Billie Jo Spears
Net Worth: $1.9 million
Venture: The Estate of Billie Jo Spears
Billie Jo Spears was a popular country star from back in the ‘60s, who was mostly known for her hit song “Mr. Walker It’s All Over”. Widely regarded as the “Queen Mother” of country music by fans and critics alike, Spears had a wonderful streak of singles that became hits on the charts. Her musical career began stagnating and was eventually paused for a few years due to personal reasons — and fans were demanding a comeback.
Following a few years of hiatus, Spears managed to surprise everyone when she released her most famous and successful song to date, “Blanket on the Ground”, which came out in 1975 and became an instant hit. She continued releasing albums into the ’80s but her fame and popularity began to fade in the United States, although she was still very popular in the UK and even recorded albums which were almost exclusively released in Britain. She continued her career into her mid 70’s despite persistent medical problems. Spears eventually passed away in 2011 leaving her wonderful music behind for the world to enjoy.
Jon Pardi
Net Worth: $8 million
Venture: Heartache Medication
Even at a young age, Jon Pardi proved his musical and business skills were valuable assets when he formed his own band back when he was still just in high-school. He was born in Dixon, California and left his hometown after finishing high-school in the hopes of becoming a successful singer. The young boy moved to Nashville and found his luck there with the Capitol Nashville label. The young multi-millionaire is also a record producer and has many sets of talents under his sleeves.
Pardi has managed to charm the crowds with his laid back neotraditional country singing and brilliantly manages to fuse old traditional styles with the modern tastes of country lovers, bringing both oldies and youngsters together to his tours. So far, Pardi has released two albums and ten singles, with almost all of his singles appearing in the country chart. He is currently working on his latest album, Heartache Medication, which we’re sure will be just as good as the first two (or even better).
Juice Newton
Net Worth: $4 million
Venture: Los Angeles Equestrian Center
Juice Newton’s career began when she was still a little girl, with her mother actively helping her develop various musical skills such as playing the guitar. Over the years her musical style has changed from the focused tunes of classic country music to a more general style of country-pop that many crossover artists engage in these days to reach a broader audience. This caused audiences to label her as a crossover star, a title that some classic country musicians criticize and avoid at all costs.
Newton has received many awards throughout her career which began in 1975. Amongst her proudest musical achievements and recognitions are five Grammy nominations with one win, an Academy of Country Music Award and two back-to-back Billboard artist awards. Her albums have consistently reached platinum and gold status, with the most successful one being her Greatest Hits compilation.
Blanco Brown
Net Worth: $500,000
Venture: The Git Up
One of our most exciting up-and-comers in this list is Blanco Brown. Representing both the African-American culture and old-school folk American tradition, the singer has managed to combine the two most unlikely genres of rap and country into some of the most engaging and unifying forms of music that we’ve heard in the last few years. If there’s one genre that’s typically associated with more “dirty” themes it would definitely be rap and hip-hop. Brown brilliantly manages to take the best rap and hip-hop have to offer and distill them into an extremely positive country musical experience.
This young artist from Atlanta appears to be doing exactly the right moves since his works have led him to sell over twenty million records in his very short career so far. If you’re interested in listening to Brown’s music and experiencing some of the best combination of genres that music has to offer, look no further than his hit single The Git Up for some great ear pleasure. The song racked over 50 million views on YouTube and is honestly one of the most interesting pieces of music we’ve heard in a while.
Jana Kramer
Net Worth: $2 million
Venture: Dancing with the Stars
While you may know Jana Kramer as one of the stars from the ABC’s American dance competition, Dancing with the Stars, or as a young and successful country singer, she’s the first country artist on our list that started out in entertainment as an actress and only then moved on to singing. While many actors dabble in music and singing, Kramer decided to fully embrace the country path and debuted her musical career in 2012.
So far, the young actress and singer has released two studio albums for her label called “Jana Kramer,” and “Thirty One.” Both albums received very favorable sales and reviews, and have both reached high spots in the charts, with seven singles also reaching the charts. Her two best performing songs to date are “I Got the Boy” and “Why Ya Wanna.” She’s most recognizable as an actress for her role as Alex Dupre in the One Tree Hill TV show and also acted in the low-budget indie horror film, Dead/Undead.