Grammy winner Jeannie Seely, known for “Can I Sleep in Your Arms,” dies at 85

Don't Touch Me singer and Grammy winner Jeannie Seely passed away on Friday, August 1, 2025. The 85-year-old singer and performer's passing came less than a year after she buried her husband, Eugene Ward, in December 2024, after losing him to cancer. Since then, the late singer has reportedly been battling health issues to the day of her passing.

Her representative confirmed the news of her death to People Magazine and shared her cause of death. Jeannie Seely reportedly passed away while at Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tennessee. She was at the hospital because of complications from an intestinal infection.

Before that, she underwent a couple of emergency surgeries and spent some time in the ICU. In May 2025, the Grand Ole Opry legend opened up about her health battles in a statement shared with People. She said that he had multiple back surgeries in March, and the following month, in April, she had to get two emergency abdominal surgeries.

After the surgeries, Jeannie Seely had to stay in the ICU for eleven days, but her health scare didn't end there. She also suffered a bout of pneumonia after. However, in her May statement, she was in her recovery process and has started to focus on her future, including plans to release new music. While she admitted that "rehab is pretty tough," she also said that days are looking "brighter."

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Jeannie Seely was honored for the most performances on the Opry in 2022

Jeannie Seely is famously known as a dedicated member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the country music's biggest stage has always been her biggest wish. Born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1940, Seely was the youngest of four children, and listening to the Grand Ole Opry shows on Saturday nights has been part of her childhood.

In 2022, Jeannie Seely told People that she had always known what she wanted to be or where she wanted to be when she grew up. She said:

"Actually, I knew at 8 years old what I wanted to be. And I knew I wanted to be at the Opry... I wanted to be a part of that family that I heard every week."

From performing on the local radio when she was 11 to becoming a secretary at Imperial Records, the late country singer also ventured into songwriting. She wrote songs for various artists, including co-writing Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) with Randy Newman for Irma Thomas.

What got her an invite to perform at the Opry, however, was the success of he 1966 hit, Don't Touch Me. The track was successful on the charts, with the song hitting the No.2 spot on the US Hot Country Songs, and earned her a couple of Grammy nominations. By the following year, in 1967, Jeannie Seely was inducted as a member.

She became the first woman to become a regular host of Opry segments and the first one to wear a miniskirt onstage at the Opry. By 2022, she made another history by making the most appearances, a total of 5,397, in the Grand Ole Opry's 110-year history.

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The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, August 2, 2025, will be dedicated to Jeannie Seely, per People.

Edited by Tiasha