlin Husky, was the first post-World War II record by a woman country artist to sell more than a million copies.^[1]

Biography[link]

Jean Shepard was born November 21, 1933 in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, but was raised in Visalia, California near Bakersfield. As a teenager, she played bass in the Melody Ranch Girls, an all-female band formed in 1948. Hank Thompson discovered Shepard a few years later.^[2] With Thompson's help, Shepard signed with Capitol Records in 1952, following the success of Kitty Wells' "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" Shepard cut four songs at her first session with popular band players Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West, Cliffie Stone and Billy Strange. She recorded her first single for the label in 1952, "Crying Steel Guitar Waltz", but it failed to chart.^[3]

1953–1956: Breakthrough[link]

Shepard's first chart appearance was 1953's duet with Ferlin Husky, with "A Dear John Letter".^[2] It was a No. 1 smash,^[3] and also became a major crossover pop hit, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard pop chart. The song struck a chord a with audiences as it was a half-spoken duet about a soldier in the Korean War. The duo's follow-up, "Forgive Me John", was another crossover hit, peaking in the Top 10 on the country chart and the top 25 on the pop chart. Because at 20 she was still a minor, Shepard's parents signed her rights to Husky so she could tour.^[4]

In 1955, Shepard joined ABC-TV's nationally-telecast Ozark Jubilee for several years,^[1] and recorded her first studio album, Songs of a Love Affair, written by Shepard. She also charted her first solo top ten single, "A Satisfied Mind", that same year, backed by the No. 13 hit, "Take Possession".^[2] "A Satisfied Mind" peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard country chart. Shepard had another top five hit the same year with "Beautiful Lies". Its flip side, "I Thought of You", peaked in the country top ten. Her streak of hit singles led to an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1958 as one of its few female stars; Kitty Wells and Minnie Pearl were the only others.^[5]

Because she was a honky tonk singer when the Nashville sound was popular, Shepard had just two charting country singles between 1956 and 1963. She had two charting singles in 1958 and 1959, however, with "I Want to Go Where No One Knows Me" and "Have Heart Will Love"; and was also named Cash Box's Top Female Artist of 1959.^[2]

In 1960, Shepard married fellow Opry star Hawkshaw Hawkins, who she had met on Ozark Jubilee. He died three years later in the plane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas.^[3] She later married country music musician and singer Benny Birchfield^[6] and they remain married.^[4]

1964–1978: Commercial resurgence[link]

Shepard returned to the top ten in 1964 with "Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar)", which began a string of hits^[2] and proved a commercial comeback as well. In 1964 and 1965, she had two Top 40 hits with "A Tear Dropped By" and "Someone's Gotta Cry", from the Heart, We Did All We Could LP released in 1967. In 1966, Shepard recorded a duet with country singer Ray Pillow titled, "I'll Take the Dog", which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard country chart. This was followed by two solo hit singles the same year: the top ten hit, "If the Teardrops Were Silver" and the top 15 hit, "Many Happy Hangovers to You".

In 1967, Shepard had two top 20 hits with the title track of Heart, We Did All We Could and the single "Your Forevers Don't Last Very Long". The following year she had only one Top 40 hit, but continued to release albums, which included 1968's A Real Good Woman. In 1969, Shepard's LP, Seven Lonely Days, produced the hit single of the same name that reached the top 20. With the release of 1969's "Then He Touched Me", Shepard had a top ten hit; followed by three hits in 1970, including the top 15 hit, "Another Lonely Night". Shepard had one more Top 40 hit with Capitol, 1971's "With His Hand in Mine", and shortly afterward her singles began to drop out of the Top 40.

In the early 1970s, Shepard moved to United Artists Records.^[7] Her first single for the label in 1973, the Bill Anderson-penned “Slippin' Away,” was her biggest solo hit since the fifties.^[5] The single peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard country chart and also charted on the Billboard pop chart, peaking outside the Top 40. With the success of the single, an LP of the same name was released the same year and peaked at No. 15 on the Top Country Albums chart. Shepard's hits continued throughout the 1970s, though as the decade wore on she hit the Top 40 less frequently.^[2] She had three top 20 hits in 1974, beginning with the No. 13 smash "At the Time", and "I'll Do Anything it Takes (To Stay With You)". In 1975, Shepard recorded an album of songs written by Bill Anderson titled, Poor Sweet Baby (And Ten More Bill Anderson Songs). Both singles from the album were top 20 hits on the Billboard country chart between 1974 and 1975, and were also her last Top 40 singles.

She created controversy when she served as president of the Association of Country Entertainers, formed in response to Olivia Newton-John’s CMA Female Vocalist of the Year win in 1974. The organization was intended to keep country music "pure" and criticized the pop influences at the time.^[5]

In 1975 and 1976, Shepard recorded two albums, I'm a Believer and Mercy/Ain't Love Good, before leaving the label in 1976. In response, United Artists released a Greatest Hits compilation. Between 1977 and 1978, she recorded for the smaller GRT label, which produced minor hit singles on the Billboard country chart. She had her last charting record in 1978 under the label with "The Real Thing".

1980–present: Later years[link]

After departing GRT at the end of the 1970s, Shepard did not record again until 1981, when she released a final studio album under the label Laselight titled, Dear John, which included remakes of her hits, including "A Dear John Letter" and "Slippin' Away", but also included a new song, "Too Many Rivers".

She continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and tour, particularly in the UK, where she had a strong fan base.^[2] Her work has also been reissued by Bear Family Records.^[5] Although in her seventies, Shepard continues to regularly tour and perform. Her touring show, "The Jean Shepard Show," has toured the U.S. and she performs at the Grand Ole Opry regularly.

In 2005, Shepard celebrated 50 years as a member of the Opry and is the longest-living female member of the Opry to date.^[8] In 2011, Shepard was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.^[9]

Discography[link]

References/notes[link]

External links[link]

• Jean Shepard's official Web site
• Jean Shepard biography at Opry.com
• Jean Shepard biography at CMT.com

Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes. He had two dozen Top 20 hits in the Billboard country charts between 1953 and 1975; his versatility and matinee-idol looks propelling a seven-decade entertainment career.^[1]

In the 1950s and 60s, Husky's hits included "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove", each reaching No. 1 on the country charts. He also created a comic outspoken hayseed character, Simon Crum; and recorded under the stage name Terry Preston from 1948 to 1953.^[1]

In 2010, Husky was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography[link]

Husky was born in Cantwell, a community of east Desloge, Missouri. His mother named him Furland, but his name was misspelled on his birth certificate. Husky grew up on a farm near Flat River and attended school in Irondale. He learned guitar from an uncle. After dropping out of high school, Husky moved to St. Louis, where he worked as a truck driver and steel mill worker while performing in honky tonks at night.^[1]

During World War II, Husky served in the United States Merchant Marine for five years, entertaining troops on transport ships. His Crum character evolved from stories he told at the time about a Missouri neighbor named Simon Crump.^[1] His website states that his ship participated in the D-Day invasion of Cherbourg.

After the war, Husky continued to develop the Crum character while working as a disc jockey in Missouri and then Bakersfield, California in the late 1940s. He began using the moniker Terry Preston at the suggestion of Smiley Burnette, who claimed Ferlin Husky would never work on a marquee.^[1] As a honky tonk singer, Husky signed with Capitol Records in 1953 under the guidance of Cliffie Stone, also the manager for Tennessee Ernie Ford. With Capitol Records, he returned to using his given name. A few singles failed before "A Dear John Letter" with Jean Shepard became a No. 1 hit. The followup was called "Forgive Me John".

In 1955, Husky had a solo hit with "I Feel Better All Over (More Than Anywheres Else)"/"Little Tom". As Simon Crum, he signed a separate contract with Capitol Records and began releasing records, the biggest of which was 1959's "Country Music is Here to Stay" (No. 2 for three weeks).

In the late 1950s, Husky had a long string of hits, including the No. 1 "Gone" in 1957 (he first recorded "Gone" as Terry Preston in 1952, but the earlier version lacked the strings and backup singers of the newly-emerging Nashville sound). "Gone" was a crossover success, also reaching No. 4 on the pop music chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[2] The song's popularity led to a stint as a summer replacement host in 1957 on CBS-TV's Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.^[1]

He then began an acting career, appearing on Kraft Television Theatre, and portraying himself in the 1957 film Mr. Rock & Roll (his website states he had bit parts in 18 films, including with Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mamie Van Doren). Bob Ferguson's "Wings of a Dove" became his biggest hit in 1960, topping the country charts for ten weeks and attaining No. 12 on the pop chart. Husky was also known for his ability to mimic other popular country singers, including Tennessee Ernie Ford and Kitty Wells.

Although he did not have more chart-toppers, he charted three dozen hits between 1961 and 1972, with the biggest being "Once" (1967) and "Just for You" (1968). In late 1972, after over 20 years with Capitol, Husky signed with ABC Records, where he scored several Top 40 hits into 1975, with the biggest being the Top 20 "Rosie Cries a Lot" (1973). Husky briefly retired in 1977 following heart surgery but resumed touring. He remained a popular concert draw, performing at the Grand Ole Opry and elsewhere. He was married four times and for the last six years of his life lived with his long-time love, Leona Williams (former wife of Merle Haggard).

Husky suffered from cardiopathy for many years and was hospitalized several times since the late 1970s, including for heart surgery in 2005 and blood clots in his legs in 2007. He was admitted to St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Missouri on April 19, 2009 with congestive heart failure and pneumonia. On July 15, 2009 his spokesman said he was recuperating at home after being released from a Nashville hospital. As recently as 2009, he lived in Vienna, Missouri.

On February 23, 2010, the Country Music Association announced his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was heralded for his vocal and comic prowess—and "all around showmanship"—that left a legacy as "one of the best entertainers country music has ever produced".

On January 16, 2011, Husky was honored at West St. Francois County High School in Leadwood, Missouri where local singers and the high school choir sang some of his hits. Husky also donated several items of memorabilia, including his Country Music Hall of Fame award, to the city of Leadwood. They will be permanently stored at the high school.

On March 8, 2011 Husky was hospitalized again after several days of not feeling well. By the weekend he had improved and was preparing to move out of the coronary care unit, but on March 17, Husky died at his daughter's home in Westmoreland, Tennessee of congestive heart failure.^[3]

He was interred next to his son, Danny Louis Husky, in Hendersonville Memory Gardens in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Honors[link]

Husky was one of the first country singers to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (for recording) at 6675 Hollywood Blvd.

The street that runs through the city park in Leadwood, Missouri is named for him.^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Roy, Don. (1998). "Ferlin Husky". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 252. (Birth year listed as 1927).

External links[link]

• Ferlin Husky at Find a Grave
• Official website
• Simon Crum website
• The short film Country Style USA Recruitment: Episode 12 is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

View of Monument Valley in Utah, looking south on U.S. Route 163 from 13 miles north of the Arizona/Utah State line

Monument Valley (Navajo: Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks) is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of vast sandstone buttes, the largest reaching 1,000 ft (300 m) above the valley floor. It is located on the Arizona-Utah state line (around 36°59′N 110°6′W / 36.983°N 110.1°W / 36.983; -110.1), near the Four Corners area. The valley lies within the range of the Navajo Nation Reservation, and is accessible from U.S. Highway 163.

Geography and geology[link]

Location of Monument Valley in the United States.

The area is part of the Colorado Plateau. The floor is largely siltstone of the Cutler Formation, or sand derived from it, deposited by the meandering rivers that carved the valley. The valley's vivid red color comes from iron oxide exposed in the weathered siltstone. The darker, blue-gray rocks in the valley get their color from manganese oxide.

The buttes are clearly stratified, with three principal layers. The lowest layer is Organ Rock shale, the middle de Chelly sandstone and the top layer is Moenkopi shale capped by Shinarump siltstone. The valley includes large stone structures including the famed Eye of the Sun.

Between 1948 and 1967, the southern extent of the Monument Upwarp was mined for uranium, which occurs in scattered areas of the Shinarump siltstone; vanadium and copper are associated with uranium in some deposits (see Uranium mining in Arizona).

In media[link]

Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s.

Tourism[link]

Monument Valley from the valley floor

Monument Valley is officially a large area that includes much of the area surrounding Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, a Navajo Nation equivalent to a national park. Oljato, for example, is also within the area designated as Monument Valley.

Visitors may pay an access fee and drive through the park on a 17-mile (27 km) dirt road (a 2-3 hour trip). Tours are also available, and the fee varies between about $40 and $100 per person depending on the services provided and route. Parts of Monument Valley are accessible only by guided tour, such as Mystery Valley and Hunts Mesa.

Horseback rides are also available from various establishments both inside the park and in the general Monument Valley area, and rates vary widely depending on the length of the ride. Rides may be only an hour, or overnight camping trips. Additionally, hot air balloon flights are available May 1 through October 31, and small airplane flights are sometimes available.

Monument Valley is part of the Grand Circle, which includes the Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Arches National Park and many other attractions.

Gallery[link]

• 

  East Mitten and West Mitten Buttes

• 

  View from John Ford's Point

• 

  The North Window

• 

  The North Window

• 

  The Totem Pole

• 

  The Thumb

• 

  Three Sisters

• 

  Interior of a "male" style Navajo hogan, with a stove made from a 55 gallon drum

Monument Valley panoramics[link]

Monument Valley panorama, taken from the Visitor Center and showing the "Mittens" and the road which makes a loop-tour through the Park

Panorama of Monument Valley in Winter

Totem Pole

See also[link]

• Valley of the Gods

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Monument Valley

• Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park website
• Map of Monument Valley
• Monument Valley Tours
• Los Angeles Times article about Monument Valley
• American Southwest Guide
• Energy Information Administration notes on uranium mining and its decommissioning
• IMDb list of movies and television shows with scenes in Monument Valley
• Column from PopMatters.com on Monument Valley in film

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