Melba Montgomery

Melba Montgomery (born October 14, 1938) is an American country music singer. She is best known for her duet recordings in the 1960s with country music star George Jones and later Charlie Louvin. Her brother is the famous country music songwriter, Earl "Peanutt" Montgomery.

In the 1970s, Montgomery was a successful solo artist in her own right. Her best-known solo hit is the number-one hit, "No Charge".

About the song "No  Charge"
Melba Montgomery had already recorded a series of duets hits with country music artists George Jones, Charlie Louvin, and Gene Pitney during the 1960s (the most successful of those being "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" with Jones). In the early 1970s, she began focusing on a solo career, but did not have notable success.

Eventually, she began recording for Elektra Records, where her struggles continued. Then, Howard forwarded a song to Montgomery he thought would be perfect for her: "No Charge." She recorded "No Charge" in early 1974, and it was released that April. By the end of May, Montgomery enjoyed her first taste of solo success, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.[1] The song also reached No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Commenting on the record to Tom Roland in The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits, Harlan Howard said, "I've never written a song that moves people so much. I've had guys tell me they almost wrecked their truck when they heard it 'cause it made them cry. I had a lot of delightful records in many different languages on that song, but I guess that's probably my favorite song as far as impact is concerned."[3]