West was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, where her mother, country star/songwriter Dottie West began appearing on the television program Landmark Jamboree as one half of a country-pop vocal duo called the Kay-Dots alongside partner Kathy Dee as Dottie was reinventing herself as a country pop star, and as she grew up in the country music genre, Shelly's style was not significantly different from that of her mother's. West is best known for her hit duets with David Frizzell, especially their number-one hit "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma".