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Sandy Posey (born June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer, who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharpe's composition, "Single Girl." She is often described as a country singer, although, like Skeeter Davis, perhaps her nearest comparator, her output has varied and, later in her career, the term, "countrypolitan," associated with the "Nashville sound", was sometimes applied. Posey had three hit singles in the United States all of which peaked at number 12 in the sales charts.
Sandy Posey was born Sandra Lou Posey in Jasper, Alabama. She graduated from high school in Memphis, Tennessee in 1962. Posey obtained work as a session singer, after she was recommended by an aunt to an acquaintance who worked in television. In addition to acting as a receptionist at a studio in Memphis, she took part in recordings across the Deep South and appeared, for example, on recording sessions produced by Lincoln “Chips” Moman for Elvis Presley and on Percy Sledge’s "When a Man Loves a Woman" (a number one hit in the USA in 1966). Other singers whom she backed included Joe Tex, Bobby Goldsboro and Tommy Roe.
Posey's first single record, under the name "Sandy Carmel", was "Kiss Me Goodnight" (1965), written by William Cates, which was coupled with "First Boy." This was released by Bell Records, but received little publicity and made miminal impact. Assisted by Gary Walker, a music publisher who became her manager, Posey then made a demonstration recording of "Born a Woman," written by Martha Sharpe. According to Posey, Chips Moman "went wild" when he heard this and helped her to obtain a contract with MGM in Nashville.
Posey had her first hit with "Born a Woman," which Moman produced in Nashville on March 15, 1966. This reached number 12 in the US sales charts in September 1966. "Born a Woman" was regarded by some as a women's liberationist song ("You're born to be stepped on, lied to, cheated on"), although it was lampooned by others and Helen Reddy, whose song, I Am Woman, became a feminist anthem in 1972, dismissed it much later as "dreadful" and its lyrics as "not exactly empowering". Billboard referred contemporaneously to "this woeful ballad rocker", while praising Posey's "excellent vocal work". Even so, Posey received two "Grammy" nominations for "Born a Woman" in the categories of vocal performance (female) and contemporary (R&R) solo vocal.
Posey's next single release was "Single Girl," also written by Martha Sharpe, which was notable for the gentle crescendo and piano refrain of its final verse. Recorded in Nashville on August 19, 1966, this also reached number 12 in America in January 1967 and number 15 in Great Britain, where it benefited from frequent plays on offshore “pirate” radio stations (peaking, for example, at number 7 in Radio London's non-sales based "Fab 40" on New Year's Day, 1967). '"Single Girl" was re-released in Britain in 1975 and reached the top 50 for a second time.
Posey’s final top 20 hit was "I Take It Back," another U.S. number 12 in July 1967, although she made other recordings for MGM Records until 1968. These were mostly produced by Moman, but a few, including a version of the Shirelles' hit, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (1968), were produced by Joe South. Posey continued recording as a solo artist into the early 1980s, when she reverted to session work. She made a number of country recordings with a religious theme after embracing Christianity in 1974.
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