Mandrell was the first performer to win the Country Music Association\'s "Entertainer of the Year" award twice (1980, 1981). She also won the Country Music Association\'s "Female Vocalist of the Year" in 1979 and 1981.\n', '

Mandrell\'s first Billboard number-one hit was 1978\'s "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed", immediately followed by "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don\'t Want to Be Right" in early 1979. In 1980, "Years" also reached number one. She added one more chart topper in each of the next three years. "I Was Country When Country Wasn\'t Cool" (her signature song), then "\'Till You\'re Gone" and "One of a Kind Pair of Fools"—all hit number one between 1981 and 1983, a period during which Mandrell also received numerous industry awards and accolades.\n', '

Barbara Ann Mandrell was born on Christmas Day of 1948 to Mary Ellen (née McGill; born 1931) and Irby Matthew Mandrell (1924 – 2009) in Houston, Texas. Her mother was a homemaker and musician hailing from rural Wayne County, Illinois. Her father Irby was a World War II naval veteran and Texas police officer from Garland County, Arkansas. Irby Mandrell was an accomplished musician and entrepreneur as well. He used his impeccable social skills and knowledge of the music industry to manage all three of his daughters\' careers for over 3 decades.\n', '

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