The first few years of her career she was very bland, grade school girls liked listening to her songs and she was basically what I'd call a "performer"....but not a talented artist. She can carry a tune all right and she didn't get so much publicity until like many other performers she started with the gimmickry. I remember the era when a band or musical artist could get up on stage without fancy costume or multi-million dollar props and just sing their hearts out and that was wonderful.