Inside the Life of Country Singer Barbara Mandrell, Who Had Brain Injury & Paused Her Career 2 Decades Ago

Barbara Mandrell was a household name as a country music singer and performer in the late ’70s and ’80s. The star started singing and playing musical instruments in early childhood. The first musical instrument Mandrell learned to play was the accordion.

By age 11, Mandrell was a pro in playing the steel guitar. She also made her professional debut at a young age on a California television show. Mandrell then met country singer Joe Maphis when she performed at a trade show in Chicago.

Maphis invited Mandrell to perform at a Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas. This step started a great professional relationship between the two as Maphis was a major influence in the singer’s career going forward.

As a teenager, Mandrell performed on “The Johnny Cash Show” and toured with some country music legends such as George Jones and Patsy Cline. Later, the singer went on tour with her parents as part of the Mandrell Family Band.

In the late 1960s, Mandrell graduated high school, got married, and retired from music. However, when her husband was deployed overseas in the Navy, she went to live with her parents in Nashville where her love for music was reignited.

With her dad, Irby Mandrell, as her manager, Mandrell chose to pursue a career as a country singer. She signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1969 and released her first single, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now)”

In the 1970s, Mandrell went on to release her first studio album and other albums soon followed. In 1975, she ended her contract with Columbia Records and signed one with ABC/Dot Record, later known as ABC.

In the years that followed, she released more albums and singles and won awards. She bagged the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association in 1979 and 1981. Barbara Mandrell has two Grammy Awards and an award from the American Music Awards.

In 2009, the legendary singer was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Aside from singing, Mandrell took up acting seriously in 1990 and appeared in a number of television shows and movies such as “Empty Nest.”

In 1997, Mandrell announced that she had retired from performing and recording. She said she made this important decision after praying and God gave her the right answer not to get back on stage again.

Before retiring, Mandrell’s last performance was at the Opry House and was made into a TV special called “Barbara Mandrell and the Do-Rites: The Last Dance.” 25 years later, Mandrell said on the Opry stage “I chose my home to do my final performance on and it was this one. God bless you!”

The singer uttered these words on July 30, 2022, when the Grand Ole Opry celebrated her 50th anniversary as a member of the Opry family. Mandrell was just 23 when she became a member in July 1972 and now, she is an inspiration to female country singers such as Carrie Underwood.

In 2023, when Mandrell was asked what she missed the most about performing, the singer said she missed the audience. The singer quickly expounded that her audience was not just like audiences to her but people.

She is glad she still has access to these people, who say hi to her every time she goes grocery shopping or any place. The people are still so kind to her that they come up and speak to her even visit her.

Mandrell also admitted to missing the spotlights on stage, something she said might make her sound crazy. “I don’t mean it figuratively. I mean it literally. I love the feeling of lights,” she explained.

When it comes to what she has missed the least about her career, Mandrell said she does not miss traveling and being gone from home all the time.

Even with over 20 years away from singing and performing, Mandrell has not been forgotten. In 2023, her impact on country music was recognized when she was honored with the 2023 CRB Artist Career Achievement Award during the Country Radio Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Nashville.

Mandrell enjoyed the event including Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks’ joint performance of her songs “If Loving You Is Wrong” and “I Was Country.” The two presented Mandrell with her award, who was happy for all the support she and her music got from Country Radio.

Aside from her glamorous career, Mandrell is a wife and mother. She has been married to her husband, Ken Dudney, since May 28, 1967. Together, they have three kids Kenneth Matthew, Jaime Nicole, and Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney.

Mandrell’s family has remained close-knit despite several difficulties, including a harrowing road accident. The singer and two of her kids, Kenneth and Jaime, were involved in a tragic road accident on September 11, 1984.

The incident occurred near the singer’s home in Hendersonville, Tennessee when Mandrell’s Jaguar was hit head-on by a car driven by 19-year-old Mark White, who tragically lost his life in the collision.

Mandrell sustained multiple injuries, including a severe concussion, a fractured ankle, cuts, and significant trauma to her head. Matthew was admitted to the hospital with cuts while Jaime was treated and released.

The “In Times Like This” singer credited safety belts with saving her and her kids’ lives. She even teamed up with country and western stars and the Illinois Secretary of Transportation back then, Greig Baise, to urge legislators to vote against any repeal of the state’s mandatory seat belt law.

After the accident, Mandrell’s recovery was a long and arduous process, requiring extensive physical therapy and a significant period of rest to heal both physically and emotionally.

Everything was not easy especially since she got pregnant and gave birth to her last-born Nathaniel, who weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces at birth, while recovering from the accident. Nathaniel was born via Caesarian section at 10.04 a.m. at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.

Mandrell shared how hard her recovery journey was, noting that the brain injury left her disoriented, irritable, and subject to intense mood swings ranging from euphoria to anger.

She disclosed, “It seems to me that unless you or someone very close to you has had a bad head injury, you really can’t fathom it. You have no concept of what it is all about. It was so difficult for my whole family, not just me.”

Mandrell’s head injury took her three years to heal. Her broken bones needed more time, including a broken femur. She recalled doctors telling her that there were only 50 broken ankles like hers at the time.

The singer said, “I had five ankle breaks, five breaks down inside my ankles. And 10 orthopedic surgeons met to figure out what to do about my ankle. It was said to me that I could probably never wear heels again.” Luckily, Mandrell later dances in three-inch heels, which she credits to Jesus, a great physician as the singer is a believer.

Mandrell shared that she had always experienced pain in her ankle but managed to conceal it in public, never limping or showing discomfort.

However, at home, she allowed herself to acknowledge the pain. In 2006, she mentioned having surgery on the ankle about a year and a half prior, but it had not yet fully healed. Despite the ongoing pain, she expressed gratitude for still having her ankle.

God and family have helped Mandrell get through the toughest times in her life. She is grateful for her husband who has been by her side for decades. The singer and Dudney met when she was a part of the Mandrell Family Band and her father had hired her husband to be their drummer.

Dudney was smart, kind, and polite and Mandrell fell for him hard. The two went through high school together, where Dudney proposed to Mandrell many times. As much as the pair were in love and wanted so much to get married, Mandrell wanted to graduate first before saying yes.

The show business has seen many marriages fall but Mandrell and Dudney’s stood strong all the way past her retirement. The singer said that even when they weren’t seeing eye to eye, they trusted God to strengthen their union.

Mandrell shared “We married for forever, and keeping God at the center of our lives has made it work and made it blessed and happy. Ken and I both are outgoing people – we’re yellers and screamers! But we’re also passionate at making up.”

Now Mandrell and Dudney have been married for 57 years. During their 55th wedding anniversary, they shared a cute picture on Instagram looking happy and in love. Just like Mandrell, Dudney is also retired.

Still, the two are busy with their own activities and happy being empty-nesters as all their children are grown. In 2006, Mandrell revealed that Nathaniel was a student at the University of Mississippi while Jaime was a production assistant for a movie.

As for Matthew, a chef, he had just gotten married to Christy Seamans. Matthew’s wife goes by Christy Sutherland professionally as she is a Christian musician.

Mandrell feels fulfilled by her career and family life. Fans still miss her onstage and love leaving comments on her Instagram and Facebook posts. One fan wrote, “Such a beautiful, talented, classy lady” while another user commented, “Beautiful lady I miss you singing to us.”

The singer is not coming back on stage and has said the only place she will be singing is on the church pews along with other congregants. For now, her hobbies, including gardening and feeding the birds in her garden, keep her busy.

Mandrell has also learned how to mosaic on flower pots and tabletops. She also does faux and normal painting. The singer loves to wrap gifts using special ribbons and hot glue silk for her loved ones. She is simply enjoying this time in her life with her family and hobbies being a source of love and happiness for her.