[“Rock then Roll,” by Shelly Bush: “We loaded up the bus.”]

How do you measure success in country music? Is it the CMA Awards you win, or is it the gigs at topless tricycle races you survive?

Karen Dee: Now, thankfully where we were, I think clothing was required. But when we get to the very front gate, there’s two dudes standing there, long dong Silver.

My name is Ellen Angelico. I’m a session musician in Nashville and I’ve played with big stars and grizzled honky-tonkers. But no artist has meant more to me than Shelly Bush, the most influential woman in country music you’ve never heard of.

Erin Holiman: Shelly Bush should go down in history as the best girl singer in Nashville.

Her powerful voice could shake the rafters.

Shirley: I tell you, I thought the roof was coming off the church.

But chasing stardom meant navigating a cutthroat music industry, and Shelly was hell on wheels.

Sheila: She was a horrible driver.

Her hustle was legendary.

Emily: And they’d be like, we don’t have music on Thursdays and she’d go, well what about a Wednesday? Or what about this thing? She just wouldn’t take no.

This isn’t just Shelly’s story. It’s the story of everyone who ever moved to Nashville with a dream. Look, history may be written by the victors, but there’s a kind of victory that matters more than having a Wikipedia page. This is Girl in a Hurry: the Shelly Bush Story. Visit us at girlinahurry.com for details.

[“Girl in a Hurry,” by Shelly Bush: “I’m a girl in a hurry so make up your mind. If you don’t know what you want, I’ll leave you behind. Life’s too short and there’s no time to worry. If you’re gonna break my heart, make it fast, I’m a girl in a hurry. Make up your mind what you want, I’m a girl in a hurry.”]