She was the first performer and is currently the only female in country music history to win the Country Music Association's "Entertainer of the Year" award twice, and she has also won the Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist of the Year" twice.

Mandrell's first No. 1 hit was 1978's "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" and immediately followed by "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" in early 1979. Later in the year, "Years" also reached No. 1, as did three more singles: "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" (her signature song), then "'Till You're Gone" and "One of a Kind, Pair of Fools"—between 1981 and 1983, a period during which Mandrell also received numerous industry awards and accolades.

Born the oldest daughter into a musical family in Houston, Texas on Christmas Day of 1948, Barbara Mandrell was already reading music and playing accordion at age five. Six years later, she was so adept at playing steel guitar that her father brought her to a music trade convention in Chicago, where her talents caught the attention of Chet Atkins and Joe Maphis. Soon after, she became a featured performer in Maphis' Las Vegas nightclub show, followed by tours with Red Foley, Tex Ritter and Johnny Cash. Her network TV debut came on the NBC-TV series Five Star Jubilee in 1961.

While growing up, she was taught the pedal steel and lap steel guitars and many other instruments, including the accordion, saxophone and banjo. She played steel guitar for the legendary Patsy Cline. Cline once wrote to a friend in a letter that Mandrell was, "a 13 year old blonde doll that plays the steel guitar out of this world! What a show woman!" Mandrell toured as a 13-year-old with Cline, Johnny Cash and George Jones. She also played guitar for Joe Maphis in Las Vegas and on the Town Hall Party show in Los Angeles. A couple of years later, Barbara and her sisters Louise and Irlene, as well as her parents, founded the Mandrell Family Band. They toured across the United States and Asia. The drummer in the band, Ken Dudney became Mandrell's husband shortly after graduating from Oceanside High School.

Dudney later enlisted in the Navy, serving as a pilot, and was sent overseas. Mandrell decided that she would become a country singer and moved to Nashville. Her father was then her manager and with his help, she signed with Columbia Records in 1969. Over the next couple of years, Mandrell had a few minor hits. Her producer at the time was Billy Sherrill, known for producing other well-known singers in country music such as Tammy Wynette, Charlie Rich and Tanya Tucker.

Within 48 hours of a nightclub appearance near the Grand Ole Opry, she received offers for recording contracts from six record companies. After signing with Columbia in 1969, she notched her first chart hit, a remake of the Otis Redding classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long". In 1970, Mandrell scored the first of many Top 40 hits with "Playin' Around With Love". In the same year, she began performing with singer David Houston, and their partnership also generated considerable chart success. Mandrell's first releases earned respect from her country peers, but her first big breakthrough with fans came in 1973 with the single "The Midnight Oil".

While with Columbia Records, Mandrell worked with legendary country producer Billy Sherrill, who also produced Charlie Rich and Tammy Wynette. Under Sherrill's direction, Mandrell recorded country-soul material, which never gained her widespread success. Her early hits included 1971's "Tonight My Baby's Comin' Home" and 1970's "After Closing Time" (a duet with David Houston). Her records barely sold on the Columbia label. Sherrill later said in the book, How Nashville Became Music City, that he was continually asked every year by the other Columbia executives why he was keeping Mandrell because she wasn't selling records. Sherrill kept Mandrell with the label until 1975.

In 1975, Mandrell jumped to the ABC/Dot label, and under the guidance of producer Tom Collins reached the Top Five for the first time with the single "Standing Room Only". After a series of successive hits, she earned her first No. 1 with 1978's "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed", immediately followed by another chart-topper, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" in early 1979. "If Loving You Is Wrong" was also a major crossover smash, becoming Mandrell's only single to reach the Top 40 on the pop chart, peaking at No. 31. The song also peaked in the Top 10 on Adult Contemporary radio stations.

During the 1980s Mandrell had more hits, including "Crackers" and "Wish You Were Here". All of these singles and more reached the country Top 10 and some also hit No. 1, including "Years". Three more singles hit No. 1—"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool", "'Till You're Gone", and "One of a Kind, Pair of Fools"— between 1981 and 1983, a period during which Mandrell also received many industry awards and accolades. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" is one of Mandrell's best-known songs. The best-known version is the live version featuring George Jones. In 1983, she won a Grammy award for "Best Inspirational Performance" for the song, "He Set My Life to Music".

In 1980 Mandrell became the third woman to win the "Entertainer of the Year" award from the Country Music Association. She repeated history in 1981 by winning the award for the second time. This was unprecedented, as in prior to her, it was understood that it only went to an artist once—but she nabbed it a second year in a row with her non-stop touring, hit records, and popular TV show. This began the huge array of awards and she would win: several CMA, ACM, and MCN awards, seven American Music Awards, and nine People's Choice, making her one of the most awarded country acts in history.