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Country Singer-Songwriter Mel McDaniel Dies at 68

by Associated Press  |   April 01, 2011 1:22 EDT
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Mel McDaniel

Mel McDaniel, a husky-voiced country music singer-songwriter with hits like "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" and "Louisiana Saturday Night," has died. He was 68.

Darleen Bieber of Schmidt Relations, the publicity firm for the Grand Ole Opry, confirmed on Friday morning that McDaniel had died, but had no details.

McDaniel's other hits, most in the early and mid-1980s, included "Stand Up," "Big Ole Brew" and "Let It Roll (Let It Rock)."

The native of Checotah, Okla., sang for oil field workers in Alaska in the 1970s before becoming successful in Nashville. He was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry beginning in 1986.


McDaniel said "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On" related to average Americans: "The main thing everybody says to me is, 'I can picture that in my mind.'"

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