AM 1070 The Ranch Classic Country

Home The Ranch Hands News and Stories Dugg's Corner of the World Country Music & Western Heroes Western Swing News The Ranch Online Tradin' Post Map E-Mail News and Stories Dugg Collins brings us stories about the stars and legends that made country great! Many thanks to Dick Shuey and Twangtown for your help. Remembering Patsy Cline Patsy Cline Virginia Patterson Hensley Born Sep 8, 1932 in Gore, VA Died Mar 5, 1963 in Camden, TN One of the greatest singers in the history of country music, Patsy Cline also helped blaze a trail for female singers to assert themselves as an integral part of the Nashville-dominated country music industry. She was not alone in this regard; Kitty Wells had become a star several years before Cline's big hits in the early '60s. Brenda Lee, who shared Cline's producer, did just as much to create a country-pop crossover during the same era; Skeeter Davis briefly enjoyed similar success. Cline has the most legendary aura of any female country singer, however, perhaps due to an early death that cut her off just after she had entered her prime. Cline began recording in the mid-'50s, and although she recorded quite a bit of material between 1955 and 1960 (17 singles in all), only one of them was a hit. That song, "Walkin' After Midnight," was both a classic and a Top 20 pop smash. Those who are accustomed to Cline's famous early-'60s hits are in for a bit of a shock when surveying her '50s sessions (which have been reissued on several Rhino compilations). At times she sang flat-out rockabilly; she also tried some churchy tear-weepers. She couldn't follow up "Walkin' After Midnight," however, in part because of an exploitative deal that limited her to songs from one publishing company. Circumstances were not wholly to blame for Cline's commercial failures. She would have never made it as a rockabilly singer, lacking the conviction of Wanda Jackson or the spunk of Brenda Lee. In fact, in comparison with her best work, she sounds rather stiff and ill-at-ease on most of her early singles. Things took a radical turn for the better on all fronts in 1960, when her initial contract expired. With the help of producer Owen Bradley (who had worked on her sessions all along), Cline began selecting material that was both more suitable and of a higher quality than her previous outings. "I Fall to Pieces," cut at the very first session where Cline was at liberty to record what she wanted, was the turning point in her career. Reaching number one in the country charts and number 12 pop, it was the first of several country-pop crossovers she was to enjoy over the next couple of years. More important, it set a prototype for commercial Nashville country at its best. Owen Bradley crafted lush orchestral arrangements, with weeping strings and backup vocals by the Jordanaires, that owed more to pop (in the best sense) than country. The country elements were provided by the cream of Nashville's session musicians, including guitarist Hank Garland, pianist Floyd Cramer, and drummer Buddy Harmon. Cline's voice sounded richer, more confident, and more mature, with ageless wise and vulnerable qualities that have enabled her records to maintain their appeal with subsequent generations. When k.d. lang recorded her 1988 album Shadowland with Owen Bradley, it was this phase of Cline's career that she was specifically attempting to emulate. It's arguable that too much has been made of Cline's crossover appeal to the pop market. Brenda Lee, whose records were graced with similar Bradley productions, was actually more successful in this area (although her records were likely targeted toward a younger audience). Cline's appeal was undeniably more adult, but she was always more successful with country listeners. Her final four Top Ten country singles, in fact, didn't make the pop Top 40. Despite a severe auto accident in 1961, Cline remained hot through 1961 and 1962, with "Crazy" and "She's Got You" both becoming big country and pop hits. Much of her achingly romantic material was supplied by fresh talent like Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, and Willie Nelson (who penned "Crazy"). Although her commercial momentum had faded slightly, she was still at the top of her game when she died in a plane crash in March of 1963, at the age of 30. She was only a big star for a couple of years, but her influence was and remains huge. While the standards of professionalism on her recordings have been emulated ever since, they've rarely been complemented by as much palpable, at times heartbreaking emotion in the performances. For those who could do without some of more elaborate arrangements of her later years, many of her relatively unadorned appearances on radio broadcasts have been thankfully preserved and issued. Richie Unterberger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Marion Allison October 3, 1924 August 2, 2002 Back when Country Music was great, when Country Music was really Country andnot Pop flavored crap as we have on the radio today, it was people like Joe Allison who was in charge of the music at the labels. Joe Marion Allison, a giant in the record industry from McKinney, Texas, learned all about his trade before ever making the move to the recording studios or as manager of record labels. He was a commercial artist before entering show-business as a radio broadcaster.He broke into Country Music when he went to work for Tex Ritter in 1945 as a performer.He traveled the United States with Ritter, then again went back to radio as one of the foremost country music disc jockeys in America. While working radio in San Antonio, Texas, he had his first chart success as a songwriter with "When You Leave, Don't Slam The Door," a song Tex Ritter took to number 3 in the nation in 1946. 1947 found Joe on the road to Memphis, Tennessee and WDAI, but in 1949 he made the move to Nashville and WMAK. In 1950, he hosted his own daily show on WSM and WSIX.His show became a vehicle to success for many of country music's future stars like the Everly Brothers,Chet Atkins, Grady Martin, Brenda Lee and Anita Kerr,whom Joe stated many times, to be one of the few musical geniuses he had met.She later formed the Anita Kerr Singers, whom with the Jordanaires, handled the majority of vocal backing involved in the Nashville Sound. Anita was a prolific talent, which proved Joe Allison right again. In 1952, Joe moved to Los Angeles to take over Tennesse Ernie's radio show on KXLA. In the early 50's,Joe became involved with WSM-TV in Nashville, which was just getting it's start,as well at "Town Hall Party" on KTTV in Los Angeles.When 1957 rolled around, Joe Allison had his own TV show, "Country America" on channel 7, the ABC Affiliate in Los Angeles.For three years, this was a highly rated show and ran immediately after Lawrence Welk's Show. The show featured talent like Jerry Wallace,Glen Campbell, Gordon Terry, Dave Burgess and the man Joe considered to be the best singer he was ever involved with, Billy Strange. Billy didn't make it as a singer, but as a guitar player and arranger, he was in a class of his own. During the mid 50's, Joe enjoyed much success as a songwriter. Hit tunes like "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young,""It's A Great Life, If You Don't Weaken," for Faron Young and teen idol Tommy Sands had his first hit in 1957 with an Allison song, "Teenage Crush." Two years later, Jim Reeves cut "He'll Have To Go," which stayed on the charts for 34 weeks, 14 of those weeks at number one. That tune propelled Joe Allison to super-stardom as a songwriter. A female singer named Jeanne Blackrecorded an answer version of the Reeves hit called "He'll Have To Stay," which went to number six in 1960 and was the only song she ever charted.Jim Reeves also recorded "I'd Fight The World," which was released in 1974, ten years after his death and went to number 19 in the nation, staying on the charts 14 weeks. Roy Clark recorded "Love Is Just A State Of Mind," in 1969 and only took it to number 57 nationally. Artist who have recorded Joe Allison songs include Nat "King" Cole, Patsy Cline, The Limeliters, Elvis Presley, Ray Price, Ray Anthony, the Anita Kerr Singers, Bing Crosby, Tom Jones, Eddy Arnold and Billy Joe Royal. For his songs, he received five BMI awards. While on the West Coast, Joe was the professional manager of Central Songs publishing company, which included writers like Harlan Howard, Bobby Bare, Tommy Collins and Buck Owens.As a talent scout and producer for Liberty Records, Joe developed and ran the first specifically Country Music department at any label andhe did the early recordings of Willie Nelson and Hank Cochran. He also helped revive the career of Western Swing King Bob Wills by producing three outstanding albums on Bob, Tommy Duncan and the Texas Playboys, in my opinion, some of Wills best recording. At Dot Records he produced Roy Clark's "Yesterday When I was Young." Hank Thompson's "Smoky The Bar," and groomed hit makers like Tommy Overstreet, Jody Millerand Joe Stampley. 1972-74, he was with Capitol and brought to the attention of the world cowboy great Red Steagall and produced his old friend Tex Ritter. Joe Allison was influential in spreading commercial country music radio to the big urban markets in America and was one of the founding fathers of the Country Music Association. Joe is the one who sold the networks on the concept of the CMA Awards Show which we enjoy to this day. He was responsible for persuading the City of Nashville to donate the land on which the first Country Music Museum and Hall of Fame was built.He earned their achievement award in 1964. In the late 70's, he was inducted into both The Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition to all this, Joe was featured on Armed Forces Radio, bringing happiness to millions of men and women in the service of our country. As a radio promoter, he took the country music format to cities such as Sacramento, Seattle, San Francisco, Newark, Chicago, Wheeling and other major markets across America. I think I'm safe in saying, "we shall never see the likes of this man again in country music."He was an innovator, a mover & shaker, a salesman, true professional and the best friend a man could possibly have in this world. There was nothing phony about Joe Allison and you always knew where you stood with him. Throughout my radio and music career, I always knew his name, but never knew him personally until 1999 when we met for the first time in Carthage, Texas. The year before, he had been inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1999, it was my honor to join him, Charlie Walker, Ol' Mike Oatman, Paul Kallinger, Larry Scott, Bill Mack and Tom Perryman in the Texas Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. From that time, to his recent death, I was on the telephone with him at his home in Nashville to see how he was doing. Joe was in very bad health in 1999. I will treasue those phone calls forever. Joe was a great story teller and I gained hundred of stories by spending time and listening to what I had to say. To me, it was important that you meet this great man and know all he has done for our kind of music and, by the way, I didn't cover everything by a long shot. I have lost a great friend, his wife Rita, [whom he loved with his heart and soul] a great companion, his sons a great father and the country music industry has lost a giant among men. There will neverbe anyone who takes his place and I hope one day soon,we will see his plaque on the wall at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Dugg Collins August 3, 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Paycheck Donald Eugene Lytle Born May 31, 1938 in Greenfield, OH The first that many people ever heard of Johnny Paycheck was in 1977, when his "Take This Job and Shove It" inspired one-man wildcat strikes all over America. The next time was in 1985, when he was arrested for shooting a man at a bar in Hillsboro, Ohio. That Paycheck is remembered for a fairly amusical novelty song and a violent crime (for which he spent two years in prison) is a shame, for it just so happens that he is one of the mightiest honky-tonkers of his time. Born and raised in Greenfield, Ohio, Paycheck was performing in talent contests by the age of nine, and riding the rails as a drifter by the time he turned fifteen. After a Navy stint landed him in the brig for two years, he arrived in Nashville, where he performed in the bands of Porter Wagoner, Faron Young, Ray Price and George Jones. He recorded several singles under the name Donny Young, then, in 1965, cut his first sides as Johnny Paycheck for the Hilltop label. A year later, he and gadfly producer Aubrey Mayhew started the Little Darlin' label, for which Paycheck recorded his greatest work. Marked by Lloyd Green's knockout steel guitar and Paycheck's broad, resonant vocals (not to mention his rounder's sense of humor) his Little Darlin' records of the 1960s have since become cult favorites. After splitting with Mayhew (and after running his life into the gutter) Paycheck made a celebrated comeback on Epic in the 1970s. "Take This Job and Shove It" was the most famous result, though ballads like "She's All I Got" and "Someone to Give My Love To" are far more indicative of his stylistic range. Born Donald Lytle, Paycheck began playing guitar when he was six, and within three years, he was performing talent contests across the state. When he was 15, he ran away from home, hitchhiking and hoboing his away across the country, singing in honky tonks and clubs along the way. By his late teens, he had joined the Navy, but while he was serving, he assaulted a superior officer and was convicted of court martial. As a result, he spent two years in the brig. Upon his release, he moved to Nashville, where made the acquaintence of Buddy Killen at Decca Records, who offered him a contract. At Decca, Paycheck released two rockabilly singles on the label under the name Donny Young; neither were hits. Shortly afterward, he moved to Mercury where he released two country singles, which were also failures. By that time, he had begun supporting other musicians, playing bass and occasionally steel guitar with Porter Wagoner, Faron Young and Ray Price. He frequently moved between employers because of his short-fused temper. Paycheck finally found his match in George Jones. He stayed with Jones for four years, fronting the Jones Boys between 1962 and 1966, and singing backup on George's hits "I'm a People," "The Race is On," and "Love Bug." Toward the end of his stint with Jones, Donald Lytle refashioned himself as Johnny Paycheck, taking his name from a Chicago heavyweight boxer. Late in 1965, he relaunched his solo career with the assistence of producer Aubrey Mayhew, who produced a pair of singles "A-11" and "Heartbreak Tennessee" for Hilltop Records. Though it only charted at number 26, "A-11" caused a sensation within the country community, earning several Grammy nominations as well as reviews that compared Paycheck to his mentor, George Jones. In 1966, he and Mayhew formed Little Darlin' Records, primarily designing the label to promote Paycheck, but also recording Jeannie C. Riley, Bobby Helms and Lloyd Green. That summer, "The Lovin' Machine" became Johnny's first Top Ten hit. Also that year, he wrote Tammy Wynette's first hit, "Apartment #9," with Bobby Austin and Fuzzy Owen; Paycheck also wrote Ray Price's number three hit "Touch My Heart." All of Paycheck's recordings for Little Darlin' Records rank among his grittiest, hardest country but they weren't necessarily big hits Between 1967 and 1969, Paycheck had eight more hit singles, with each record progressively charting at a lower position than its predecessor "Motel Time Again" reached number 13 in early 1967, which "IfI'm Gonna Sink" climbed to number 73 in late 1968. Though "Wherever You Are" showed signs of a comeback in the summer of 1969, peaking at number 31, the label went bankrupt shortly after its release, partially due to Paycheck's declining commercial performence, partially due to his heavy drinking and erratic behavior. Over the course of the next year, he moved to California and sunk deeply into substance abuse. Meanwhile, Billy Sherrill at Epic Records had been searching for Paycheck with the hopes of producing his records. The label finally tracked him down in 1971 and offered him a contract, provided that he cleaned himself up. Paycheck accepted the offer and with Sherrill's assistence, he kicked his addictions. Like many of Sherrill's records of the early '70s, his Johnny Paycheck recoordings were heavily produced and often layered with stings. Though this was a shift from the hardcore country that Paycheck made on Little Darlin', the new approach was a hit his debut single for the label, "She's All I Got," became a number two hit upon its fall 1971 release. It was quickly followed by another Top Ten hit, "Someone to Give My Love To," and Paycheck was finally becoming a star. During the next four years, he had 12 additional hit singles including 1973's Top Ten singles "Something About You I Love" and "Mr. Lovemaker," and 1974's "For a Minute There" with the more accessible, pop-oriented Sherrill crafted for him, but Paycheck's wild ways hadn't changed all that much. In 1972, he was convicted of check forgery and in 1976, he was saddled with a paternity suit, tax problems, and bankruptcy. Accordingly, he shifted his musical style in the mid-'70s to put him in step with the renegade outlaw country movement. Johnny Paycheck's first outlaw album, 1976's 11 Months and 29 Days (which happened to be the length of his suspended sentence for passing a bad check), featured a photo of him in a jail cell on the cover, signalling his change of direction. Initially, his outlaw records weren't hits, but early in 1977 he returned to the Top Ten with a pair of Top Ten singles, "Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets" and "I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)." Later that year, he released his cover of David Allan Coe's "Take This Job and Shove It," which became his biggest hit, spending two weeks at number one; its B-side, "Colorado Kool-Aid," also charted at number 50. Soon, Paycheck's records were becoming near-parodies of his lifestyle, as the title "Me and the I.R.S." and "D.O.A. (Drunk on Arrival)" indicated. Nevertheless, he stayed at the top of the charts, with "Friend, Lover, Wife" and "Mabellene" both reaching number seven in late 1978 and early 1979. Shortly after the twin success of those singles, his career began to crumble due to his excessive, violent behavior. In 1979, his former manager Glenn Ferguson began a prolonged and difficult legal battle. In 1981, a flight attendant for Frontier Airlines sued him for slander after he began a fight on a plane. The following year, he was arrested for alleged rape. The charges were later reduced and he was fined, but by that point, Epic had had enough and dropped him from the label. Paycheck moved over to AMI, where he had anumber of small hit singles between 1984 and 1985. Later in 1985, he had a bar-room brawl with a stranger in Hillsboro, Ohio that ended with Paycheck shooting and injuring his opponent. The singer was arrested for aggravated assault and spent the next four years appealing the sentence, while he recorded for Mercury Records. None of his singles for the label reached the Top 40, and he was dropped from the label in 1987. He spent 1988 at Desperado Records before signing with Damascus the following year, following his conversion to Christianity. In 1989, Paycheck's appeals had expired and he was sentenced to the Chillicothe Correctional Institute. Johnny spent two years at the prison, even performing a concert with Merle Haggard at the jail during his stint, before being released on parole in January of 1991. Following his release, Paycheck kept a low profile, playing shows in Branson, Missouri and recording for the small label, Playback Records. Paycheck is now suffering from health problems and is currently inactive in country music. Dan Cooper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tammy Wynette Born-Virginia Wynette Pugh May 5, 1942 in Itawamba County, MS Died April 6, 1998 In many ways, Tammy Wynette deserves the title of the First Lady of Country Music. During the late '60s and early '70s, she dominated the country charts, scoring 17 number one hits. Along with Loretta Lynn, she defined the role of female country vocalists in the '70s. After her father, who was a musician, died when she was just eight months old, Wynette was raised on her grandparents' home in Mississippi; her mother moved to Birmingham, AL, to do military work. As a child, Tammy taught herself to play a variety of instruments left behind by her father. When she was a teenager, she moved to Birmingham to be with her mother. At 17, she married her first husband, Euple Byrd, and set to work as a hairdresser and beautician. The marriage was short-lived, but it produced three children within three years. By the time her third child was born, the couple were divorced. Tammy's third child had spinal meningitis, which meant she had several expensive medical bills to pay. In order to gain some extra money, she began performing in clubs at night. In 1965, she landed a regular spot on the television program the Country Boy Eddie Show, which led to appearances on Porter Wagoner's syndicated show. The following year, she moved to Nashville, where she auditioned for several labels before producer Billy Sherrill signed her to Epic Records. "Apartment #9," Wynette's first single, was released late in 1966 and almost broke the country Top 40 early in 1967. It was followed by "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," which became a big hit, peaking at number three. The song launched a string of Top Ten hits that ran until the end of the '70s, interrupted by three singles that didn't crack the Top Ten. After "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad" was a success, "My Elusive Dreams" became her first number one in the summer of 1967, followed by "I Don't Wanna Play House" later that year. During 1968 and 1969, Tammy had five number one hits "Take Me to Your World," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Stand By Your Man" (all 1968), "Singing My Song," and "The Ways to Love a Man" (both 1969). In 1968, she started a relationship with George Jones, which would prove to be extremely stormy. Beginning in 1971, Wynette and Jones recorded a series of duets the first was the Top Ten "Take Me" which were as popular as their solo hits. However, the marriage was difficult and the couple divorced in 1975; they continued to record sporadically over the next two decades. Throughout the '70s, Tammy Wynette racked up number one hits. In the early '80s, her career began to slow down. Although she still had hit singles, she didn't reach the Top Ten as easily as she did in the previous decade. That trend continued throughout the rest of the decade and into the '90s. Even though she didn't have as many hits as she had in the past, Tammy remained a respected star and a popular concert attraction. Since the '80s, Wynette had suffered a variety of health problems, including inflammations of her bile duct. She was hospitalized several times during the mid-'90s before her death on April 6, 1998. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loretta Lynn - The Coal Miners Daughter AKA Loretta Webb Born Apr 14, 1934 in Butcher's Hollow, KY Loretta Lynn is one of the classic country singers. During the '60s and '70s, she ruled the charts, racking up over 70 hits as a solo artist and a duet partner. Lynn helped forge the way for strong, independent women in country music. As her song (and movie and book) says, Loretta Lynn is a coal miner's daughter, born in Butcher Hollow, KY, in 1934. As a child, she sang in church and a variety of local concerts. In January 1948, she married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn. She was 13 years old at the time. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Custer, WA, where they raised four children. After a decade of motherhood, Lynn began performing her own songs in local clubs, backed by a band led by her brother, Jay Lee Webb. It took her a decade of gigging before she was noticed by a record label. In 1959, she signed a contract with Zero Records, which released her debut single, "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl," in 1960. The honky tonk ballad became a hit thanks to the insistent, independent promotion of Lynn and her husband. The pair would drive from one radio station to the next, getting the DJs to play her single, and sent out thousands of copies to stations. All of the effort paid off the single reached number 14 on the charts and attracted the attention of the Wilburn Brothers. The Wilburns hired Lynn to tour with them in 1960 and advised her to relocate to Nashville. She followed their advice and moved to the city in late 1960. After she arrived in Nashville, she signed with Decca Records. At Decca, she would work with Owen Bradley, who had produced Patsy Cline. Lynn released her first Decca single, "Success," in 1962 and it went straight to number six, beginning a string of Top Ten singles that would run through the rest of the decade and throughout the next. She was a hard honky tonk singer for the first half of the '60s and rarely strayed from the genre. Although she still worked within the confines of honky tonk in the latter half of the decade, her sound became more personal, varied and ambitious, particularly lyrically. Beginning with 1966's number two hit "You Ain't Woman Enough," Lynn began writing songs that had a feminist viewpoint, which was unheard of in country music. Her lyrical stance became more autobiographical and realistic as time wore on, highlighted by such hits as "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)" (1966), "Your Squaw Is on the Warpath" (1968), "Woman of the World (Leave My World Alone)" (1969), and a tune about birth control called "The Pill" (1974). Between 1966 and 1970, Loretta Lynn racked up 13 Top Ten hits, including four number one hits "Don't Come Home A'Drinkin'," "Fist City" (1968), "Woman of the World," and the autobiographical "Coal Miner's Daughter." In 1971, she began a professional partnership with Conway Twitty. As a duo, Lynn and Twitty had five consecutive number one hits between 1971 and 1975 "After the Fire Is Gone" (1971), "Lead Me On" (1971), "Lousiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (1973), "As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone" (1974), and "Feelins'" (1974). The hit-streak kick-started what would become one of the most successful duos of country history. For four consecutive years (1972-1975), Lynn and Twitty were named the Vocal Duo of the Year by the Country Music Association. In addition to their five number one singles, they had seven other Top Ten hits between 1976 and 1981. Loretta Lynn published her autobiography, Coal Miner's Daughter, in the mid-'70s. In 1980, the book was adapted for the screen, with Sissy Spacek as Lynn. The film was one of the most critically acclaimed and successful films of the year and Spacek would win the Academy Award for her performance. All of the attention surrounding the movie made Loretta Lynn a household name with the American mainstream. Although she continued to be a popular concert attraction throughout the '80s, she wasn't able to continue her domination of the country charts. "I Lie," her last Top Ten single, arrived in early 1982, while her last Top 40 single, "Heart Don't Do This to Me," was in 1985. In light of her declining record sales, Lynn backed away from recording frequently during the late '80s and '90s, concentrating on performing instead. In 1993, she recorded the Honky Tonk Angels album with Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton. Still Woman Enough was released in mid-2000. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roy Clark - Mr. Entertainment Born: Roy Linwood Clark Apr 15, 1933 in Meherren, Va. In the '70s Roy Clark symbolized country music in the US and abroad. Between guest-hosting for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and performing to packed houses in the Soviet Union on a tour that sold out all 18 concerts, he used his musical talent and his entertaining personality to bring country music into homes across the world. As one of the hosts of TV's Hee Haw (Buck Owens was the other) for more than 20 years Clark picked and sang and offered country corn to 30 million people weekly. He is first and foremost an entertainer, drawing crowds at venues as different as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and the Opry. His middle-of-the-road approach has filled a national void, with Clark offering country that was harder-edged than Kenny Rogers but softer and more accessible than Waylon Jennings. Among his numerous vocal hits are "Yesterday When I Was Young" and "Thank God and Greyhound." Instrumentally he has won awards, for both guitar and banjo. Clark has also co-starred on the silver screen with Mel Tillis, in the comedy Uphill All the Way. The son of two amateur musicians, Roy Clark began playing banjo, guitar and mandolin at an early age. By the time he was 14, he was playing guitar behind his father at local dances. Within a few years, he had won two National Banjo Championships, with his second win earning him an appearence at the Grand Ole Opry. Despite his success as a musician, Roy decided to pursue an athletic career, rejecting baseball for boxing. At the age of 17, he won 15 fights in a row before deciding that he would rather be a musician than a fighter. Clark found work at local clubs, radio stations and television shows. By 1955, he was a regular on Jimmy Dean's DC-based television show, Country Style. Once Dean left Washington for New York, Clark took over the show and over the next few years, he earned a reputation as an excellent musician and entertainer. In 1960, he decided to leave the East Coast to pursue his fame and fortune out West. That year, he became the leader of Wanda Jackson's band, playing on her hit singles like "Let's Have a Party," as well as touring with the singer and playing concerts with her in Las Vegas. Once Jackson decided to break up her band, Clark continued to play regularly at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas and through his new manager, Jackson's ex-manager Jim Halsey, he landed spots on The Tonight Show and the sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, where he played both Cousin Roy and Big Mama Halsey. In 1963, Clark signed to Capitol Records, and his first single for the label, "Tips of My Fingers," became a Top Ten hit. Over the next two years, he had a handful of minor hits for Capitol before he switched labels, signing with Dot in 1968. At Dot, his career took off again, through covers of pop songs like Charles Aznavour's "Yesterday, When I Was Young" (number nine, 1969). However, what really turned Clark's career around was not records, it was a television show called Hee Haw. Conceived as a country version of Laugh-In, Hee Haw began its run in 1969 on CBS. Roy Clark and Bakersfield country pioneer Buck Owens were picked as co-hosts. Over the next two years, it was one of the most popular shows on television. In 1971, CBS dropped the show because its corny country humor didn't fit the network's new, urban image, but Hee Haw quickly moved into syndiacation, where it coninued to thrive throughout the decade. While Hee Haw was at the height of its popularity, Clark had a string of country hits that ranged from Top Ten singles like "I Never Picked Cotton" (1970), "Thank God and Greyhound" (1970), "The Lawrence Welk - Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka" (1972), "Come Live With Me" (1973), "Somewhere Between Love and Tomorrow" (1973), "Honeymoon Feelin'" (1974), and "If I Had It to Do All Over Again" (1976), to a multitude of minor hits. Though he didn't consistently top the country charts, Clark became one of the most recognizable faces in country music, appearing on television commercials, Hee Haw, and touring not only the United States, but a number of other countries, including a ground-breaking sojourn to the Soviet Union in 1976. Frequently, he played concerts and recorded albums with a wide variety of musicians from other genres, including the Boston Pops Orchestra and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. In 1979, the momentum of his career began to slow down, as he left his long-time label ABC/Dot for MCA. Over the next two years, he had a number of minor hits before leaving the label. He recorded one inspirational album for Songbird in 1981 before signing to Churchill in 1982. Hee Haw's audience was beginning to decline in the early '80s, but Clark diversified his interests by investing in property, minor-league baseball teams, cattle, publishing and advertising. None of Clark's recordings for Churchill were big hits, and his brief stays at Silver Dollar in 1986 and Hallmark in 1989 also resulted in no hits. Nevertheless, Clark had become a country icon by the mid-'80s, so his lack of sales didn't matter he continued to sell out concerts and win awards; he even made the comedy western Uphill All the Way in 1984 with Mel Tillis. In 1987, he was belatedly made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. During the '90s, Clark concentrated on performing at his theater in Branson, Missouri, sporadically releasing re-recordings of his big hits on a variety of small labels, though 2000's Live At Billy Bob's Texas marked his first live release in nearly a decade. Christmas Memories followed that same year. David Vinopal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Ed Brown Born: James Edward Brown Born April 1, 1934 in Sparkman, Arkansas Jim Ed Brown came to fame as a member of the '50s vocal group the Browns, where he was the band's lead male vocalist. In 1965, when the group was still together, he embarked on a solo career that would eventually eclipse the success of the Browns. Brown and his older sister, Maxine, began performing while he was still in high school. In 1954, the duo signed a contract with the Fabor label, where they released five singles. Later that year, their sister Bonnie joined the duo and they became the Browns. From 1956 until 1967, the Browns were signed to RCA records, where they had a number of moderately successful hit singles, highlighted by the 1959 number one "The Three Bells." Brown began his solo career in 1965, two years before the Browns disbanded. Initially, he didn't have much success and just scraped the bottom of the country Top 40. Once the Browns disbanded, Brown began to have more substantial hits, beginning with the number 18 single "You Can Have Her," which was a cover of the Roy Hamilton hit. That was followed by the beer-drinking anthem "Pop A Top," which climbed to number three. Although his next single, "Bottle, Bottle," reached number 13, Brown didn't have any major hits for the rest of the '60s. As his chart performance stagnated in 1968, he formed a backing group called the Gems and began a residency at the Sahara Tahoe's Juniper Lounge. In 1969, he hosted the syndicated television show, The Country Place, which ran until 1970. As The Country Place was ending its run, Brown had his first major hit since "Pop A Top," with the number four single "Morning." Again, he wasn't able to immediately follow "Morning" with another Top 10 hit, but he began charting more frequently. In 1973, he had two Top 10 hits, "Southern Loving and "Sometime Sunshine," which were followed by the Top 10 "It's That Time of Night" in early 1974. Jim Ed Brown had his greatest success in the late '70s, when he regularly dueted with Helen Cornelius. The duo had six Top 10 hits between 1976 and 1980, including their debut single, "I Don't Want To Have To Marry You," which went to number one in 1976. During this time, he had some solo hits, but only two of them broke the Top 40. Brown and Cornelius ended their partnership in 1981, following the number 13 hit "Don't Bother to Knock." After the breakup of his duo with Helen Cornelius, Jim Ed Brown pretty much retired from recording. He made the occasional appearance on the Grand Ole Opry and he sometimes reunited with Cornelius. Brown also hosted TV game shows and talent contests throughout the '80s. Toward the end of the decade, he opened the Jim Ed Brown Theater near Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee, where he performed regularly well into the '90s. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Gibson Born Apr 3, 1928 in Shelby, NC Singer/songwriter Don Gibson was one of the most popular and influential forces in '50s and '60s country, scoring numerous hit singles as a performer and a songwriter. Gibson's music touched on both traditional country and highly-produced country-pop, which is part of the reason he had such a broad audience. For nearly a decade after his first hit single, "Sweet Dreams," in 1956, he was a reliable hitmaker and his songs have become country classics they have been covered by a wide range of artists, including Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Kitty Wells, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, and Ronnie Milsap. Gibson began playing guitar while he was a high school student in North Carolina, playing local radio stations and dances. In 1946, he became a regular with the Tennessee Barn Dance in Knoxville. Around the same time, he began recording western songs with the Sons of the Soil, both on Mercury and RCA Victor Records. In 1950, Gibson assumed control of the band, renaming them Don Gibson and his King Cotton Kinfolks and switching their musical direction to honky tonk. Although their sound was more focused, they remained unsuccessful. Gibson continued to perform on the radio, as well as Esslinger's Club in Tennessee. At the nightclub, Wesley Rose saw Gibson perform and offered him a writing contract. Don would only accept the deal if he was allowed to record. Rose managed to get Gibson a contract with Columbia, which proved unsuccessful. Again, Rose secured him another contract, this time with MGM. Gibson's first single for the label, "Sweet Dreams," became a Top Ten hit and was covered by Faron Young, who took it to number three. Following the success of "Sweet Dreams," Gibson was signed to RCA in 1957 by Chet Atkins, who would become his producer for the next seven years. Released early in 1958, Don's first RCA single, "Oh Lonesome Me," was a blockbuster, spending eight weeks at the top of the country charts and crossing over into the pop Top Ten. Gibson and Atkins developed a pop-friendly style which featured rock & roll flourishes that brought him to a larger audience. In the course of 1958-1961, Gibson had a total of 11 Top Ten singles, including "I Can't Stop Lovin' You, "Blue Blue Day," "Who Cares," "Don't Tell Me Your Troubles," "Just One Time," "Sea of Heartbreak," and "Lonesome Number One." Although his career wasn't as successful in the latter half of the '60s, he still had the occasional Top Ten single, including "(Yes) I'm Hurting" (1966), "Funny, Familiar, Forgotten, Feelings" (1966), "Rings of Gold" (1969), and "There's A Story (Goin' Round)" (1969). During the late '60s, he suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction, but he cleaned up in the early '70s, which led to a comeback in 1971. Switching record labels from RCA to Hickory, Gibson had a Top Ten hit with "Country Green" in 1972. The following summer, he had his last number one single, "Woman (Sensuous Woman)." He also had a series of duets with Sue Thompson between 1971 and 1976, which were all moderately successful. After two Top Ten hits in 1974 "One Day at a Time" and "Bring Back Your Love to Me" he settled into a string of minor hits that ran until 1980's "Love Fires." During the '80s and '90s, he continued to tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry. He has been honored in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Sovine Born: Woodrow Wilson Sovine July 17, 1918 in Charleston, WV Died April 4, 1980 in Nashville, TN Though he had a long, distinguished career in country music, singer/songwriter and guitarist Red Sovine is best remembered for his earnest, funny and, at times, highly sentimental odes to the life of the American trucker. Born to an impoverished family in Charleston, West Virginia, he was inspired as a child by WCHS radio musicians Buddy Starcher and Frank Welling. Sovine and his childhood friend Johnnie Bailes joined Jim Pike's Carolina Tar Heels and performed as "the Singing Sailors." It was not a particularly successful venture and Sovine later became a factory worker. He also continued to put on a local radio show while his friend Johnnie went on to form the Bailes Brothers. Bailes continued to encourage Sovine to return to music, and in the late '40s, he finally began pursuing a radio career again. He landed a job at KWKH, Shreveport, but they gave him an early morning spot and his performances went unnoticed. Frustrated, he was ready to quit the business when Hank Williams helped him get a better position at WFSA in Montgomery, Alabama, where he soon developed a large following. With Williams' help, Sovine landed a contract with MGM Records in 1949, and over the next four years he recorded 28 singles, mostly honky tonk, that didn't make much of a dent on the charts but did establish him as a solid performer. When not recording, Sovine starred on Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride. In the early '50s, Webb Pierce, one of his fellow Hayride performers, began a string of Top Ten country hits. Pierce convinced Sovine to lead his Wondering Boys band and also helped Red sign to Decca in 1954. He continued recording but had no hits until cutting a duet with Goldie Hill, "Are You Mine?," which peaked in the Top 15 in 1955. The following year, he had his first number one when he duetted with Webb Pierce on George Jones' "Why Baby Why." Also in 1956, Sovine had two other Top Five singles and started a brief stint on the Grand Ole Opry. After producing close to 50 sides with Decca by 1959, Sovine signed to Starday and began touring the club circuit as a solo act. It took him five years to produce a hit for the label with "Dream House for Sale," which reached number 22 in 1964, nearly eight years after his last hit. In 1966, Sovine at last found his niche when he recorded "Giddy-up Go," his very first spoken-word truck driver song. The single spent six weeks atop the country charts and even crossed over to become a minor pop hit. Subsequent truck-driving hits included the ghost story "Phantom 309" and the tearjerking tale of a crippled child's CB-radio relationship with caring truckers, "Teddy Bear." The latter was his biggest hit since "Giddyup Go," spending three weeks at the top of the country charts in 1976 and reaching number 40 on the pop charts. He followed "Teddy Bear" with "Little Joe," the tale of a blinded trucker and his devoted canine friend, which became his last big hit. Sovine died in 1980 as the result of suffering a heart attack while driving his van. Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terry LaVerne Stafford Born: November 22, 1941- Hollis, OK Died: March 17,1996 - Amarillo, Texas Terry Stafford is best-known for his Top 10 1964 hit single, "Suspicion."As a friend, I will always remember him for his great talent and his easy going manner, almost to the point of being shy. He performed for me once during a Listener Appreciation Show in the mid 70's. He was scared to death, hometown audience and all you know. When I introduced him, he walked right out there like the pro he was, flashed that big smile and had 'em before he sang his first note. Never did see Terry get upset about anything. He was a true friend, one I knew I could count on for anything and, there was never an ounce of ego in the mans makeup, even when he was riding high with "Suspicion" at # 3 in the nation, with the Beatles holding down the # 1, 2, 4 & 5 positions, according to Cashbox Magazine. He was born in Hollis, Oklahoma, but was raised in Amarillo. He graduated from Palo Duro High School in 1960 and told his class mates he was leaving for California to make hit records. Those class mates who laughed at his dream were in for a big shock when "Suspicion" hit the radio stations nationwide and became a monster hit. Stafford's voice resembled Elvis Presley's, especially on "Suspicion," which was originally recorded by Presley on his 1962 album Pot Luck. After "Suspicion" peaked at number three early in 1964, he had another Top 40 hit with "I'll Touch a Star" which reached number 23 in the summer of that year. Following "I'll Touch a Star," none of Stafford's singles made the charts. In the late '60s, he turned to professional songwriting and he continued writing songs into the '80s. Two of his best-known songs are Buck Owens' "Big in Vegas" and George Strait's "Amarillo by Morning." Years before Strait cut "Amarillo By Morning," Terry recorded the song for Atlantic Records. It was the "B" side of a pop tune Terry was covering country called, "Has Anyone Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose."[cover tunes were big in the 70's]Well, I can tell you, the "A" side of that record never saw the light of day with me and my radio station in Amarillo.It got such a response, the label soon gave up on "Gypsy Rose" and promoted "Amarillo By Morning."The tune only went to # 31, but a song great enough to get the attention of George Strait later on down the line.To this very day, the song that started in 1973, is a theme song for rodeos and cowboys. Terry always loved coming back home to Amarillo to see his Mother, Father and all his friends.He madehis home in the Los Angeles area because he could find a great deal of work out there. Many young people, can't wait to be rid of their home town once they finish High School.Had the music opportunities been available in Amarillo that awaited him in Los Angeles, I know he would have never left.Getting back home, even for just a short visit, was always on his mind.He loved Amarillo, Texas. Terry did return home late summer of 1995. I had open heart surgery in January of '95. Upon his return, he called me as he always did.He was very excited about a possible deal with a record label in Dallas and said he thought he could get us both on the label if I had any interest in that. Then we talked about how much fun we could have out there doing dates together. I suggested we get together and he kept saying he was about to have some surgery to fix a problem he was having with his shoulder. We talked on a daily basis and the more we talked, I could sense there was something really bad going on with him. By the time October rolled around, mutual friends in the music business from Nashville started calling me asking about Terry's condition.He had been calling them as well, but remaining elusive about what was happening. After hanging up from a call from Terry, I told my wife Joyce, "I know there is something serious happening here and he has come home to die." I called him right back and made him admit he was in trouble health wise. Problem was, his liver was about to stop working and, he had gained an enourmous amount of weight. He wouldn't see me in person because he didn't want me to see him in that condition. By the first of March, 1996, he was hospitalized.I called for him at his Mother's house because I had not heard from him in several days. She told me he was in Intensive Care. I asked if he could have visitors and she said he probably would not know I was there. After a few days of waiting,I just drove to the hospital and found him. He was on a respirator. His eyes were closed as if sleeping and,I took his hand and spoke. He opened his eyes just a little and closed them again. I said, "Terry, I know you can't speak with that thing in your throat, but just wiggle your fingers to let Ol' Dugg know that you know, I came to see you." He did and, I laid his hand back down on the bed and had to walk away. Terry Stafford diedSunday, March 17, 1996. He was laid to rest Tuesday, March 19, 1996 in Llano Cemetery. As I sat there in the Chapel that day, I really didn't hear what the Preacher had to say. I was thinking about that shy man who was my friend for so many years and just remembering all the great times we had together. His own words kept going through my mind. "I haven't got a dime, but what I got is mine, I ain't rich, but Lord I'm free. Amarillo By Morning,Amarillo's where I'll be."- Dugg Collins -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jan Howard Born: Lula Grace Johnson March 13, 1930 in West Plains, MO During the '60s, Jan Howard was one of the hottest female vocalists in country music. Born Lula Grace Johnson in West Plains, Missouri, she moved to L.A. in 1953 and became involved with songwriter Harlan Howard, whom she married a month after they first met. Howard helped her break into country music, sending her demos to various companies. As a result she began singing demos for Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond. In 1959, using the pseudonym "Jan Howard," she recorded "Yankee Go Home." In 1960, the Howards went to Nashville; there, Jan appeared on the Prince Albert Show segment of the Grand Ole Opry. Later that year, the Howards moved to Nashville permanently, where Jan's successful duet with Wynn Stewart resulted in her first solo single, "The One You Slip Around With," which made the Top 15; her next song, another duet with Stewart, reached the Top 30. In 1962, she charted with "I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again" and issued an eponymous album. Although she didn't do well on the charts, she continued to tour extensively. Two years later her career finally caught fire. Her songs of the period reflected her troubled marriage; in 1965, she reached the Top 30 with "What Makes a Man Wander?" Later that year, Howard joined Bill Anderson's touring and television shows. In 1966, she and Anderson scored two hits with "In Know You're Married (But I Love You Still)" and "Time Out." She then scored a Top Five hit with her solo "Evil on Your Mind. " Her next hit was "Bad Seed," and towards the end of the year, she had her only number one hit with "For Loving You," a duet with Anderson. In October 1968, Howard dreamed that her eldest son had been killed in Vietnam, which turned out to be true; shortly thereafter, she released the Top 15 single "My Son." In 1971, Howard became a member of the Grand Ole Opry; two years later, her youngest son committed suicide. She joined the Johnny Cash Show and in 1977 had three minor hits, including "To Love A Rolling Stone." In 1979, she and Tammy Wynette embarked on a tour of the U.S. and Great Britain. In 1984, Howard released the album Tainted Love, followed by Life of a Country Girl Singer in 1987. The same year, she published her best-selling autobiography Sunshine and Shadow. Howard remarried in 1990 and continued to appear on the Opry. Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Faron Young The Singing Sheriff Born February 25, 1932 in Shreveport, LA Died December 10, 1996 Originally known as the "Hillbilly Heartthrob" and the "Singing Sheriff," Faron Young had one of the longest-running and most popular careers in , country music history. Emerging in the ea, rly '50s, Young was one of the most popular honky tonkers to appear in the wake of Hank Williams' death, paritially because he was able to smooth out some of the grittiest elements his music. At first, he balanced honky tonk with pop vocal phrasing and flourishes. This combination of grit and polish resulted in a streak of Top 10 hits including "If You Ain't Lovin'," "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young," "Sweet Dreams" "Alone With You" and "Country Girl" that ran throughout the '50s. During the '60s, Young gave himself over to country-pop, and while the hits weren't quite as big, they didn't stop coming until the early '80s. Through that time, he was a staple at the Grand Ole Opry and various television shows, including Nashville Now, and he also founded the major country music magazine, Music City News. Most importantly, he continued to seek out new songwriters including Don Gibson, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson thereby cultivating a new generation of talent. Faron Young was born and raised outside of Shrevport, Louisiana. While he was growing up on his father's dairy farm, he was given a guitar, and by the time he entered high school, he had begun singing in a country band. Following high school, he briefly attended college, before he left school to join the Louisiana Hayride as a regular performer. While on the Hayride, he met Webb Pierce and in a short time, the pair were touring throughout the south, singing as a duo in various nightclubs and honky tonks. In 1951, he recorded "Have I Waited Too Long" "Tattle Tale Tears" for the independent label Gotham. After hearing the singles, Capitol Records decided to buy Young's contract away from Gotham in 1952. That same year, he was invited to perform regularly on the Grand Ole Opry. Just as his career was taking off, Young was drafted into the Army to serve in the Korean War. Assigned to the Special Service division, he sang for the troops in Asia and appeared on recruitment shows; while on leave, he recorded his debut Capitol, "Goin' Steady." Upon its early 1953 release, it climbed to number two on the country charts and it was followed in the summer by "I Can't Wait (For the Sun to Go Down)," which hit number five. Young was discharged from the Army in November of 1954, releasing "If You Ain't Lovin," his biggest hit to date, shortly after he returned. The single was quickly followed in the spring of 1955 by "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young," which became his first number one hit, and the number two single, "All Right." As soon as he returned to the States, Faron Young began turning out singles at a very rapid pace, and most of them charted in the Top 10. In addition to recording, he began appearing in films, starting with 1955's Hidden Guns. Over the next few years, he was in no less than ten films including Daniel Boone, Road to Nashville, Stampede, A Gun and a Gavel, That's Country and,Raiders of Old California was featured in many television shows. Upon his first film appearance, Faron earned the nickname the Young Sheriff, which eventually metamorphasized into the Singing Sheriff. Young's career truly began to hit its stride in 1956, as "I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night" / "You're Still Mine" reached number four and three, respectively, during the spring, followed by the number two "Sweet Dreams" later that summer. "Sweet Dreams" not only was his biggest hit since "All Right," but it gave songwriter Don Gibson his first significant exposure. Soon, Young developed a reputation for finding promising new songwriters, bringing Roy Drusky's "Alone with You" to the top of the charts in the summer of 1958 and taking Willie Nelson's "Hello Walls" to number one in 1961; Young was one of the first artists to record a Nelson song. Young continued to record for Capitol through 1962, when he switched labels and signed with Mercury. In general, Young's Mercury recordings were more pop-oriented than his Capitol work, possibly because "Hello Walls," his last number one for Capitol, reached number 12 on the pop charts. Throughout the early and mid-'60s, Young's music became more polished and produced, yet his audience didn't decline dramatically he may not have been hitting the every top of the charts with the same frequency as he was during the '50s, but he was still a consistent hit-maker, and singles like "You'll Drive Me Back (Into Her Arms Again)," "Keeping Up with the Joneses" and "Walk Tall" climbed into the Top 10. Faron left the Grand Ole Opry in 1965, deciding that it , was more profitable for him to tour as a solo artist instead of being restricted to the Opry. Following his departure from the Opry, Young began to explore a number of different business ventures, including a Nashville-based racetrack and helping to run the country music publication Music City News, which he co-founded with Preston Temple in 1963. By the end of the decade, he began to return to honky tonk, most notably with the hit "Wine Me Up," which reached number two upon its summer 1969 release. For nearly five years, Young continued to reach the Top 10 with regularity, including such hits as "Your Time's Comin'," "If I Ever Fall in Love (With a Honky Tonk Girl), "Step Aside," and "It's Four in the Morning." During this time, Young continued to appear on television shows and he made the occasional appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. During the late '70s, his hits gradually began to fade away. In 1979, he left Mercury for MCA, but none of his singles for the new label reached the Top 40. For most of the '80s, Young performed concerts, maintained his business interests and appeared on television in short, he was acting like the country music statesman he was. In 1988, he briefly returned to recording, signing with the small label Step One, and had two minor hits on the label. After that brief burst of activity, he retreated to semi-retirement, occasionally making concert appearances. During the '90s, Young was stricken with a debilitating emphysema. Depressed by his poor health, he shot himself on December 9, 1996 and passed away the next day. Though he was under-appreciated toward the end of his career, Faron Young was a ground-breaking vocalist during the '50s, and he remains one of the finest honky tonkers of his time. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Louvin Brothers Formed July 4, 1940 in Knoxville, TN Disbanded 1963 Group Members: Lonnie Ira Loudermilk Born: April 21, 1924 Died: June 28, 1965 Charlie Elzer Loudermilk Born: July 7, 1927 From the close-harmony brother acts of the '30s evolved Charlie and Ira Louvin, ranking among the top duos in country music history. With Ira's incredibly high, pure tenor and Charlie's emotional and smooth melody tenor, they learned well from the Bolick brothers (the Blue Sky Boys), the Monroe Brothers, the Delmore Brothers and other major family duos of the previous generation, preserving the old-time flavor, while bringing this genre into the '50s, when country music moved to a newer sound. Whatever type of songs they recorded gospel, folk, hillbilly, or '50s pop those songs became the Louvins. Add to the list the many Louvin compositions (for example, "If I Could Only Win Your Love," Emmylou Harris' first hit), and you have an act that is outstanding in country music history. Their career took a while to get going, partly because of interruptions from WW II and the Korean War. In the early '50s, after making a reputation for unexcelled gospel singing, the Louvins broadened their repertoire, recording "The Get Acquainted Waltz" (with Chet Atkins adding another guitar to Charlie's and to Ira's mandolin), a fair hit that showed success was reachable with non-religious music. The electric guitar, with the duo's unique harmony and Ira's exceptional tenor, created a sound that fans asked for in increasing numbers. In 1955, after ten unsuccessful auditions, they finally joined the Opry, where they performed to great acclaim until 1963, when they broke up. They had a number of hits, including the much-covered "When I Stop Dreaming" and "Cash on the Barrel Head." Following the duo's breakup, Ira and Charlie both pursued solo careers. Born and raised in the Appalachian mountains in Alabama, both Charlie (born Charlie Elzer Loudermilk, July 7, 1927) and Ira (born Lonnie Ira Loudermilk, April 21, 1924; d. June 20, 1965) were attracted to the close-harmony country brother duets of the Blue Sky Boys, the Delmore Brothers, the Callahans Brothers and the Monroe Brothers when they reached their adolescence. Previously, they had sung gospel songs in church and their parents encouraged their songs to play music, despite the family's poverty. Ira began playing mandolin while Charlie picked up the guitar, and the two began harmonizing. After a while, they began performing at a small, local radio station in Chattanooga, where they frequently played on an early-morning show. The brothers' career was interrupted in the early '40s when Charlie joined the Army for a short while. While his brother was in the service, Ira played with Charlie Monroe. Once Charlie returned from the Army, the duo moved to Knoxville, Tennessee where they received a regular spot on a WROL radio show; they later moved to WNOX. Around this time, they decided to abandon their given name for Louvin, which appeared to be a better stage name. (Their cousin John D. Loudermilk retained the family name.) Following their stint in Knoxville, they moved to Memphis, where they broadcast on WMPS and cut one single for Apollo Records. After their brief stay in Memphis, they returned to Knoxville. In 1949, the Louvin Brothers recorded a single for Decca Records which failed to make much of an impact. Two years later, they signed with MGM Records and over the next year, they recorded 12 songs. Shortly after their MGM sessions were finished, Charlie and Ira moved back to Memphis, where the worked as postal clerks while playing concerts and radio shows at night. Eventually, they earned the attention of Acuff-Rose who signed the duo to a publishing contract. Fred Rose, the owner of the publishing house, helped the duo sign a contract with Capitol Records. The Louvins' debut single for the label, "The Family Who Prays," was a moderate success (it would later become a gospel standard), yet they were unable to capitalize on its success because Charlie was recalled by the Army to serve in the Korean War. Upon Charlie's discharge from the Army, the Louvins relocated to Birmingham, where they planned to restart their career through appearances on the radio station WOVK. However, a duo called Rebe and Rabe had already carved out a close-harmony niche in the area, using several of the Louvins' own songs. When Charlie and Ira were reaching a point of despe, ration, Capitol's Ken Nelson was able to convince the Grand Ole Opry to hire the duo. Prior to joining the Opry, the duo had been marketed as a gospel artist, but they began singing secular material as soon as they landed a slot on the show, primarily because a tobacco company sponsoring its broadcast told the Opry and the Louvins "you can' sell tobacco with gospel music." While they didn't abandon gospel, the brothers began writing and performing secular material again, starting with "When I Stop Dreaming." The single became a Top Ten hit upon its release in the fall of 1955 and it would eventually become a country standard. It was followed shortly afterward by "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby," which spent two weeks at number one early in 1956. No less than three of the duo's other singles "Hoping That You're Hoping," "You're Running Wild," "Cash on the Barrel Head" reached the Top Ten that year, and they also released the albums Tragic Songs of Life and Nearer My God to Thee. The Louvins' success in 1956 was particularly impressive when considering that rock & roll was breaking big that year, sapping the sales of many established country artists. However, the Louvins weren't able to escape being hurt by rock & roll. They had two relatively big hits in 1957, "Don't Laugh" and "Plenty of Everything But You," "My Baby's Gone" reached the Top Ten in late 1958, and their classic version of the traditional ballad "Knoxville Girl" was a moderate hit in early 1959, but those were those four hit singles arrived in the space of three years; they charted four songs in 1956 alone. , , , , , , ,, ,, , ,,, , , , , , , , So,, , on, the Louvins were receiving pressure from Capitol to update their sound. They tried to cut a couple of rockabilly numbers, but they were quite unsuccessful. Eventually, Ken Nelson suggested that the duo abandon the mandolin in order to appeal to the same audience as the Everly Brothers. The Louvins didn't accept his advice, but the remark did considerable damange to Ira's ego and he began to sink into alcoholism. The Louvin Brothers continued to record during the early '60s, turning out a number of theme albums including tributes to the Delmore Brothers and Roy Acuff, as well as gospel records like Satan is Real as well as singles. "I Love You Best of All" and "How's the World Treating You" reached numbers 12 and 26 respectively in 1961, the first year they had two hit singles since 1957. However, the duo began fighting frequently, and Ira's alcoholism worsened. Following one last hit single, "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face," in the fall of 1962, the duo decided to disband in the summer of 1963. Charlie and Ira both launched solo careers on Capitol Records shortly after the breakup. Charlie was the more successful of the two, with his debut single "I Don't Love You Anymore" reaching number four upon its summer release in 1964. For the next decade, he racked up a total of 30 hit singles, though most of the records didn't make the Top 40. Ira's luck wasn't as good as his brother's. Shortly after the Louvins disbanded, he had a raging, alcohol-fueled argument with his third wife Faye that resulted in a shooting that nearly killed him. He continued to perform afterward, singing with his fourth wife Anne Young. The duo were performing a week of concerts in Kansas City in June of 1965 when they were both killed in a car crash in Williamsburg, Missouri. After his death, his single "Yodel, Sweet Molly" became a moderate hit. The Louvin Brothers' reputation continued to grow in the decades following their breakup, as their harmonies and hard-driving take on traditional country provided the blueprint for many generations of country and rock musicians. The Everly Brothers were clearly influenced by the duo, while country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons drew heavily from the Louvins' deep catalog of classic songs, recording "The Christian Life" with the Byrds and "Cash on the Barrelhead" as a solo artist. They have now taken their rightful place in the Country Music of Hall of Fame. The Louvin Brothers and their music is truly legendary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Norma Jean Born Norma Jean Beaser Born January 30, 1938 in Wellston, OK Singer Norma Jean remains best remembered as Porter Wagoner's partner before he was paired with Dolly Parton; she was also known for her many songs about the joys and tribulations of being a blue-collar worker. Norma Jean Beasler was no stranger to poverty herself, born into a hard-working but poor family on a farm near Wellston, Oklahoma. As a child, she wanted to be a country star like Kitty Wells, whom she tried to emulate. She made her professional debut singing "If Teardrops Were Pennies" at age 12 on the radio in Oklahoma City. In high school, she toured with a few Western swing bands, including those of Billy Gray and Merle Lindsay. Her big break came in 1958 when she became a cast member of the Springfield, Missouri-based ABC-TV show Ozark Jubilee, where Red Foley suggested shortening her name to "Norma Jean." The young singer hit Nashville in 1960, where she became a back-up vocalist for Porter Wagoner's touring and television shows, leading to a contract with RCA Victor. She had her first chart single, "Let's Go All the Way," in 1964; the song made the Top 15 and was followed by the Top 25 hit "I'm a Walkin' Advertisement (F, or the Blues)." That year she had her first Top 10 single, "Go Cat Go," which stayed on the country charts for four months and became a minor pop hit as well. Her chart success continued through the mid-'60s with songs such as "I Wouldn't Buy a Used Car from Him" and "The Game of Triangles" (both 1965). On television, Norma Jean presented a wholesome image at odds with her hurtin' and cheatin' songs, yet in her personal life, both images were accurate. Around the mid-'60s, she became romantically involved with her mentor Wagoner, who was separated from his wife at the time. The affair led her to leave Wagoner's organization, although she continued to appear on the Grand Ole Opry and recorded more singles for RCA. In 1967 she had two Top 30 hits, "Don't Let that Doorknob Hit You" and "Heaven Help the Working Girl," an early feminist song. In the late '60s, Norma Jean returned to Oklahoma after marrying Jody Taylor; she had her last chart hit in 1971 with "The Kind of Needin' I Need." She continued to record occasionally on independent labels, and in 1982, she and Claude Gray teamed for a minor hit with a remake of "Let's Go All the Way." Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James O'Gwynn The Smiling Irishman of Country Music Born Jan 26, 1928 in Winchester, MS "The Smilin' Irishman of Country Music," James O'Gwynn was briefly popular between the late '50s and the early '60s. He was born a Mississippi farmboy and raised near Hattiesburg, the son of a mechanic and a talented musician. He learned the guitar as a child from his mother, and his earliest influences were Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. He dropped out of grade school to help out at his father's business and later served as a U.S. Marine for four years. During his tour of duty, he decided to become a country singer. He made his debut appearance during a campaign rally for a gubernatorial candidate while on leave. The candidate suggested O'Gwynn contact Houston deejay Hal Harris, who in turn introduced the young soldier to Biff Collie, the producer and host of Houston Jamboree. O'Gwynn joined the show in 1954, as did George Jones. Eventually he hooked up with renowned producer Pappy Dailey and in 1956 recorded "Losing Game." O'Gwynn joined the Louisiana Hayride and released two more singles the following year. In 1958, he signed with Dailey's D label, where he finally found chart success with such songs as the Top Ten "Talk to Me Lonesome Heart" and "Blue Memories," which peaked in the Top 30. In 1959, O'Gwynn released two more hit singles, and, with the help of Jim Reeves, debuted on the Grand Ole Opry. He moved to Nashville in 1961 and appeared on the Opry for the next two years. During this time, he scored two more minor hits, including "House of Blue Lovers," and "My Name is Mud," which went to # 7 nationally in 1962,his last chart appearance. During the 1960s, O'Gwynn worked with different major and independent labels, but to no avail; by the end of the decade, he had moved to Arkansas and gone into semi-retirement. In 1971, O'Gwynn tried a comeback, with no success. Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Justin Tubb Born Aug 20, 1935 in San Antonio, TX Died January 24, 1998 A fixture on the Grand Ole Opry, singer/songwriter Justin Tubb, the eldest son of the legendary Ernest Tubb, had a style all his own; but for one duet version of "Blue Eyed Elaine" on his 1985 album The Legend and Legacy, he always recorded independently of his famous father. Justin was born in San Antonio, Texas and spent most of his life in the Lone Star State with his mother Elaine, who separated from Ernest in 1948. He got his professional start in local clubs during college, and eventually moved to Nashville. At his father's suggestion, Tubb got a job working as a deejay in Gallatin, Tennessee, where he occasionally performed some of the songs he had written, and made his recording debut in 1953 with "Ooh-La-La." Throughout the 1950s, Tubb recorded steadily, but had only moderate success with his solo efforts. He did a little better singing novelty duets with Goldie Hill; in 1954, they reached the Top Five with their version of Jim Ed and Maxine Brown's "Looking Back to See," followed with the Top 15 "Sure Fire Kisses." In 1955, he joined the Opry, and in 1956, he had his first solo success with the Top Ten hit "I Gotta Go Get My Baby." Tubb signed to Starday in the early '60s, released a few albums, and toured so much that he was temporarily dropped from the Opry for not appearing often enough. After 1963, he signed with RCA and released two duets with Lorene Mann, including "We've Gone Too Far Again." He had one more minor hit with "But Wait There's More," his last chart appearance. He continued to record, tour and appear on the Opry through the '70s. He also continued to write songs, and his "Lonesome 7-7203" was a number one hit for Hawkshaw Hawkins while "Be Glad" became a major hit for Del Reeves. Additionally, his "What's Wrong with the Way We're Doing It Now" became a popular song with fans of the traditional country sound. Tubb also wrote and recorded songs paying tribute to his father, including "Thanks, Troubadour, Thanks" and "Just You and Me, Daddy." He died January 24, 1998. Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARVIN RAINWATER Given Name - Marvin Karlton Percy Born - July 2, 1925 Wichita, Kansas Marvin Rainwater's star rose on the the launching pad of Arthur Godfrey's talent scout show in 1995. Four years as a regular on Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee as well as shows such as Ed Sullivan, Dick Clark, Porter Wagoner and Sunday Night at the Palladium in London insures recognition wherever he goes. He looks and sounds as if he had stepped out of one of Jack London's adventure stories. He is a big man with craggy good looks of his Cherokee ancestors. The songs he sings range from lusty to just plain touching. Several years in the entertainment field, from honky-tonk bars to TV and the London Palladium has given Rainwater a backlog of stories and anecdotes that are highly entertaining. He's appeared on Ed Sullivan's Sunday night saga, was featured on Dick Clark's network TV offering and was a regular on Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee for four years. Marvin's rugged brand of musical feeling stems from a deep desire to communicate the meaning of a song, rather than exercise the simple process of hitting notes and reciting lyrics. This attitude is also evident in his approach to the songs he writes. The words are symbolic of a definite feeling and the music matches the mood. His "Whole Lotta Woman" was number one in England for six weeks, and a big hit throughout Europe and Africa for an even longer time. One of his best known numbers is "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird." This still brings a rousing round of applause from the audience wherever he sings it. Versatility is Marvin's middle name. He has played in parks on stages, at County and State fairs, in dance halls, conventions and night clubs from coast to coast. The ability to adapt to the moods of an audience, is in many cases, the difference between a Happy Crowd and a Bored Crowd. The constant desire to please people coupled with his consistent ability to draw crowds is the reason Marvin Rainwater continually makes money for promoters around the world. Besides his own hits such as "Bluebird", "Whole Lotta Woman", "Running Bear", "Half Breed," Moaning The Blues", "My Brand Of Blues," "The Albino", Pink Eyed Stallion," Henryetta, and City of Angels," Marvin has written many best selling songs for other artists such as "Be Good To Her", for Carl Smith, "I Gotta Find Me A Bluebird." Marvin's song "Whole Lotta Woman" was sung by Vanessa Redgrave in the Academy Award Winning Movie "Georgie Girl." He also penned the hit "I Miss You Already" for Faron Young and Billy Joe Royal has currently taken that same song into the Billboard Charts for over 28 exciting weeks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carl Perkins-Mister Rock-A-Billy Carl Lee Perkins Born April 9, 1932 in Tiptonville, TN Died January 19, 1998 While some ill-informed revisionist writers of rock history would like to dismiss Carl Perkins as a rockabilly artist who became a one hit wonder at the dawn of rock & roll's early years, a deeper look at his music and career reveals much more. A quick look at his songwriting portfolio shows that he has composed "Daddy Sang Bass" for Johnny Cash, "I Was So Wrong" ,,f, or Patsy Cline, and "Let Me Tell You About Love" for the Judds, big hits and classics all. His influence as the quintessential rockabilly artist has played a big pa,,, rt in the development of every generation of rocker to come down the pike since, from the Beatles' George Harrison to the Stray Cats' Brian Setzer to a myriad of others in the country field as well. His guitar style is the other twin peak along with that of Elvis' lead man Scotty Moore of rockabilly's instrumental center, so pervasive that modern day players automatically gravitate toward it when called upon to deliver the style, not even realizing that they're playing Carl Perkins licks, sometimes note for note. As a singer, his interpretation of country ballads is every bit as fine as his better known rockers. And within the framework of the best of his music is a strong sense of family and roots, all of which trace straight back to Carl's humble beginnings. He was born to sharecroppers Buck and Louise Perkins (misspelled on his birth certificate as 'Perkings') and was soon out in the fields picking cotton and living in a one country shack with his parents, older brother Jay , and his younger brother Clayton. Working alongside Blacks in the field every day, it's not at all surprising that when Carl was gifted with a second hand guitar, he went to a local sharecropper for lessons, learning first hand the boogie rhythm that he would later build a career on. By his teens, Carl was playing electric guitar and had recruited his brothers Jay on rhythm guitar and Clayton on string bass to become his first band. The Perkins Brothers Band, featuring both Carl and Jay on lead vocals, quickly established themselves as the hottest band in the get hot or go home cutthroat Jackson, Tennessee honky tonk circuit. It was here that Carl started composing his first songs with an eye toward the future. Watching the dance floor at all times for a reaction, Perkins kept reshaping these loosely structured songs until he had a completed composition, which would then be finally put to paper. Carl was already sending demos to New York record companies, who kept rejecting him, sometimes explaining that this strange new hybrid of country with a Black rhythm fit no current commercial trend. But once Perkins heard Elvis on the radio, he not only knew what to call it, but knew that there was a record company person who finally understood it and was also willing to gamble in promoting it. That man was Sam Phillips and the record company was Sun Records, and that's exactly where Carl headed in 1954 to get an audition. It was here at his first Sun audition that the structure of the Perkins Brothers Band changed forever. Phillips didn't show the least bit of interest in Jay's Ernest Tubb-styled vocals, but flipped over Carl's singing and guitar playing. A scant four months later, he had issued the first Carl Perkins record, "Movie Magg" and "Turn Around," both sides written by the artist. By his second session, he had added W.S. Holland a friend of Clayton's to the band playing drums, a relatively new innovation to country music at the time. Phillips was still channeling Perkins in a strictly hillbilly vein, feeling that two artists doing the same type of music (in this case, Elvis and rockabilly) would cancel each other out. But after selling Elvis' contract to RCA Victor in December, Carl was encouraged to finally let his rocking soul come up for air at his next Sun session. And rock he did with a double whammy blast that proved to be his ticket to the bigs. The chance overhearing of a conversation at a dance one night between two teenagers coupled with a song idea suggestion from label mate Johnny Cash, inspired Perkins to approach Sam with a new song he had written called "Blue Suede Shoes." After cutting two sides that Phillips planned on releasing as a single by the Perkins Brothers Band, Carl laid down three takes each of "Blue Suede Shoes" and another rocker, "Honey Don't." A month later, Sam decides to shelve the two country sides and go with the rockers as Carl's next single. Three months later, "Blue Suede Shoes," a tune that borrowed stylistically from pop, country and R&B music, is sitting at the top of all charts, the first record to accomplish such a feat while becoming Sun's first million seller in the bargain. Ready to cash in on a national basis, Carl and the boys headed up to New York for the first time to appear on the Perry Como Show. While enroute their car rammed the back of a poultry truck, putting Carl and his brother Jay in the hospital with a cracked skull and broken neck, respectively. While in traction, Perkins saw Presley performing h, is song on the Dorsey Brother Stage Show, his moment of fame and recognition snatched away from him. Carl shrugged his shoulders and went back to the road and the Sun studios, trying to pick up where he left off. The follow-ups to "Shoes" were, in many ways, superior to his initial hit, but each succeeding Sun single held diminishing sales and it wasn't until the British Invasion and the subsequent rockabilly revival of the early '70s that the general public got to truly savor classics like "Boppin' the Blues," "Matchbox," "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby," "Your True Love," "Dixie Fried," "Put Your Cat Clothes On," and "All Mama's Children." While labelmates Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis (who played piano on "Matchbox") were scoring hit after hit, Carl was becoming disillusioned with his fate, fueled by his increasing dependence on alcohol and the death of brother Jay to cancer. He kept plugging along and when Johnny Cash left Sun to go to Columbia in 1958, Perkins followed him over. The royalty rate was better, and Carl had no shortage of great songs to record, but Columbia's Nashville watch the clock production methods killed any of the spontaneity that was the charm of the Sun records. By the early '60s, after being dropped by Columbia and moving over to Decca with little success, Carl was back playing the honky tonks and contemplating getting out of the business altogether. A call from a booking agent in 1964 offering a tour of England changed all of that. Temporarily swearing off the bottle, Perkins was greeted in Britain as a conquering hero, playing to sold out audiences and being particularly lauded by a young beat group on the top of the charts named the Beatles. George Harrison had cut his musical teeth on Carl's Sun recordings (as had most British guitarists) and the Fab Four ended up recording more tunes by him than any other artist except themselves. The British tour not only rejuvenated his outlook, but suddenly made him realize that he had gone through no maneuvering of his own from has been to legend in a country he had never played in before. Upon his return to the States, he hooked up with old friend and former labelmate Johnny Cash and was a regular fixture of his road show for the next ten years, bringing his battle with alcohol to an end. The '80s dawned with Perkins going on his own with a new band consisting of his sons backing him. His election to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the mid-'80s was no less than his due. After a long battle with throat cancer, Perkins died in early 1998, his place in the history books assured. Cub Koda -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dolly Parton-International Superstar Born - Dolly Rebecca Parton Jan 19, 1946 in Locust Ridge, TN It's difficult to find a country performer who has moved from country roots to international fame more successfully than Dolly Parton. Her autobiographical single "Coat of Many Colors" shows the poverty of growing up one of 12 children on a run-down farm in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. At 12 years old she was appearing on Knoxville television; at 13 she was recording on a small label and appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Her 1967 hit "Dumb Blonde" (and she's not) caught Porter Wagoner's ear, and he hired Parton to appear on his television show, where their duet numbers became famous. By the time her "Joshua" reached #1 in 1970, Parton's fame had overshadowed the boss's, and she had struck out on her own, though still recording duets with him. During the mid-'70s, she established herself as a country superstar, crossing over into the pop mainstream in the early '80s, when she smoothed out the rough edges in her music and began singing pop as well as country. In the early '80s, she also began appearing in movies, most notably the hit 9 to 5. Though her savvy marketing, image manipulation her big, dumb blonde stage persona is an act extracurricular forays into film, and her flirtations with country-pop have occasionally overshadowed her music, at her core Dolly Parton is a country gal and a tremendously gifted singer/songwriter. Among her classics are "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene," "Kentucky Gambler," "I Will Always Love You," "But You Known I Love You" and "Tennessee Homesick Blues," and they give a hint to why her contribution to bringing country music to a wide audience, not only in America but throughout the world, cannot be underestimated. The fourth of 12 children, Dolly Parton was born and raised in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, just next to the Smoky Mountains National Forest. Parton's family struggled to survive throughout Dolly's childhood and often she was ridiculed for her poverty, yet often music soothed their worries. Though her farming father did not play, her half-Cherokee mother played guitar and her grandfather, the Rev. Jake Owens, was a fiddler and songwriter (his "Singing His Praise" was recorded by Kitty Wells). When she was seven, her uncle Bill Owens gave her a guitar and within three years she became a regular on WIVK Knoxville's The Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour. Over the next two years, her career steadily increased, and in 1959 she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry; the following year, she recorded her first single, "Puppy Love," for Goldband. When she was 14 years old, Dolly Parton signed to Mercury Records but her 1962 debut for the label, "It's Sure Gonna Hurt," was a bomb and the label immediately dropped her. Over the next five years, she shopped for a new contract and did indeed record a number of songs, which were later reissued through budget-line records. She continued to attend high school, playing snare drum , in the marching band. After she graduated, she moved to Nashville where she stayed with Bill Owens. Both songwriters pitched songs across Nashville to no success, and Dolly began singing on demos. Early in 1965, both Parton and Owens finally found work when Fred Foster signed him to his publishing house, Combine Music; Foster subsequently signed her to Monument Records. Dolly's first records for Monument were marketed to pop audiences and her second record, "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," nearly made the charts. In 1966, Bill Phillips took two of Partons' and Owens' songs "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" and "The Company You Keep" to the Top Ten, setting the stage for Dolly's breakthrough single, "Dumb Blonde." Released early in 1967, the record climbed to number 24, followed shortly afterward by the number 17 "Something Fishy." The two hit Monument singles attracted the attention of country star Porter Wagoner, who was looking to hire a new female singer for his syndicated television show. Parton accepted the offer and began appearing on the show on September 5, 1967. Initially, Porter's audience were reluctant to warm to Dolly and chanted for Norma Jean, the singer she replaced, but with Wagoner's assistance, she was accepted. Wagoner convinced his label, RCA, to also sign Dolly Parton. Since female performers were not particularly popular in the late '60s, the label decided to protect their investment by releasing her first single as a duet with Porter. The duo's first single, "The Last Thing on My Mind," reached the country Top Ten early in 1968, launching a six-year streak of virtually uninterrupted Top Ten singles. Parton's first solo single, "Just Because I'm a Woman," was released in the summer of 1968 and it was a moderate hit, reaching number 17. For the remainder of the decade, none of her solo efforts even "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)," which would later become a standard were as successful as her duets. The duo was named Vocal Group of the Year in 1968 by the Country Music Association, but Parton's solo records were continually ignored. Porter and Dolly were both frustrated by her lack of solo success, because he had a significant financial stake in her future as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of publishing company, Owepar. By 1970, both Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo success, and Porter had her sing Jimmie Rodgers' "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)," a gimmick that worked. The record shot to number three on the charts, followed closely by her first number one single, "Joshua." For the next two years, she had a number of solo hits including her signature song "Coat of Many Colors" (#4, 1971) in addition to her duets. Though she had successful singles, none of them were blockbusters until "Jolene" reached number one in early 1974. Dolly stopped tr, avelling with Porter after its release, yet she continued to appear on television and sing duets with him until 1976. Once she left Wagoner, Parton's records became more eclectic and diverse, ranging from the ballad "I Will Always Love You" (#1, 1974) and the racy "The Bargain Store" (#1, 1975) to the crossover pop of "Here You Come Again" (#1, 1977) and the disco experiments of "Baby I'm Burning" (#25 pop, 1978). From 1974 to 1980, she consistently charted in the country Top Ten, with no less than eight singles reaching number one. Parton had her own syndicated television show, Dolly, in 1976 and by the next year, she had gained the right to produce her own albums, which immediately resulted in diverse efforts like 1977's New Harvest, First Gathering. In addition to have her own hits during the late '70s, many artists, from Rose Maddox and Kitty Wells to Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, covered her songs and her siblings Randy and Stella received recording contracts of their own. Though she was quite popular, Dolly Parton became a genuine superstar in 1977, when the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil song "Here You Come Again" became a huge crossover hit, reaching number three on the pop charts, spending five weeks at the top of the country charts and going gold. Its accompanying album went platinum and the followup, Heartbreaker, went gold. Soon, she was on the cover of country and mainstream publications alike. With the new financial windfall, a lawsuit against Porter Wagoner who had received a significant portion of her royalties ensued. By the time it was settled, she regained her copyrights while Wagoner was given a nominal fee and the studio the duo shared. In the wake of the lawsuit, a delayed duet album, Making Plans, appeared in 1980; its title track hit number two on the country charts. Parton's commercial success continued to grow during 1980, as she had three number one hits in a row: the Donna Summer-written "Starting Over Again," "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You," and "9 to 5." The latter was the theme song to Dolly's acting debut, 9 to 5. Also starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, the movie became a huge success, establishing Parton as a movie star. The song became her first number one pop single, as well. 9 to 5 gave Parton's career momentum that lasted throughout the early '80s. She began appearing more films, including the Burt Reynolds musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) and the Sylvester Stallone comedy Rhinestone (1984). Dolly's singles continued to appear consistently in th, e country Top Ten: between 1981 and 1985, she had 12 Top Ten hits and half of those were number one singles. Parton continued to make inroads on the pop charts, as well, with a re-recorded version of "I Will Always Love You" from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas scraping the Top 50 and her Kenny Rogers duet "Islands in the Stream" (which was written by the Bee Gees and produced by Barry Gibb) spending two weeks at number one. However, by 1985 many old-time fans had felt that Dolly was spending too much time courting the mainstream. Most of her albums were dominated by the adult-contemporary pop of songs like "Islands in the Stream" and it had been years since she had sang straightforward country. She also continued to explore new business and entertainment ventures, such as her Dollywood theme park which opened in 1985. Despite these misgivings, she had continued to chart well untl 1986, when none of her singles reached the Top Ten. RCA Records didn't renew her contract after it expired that year, and she signed with Columbia in 1987. Before she released her Columbia debut, Parton joined forces with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris to record the rootsy Trio album. Trio became a huge hit, earning both critical and popular acclaim, selling over a million copies and peaking at number six on the pop charts; it also spawned three Top Ten country singles: "To Know Him Is to Love Him," "Telling Me Lies" and "Those Memories of You." Following the success of the album, she had a weekly variety television show, Dolly, on ABC which lasted only one season. Trio also provided a perfect launching pad for her first Columbia album, 1989's White Limozeen, which produced two number one hits in "Why'd You Come in Here Lookin' like That" and "Yellow Roses." Though it looked like Dolly Parton's career had been revived, it was actually just a brief revival before contemporary country came along in the early '90s and pushed all veteran artists out of the charts. Dolly had a number one duet with Ricky Van Shelton, "Rockin' Years," in 1991, but after that single, she slowly crept out of the Top Ten and later the Top 40. Parton was one of the most outspoken critics of radio's treatment of older stars. While her sales had declined, she didn't disappear. Despite her lack of sales, Dolly remained an iconic figure in country music, appearing in films (the 1991 TV-movie Wild Texas Wind, 1992's Straight Talk), selling out concerts and releasing a series of acclaimed albums including 1993's Honky Tonk Angels, a collaboration with Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn that all sold respectably. Furthermore, "I Will Always Love You" was covered in 1992 by Whitney Houston, who took it to number one on the pop charts; the single spent 14 weeks at number one, becoming the biggest pop hit of the rock & roll era (it was unseated four years later by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day"). In 1994, she published her autobiography My Life and Other Unfinished Business. Treasures, her 1996 album, was a praised collection of unusual covers, ranging from Merle Haggard to Neil Young. Hungry Again followed in 1998, and early the following year she reunited with Ronstadt and Harris for a second Trio collection in addition to releasing the solo The Grass Is Blue. A solo effort Little Sparrow was issued in early 2001. David Vinopal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ray Price Cherokee Cowboy Born January 12, 1926 in Perryville, TX Ray Price has covered and kicked up as much musical turf as any country singer of the postwar era. He's been lionized as the man who saved hard country when Nashville went pop, and vilified as the man who went pop when hard country was starting to call its own name with pride. Actually, he was and still is no more than a musically ambitious singer, always looking for the next challenge for a voice that could bring down roadhouse walls. Circa 1949, Price cut his first record for Bullet at the Famous Jim Beck in Dallas. In 1951, he was picked up by Columbia, the label for which he would record for more than twenty years. After knocking around in Lefty Frizzell's camp for six months or so (his first Columbia single was a Frizzell composition) Price befriended Hank Williams. The connection brought him to the Opry and profoundly effected his singing style. After Hank died, Price starting stretching out more as a singer and arranger. His experimentation culminated in the 4/4-bass driven "Crazy Arms," the country song of the year for 1956. The intensely rhythmic sound he discovered with "Crazy Arms" would dominate his and much of country in general's music for the next six years. To this day, people in Nashville refer to a 4/4 country shuffle as the "Ray Price beat." Heavy on fiddle, steel, and high tenor harmony, his country work from the late '50s is as lively as the rock & roll of the same era. Price tired of that sound, however, and started messing around with strings. His lush 1967 version of "Danny Boy," and his 1970 take on Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times," were, in their crossover way, landmark records. But few of his old fans appreciated the fact. In the three decades following "For the Good Times," Price's career was often an awkward balancing act in which twin Texas fiddles are weighed against orchestras. Born in tiny Perryville, Texas, Price spent most of his youth in Dallas. It was there where he learned how to play guitar and sing. Following his high-school graduation, he studied veterinary medicine at North Texas Agricultural College in Abilene before he left school to join the Marines in 1942. Price stayed in the service throughout World War II, returing to Texas in 1946. After leaving the Marines, he initially returned to college, yet he began to perform at local clubs and honky tonks, as well as on the local radio station KRBC, where he was dubbed the Cherokee Cowboy. Three years later, he was invited to join the Dallas-based The Big D Jamboree, which convinced him to make music his full-time career. Shortly after joining The Big D Jamboree, the show began to be televised by CBS, which helped him release a single, "Your Wedding Corsage" / "Jealous Lies," on the independent Dallas label Bullet. Price moved to Nashville to pursue a major-label record contract in 1951. After auditioning and failing several time, Ray finally signed to Columbia Records, after A&R representative Troy Martin convinced the label's chief executive Don Law that Decca was prepared to give the singer a contract. Previously, Law was uninterested , in Price he turned him down 20 times and threatened Martin never to mention his name again but he was unprepared to give a rival company a chance at the vocalist. Just before "Talk to Your Heart" became a number three hit for Price in the spring of 1952, Ray met his idol, Hank Williams, who immediately became a close friend. Over the next year, Hank performed a number of favors for Price, including giving him "Weary Blues" to record and helping him join the Grand Ole Opry. Ray also became the permanent substitute for Hank whenever he was missing or too drunk to perform. Following Williams' death in 1953, Price inherited the Drifting Cowboys. Following the success of "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" in the fall of 1952, Price was quiet for much of 1953. It wasn't until 1954 that he returned to the charts with "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)," a number two hit which kicked off a successful year for Price that also included the Top Ten singles "Release Me" and "If You Don't, Somebody Else Will." Instead of capitalzing on that success, he disappeared from the charts during 1955, as he spent the year forming the Cherokee Cowboys. Over the course of the past two years, he had realized that performing with the Drifting Cowboys had made him sound too similar to Hank Williams, so he decided to form his own group. Originally, most of the members were lifted from Lefty Frizzell's Western Cherokees, but over the years a number of gifted musicians began their careers in this band, including Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck, Buddy Emmons, Johnny Bush and Willie Nelson. Ray returned to the charts in 1956, first with "Run Boy" and then with "Crazy Arms," a driving honky tonk number that immediately became a country classics. The song was one of the first country records to be recorded with a drum kit, which gave it a relentless, pulsating rhythm. Until Price, most country artists were reluctant to use drums and the instrument was even banned from the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. The blockbuster status of the single helped change that situation. Spending an astonishing 20 weeks at the top of the country charts, "Crazy Arms" not only crossed over into the lower reaches of the pop charts, but it also established Price as a star. After the success of the single, he remained at or near the top of the charts for the next ten years, racking up 23 Top Ten singles between the 1956 and 1966. During this time, he recorded a remarkable number of country classics, including "I've Got a New Heartache" (#2, 1956), "My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You" (#1, 1957), "Make the World Go Away" (#2, 1963) and "City Lights," which spent 13 weeks at the top of the charts in 1958. The momentum of Price's career had slowed somewhat by the mid-'60s; though he was still having hits, they weren't as frequent nor as big. His musical inclinations were also shifting, bringing him closer to the crooning styles of traditional pop singers. Ray abandoned the cowboy suits and brought in strings to accompany him, making him one of the first to explore the smooth, orchestrated sounds of late '60s and early '70s country-pop. While it alienated some hardcore honky tonk fans, the change in approach resulted in another round of Top Ten hits. However, it took a little while for the country audience to warm to this new sound it wasn't until 1970, when his cover of Kris Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" hit number one, that he returned to the top of the charts. Over the next three years, he scored an additional three number one singles ("I Won't Mention It Again," "She's Got to Be a Saint," "You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me"). By the mid-'70s, the appeal of his string-laden country-pop hits had diminished, and he spent the rest of the decade struggling to get into the charts. In 1974, he left his long-time home of Columbia Records to sign to Myrrh, where he had two Top Ten hits over the next year. By the end of 1975, he had left the label, signing to ABC/Dot. Though he hadn't changed his style, his records became less popular around the same time he signed to ABC/Dot; only 1977's "Mansion on the Hill" gained much attention. In 1978, he switched labels again, signing with Monument, which proved to be another unsuccessful venture. In 1980, Price reunited with his old bassist Willie Nelson, recording the duet album San Antonio Rose, which was a major success, spawning the number three hit "Faded Love." San Antonio Rose reignited Ray's career, and in 1981 he had two Top Ten singles "It Don't Hurt Me Half as Bad," "Diamonds in the Stars" for his new label, Dimension. Price left Dimension in 1983, signing with Warner Records. He remained at the label for one year, and by that time, his new spell of popularity had cooled down considerably; now, he was having trouble reaching the Top 40. That situation didn't remedy itself for the remainder of the decade, even though he signed with two new labels: Viva (1983-1984) and Step One (1985-1989). By the late '80s, Ray Price had stopped concentrating on recording and had turned his efforts toward a theater he owned in Branson, Missouri. For most of the '90s, he sang and performed at his theater in Branson, occasionally stopping to record. Of all of his '90s records, the most notable was the 1992 album Sometimes a Rose, which was produced by Norro Wilson. Ray is still touring and has a great new CD out on Audium Records called "Time." He's singing better than ever before and has no plans to retire. Dan Cooper -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Owen Bradley Born October 21, 1915 in Westmoreland, Tennessee Died January 7, 1998 in Nashville, Tennessee One of the architects of the Nashville Sound, Owen Bradley was one of the most influential country music producers of the '50s and '60s. Along with his contemporary Chet Atkins, Bradley helped country music move away from its rootsy origins to a more accessible, radio-radio format by blending pop production and songwriting techniques with country. Bradley's country-pop productions relied on non-traditional country instruments like light, easy-listening piano, backup vocals and strings, using steel guitars and fiddles as flourishes instead of a foundation. This smooth production style helped make Patsy Cline and Brenda Lee into stars during the '50s, and its success often overshadowed Bradley's other musical contributions. Owen wasn't just capable of the lush, detailed Nashville Sound he could also produce bluegrass by Bill Monroe, or hardcore honky tonk by Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn. In addition to producing, Bradley was the Vice President of Decca Records' Nashville Division, and in that position he was able to produce a huge variety of artists, including Conway Twitty, Kitty Wells, and Webb Pierce. With his work in country-pop, honky tonk and bluegrass, Bradley left behind a large legacy that proved vastly influential on contemporary country music. Born outside of Westmoreland, Tennessee and raised in Nashville, Owen Bradley began playing piano professionally when he was a teenager, playing in local juke joints, clubs and roadhouses. When he turned 20, he began working at WSM radio, and within five years he had established himself as an integral part of the station. In 1940, he was hired full-time by WSM, working as an arranger and instrumentalist. Two years later, he was made the station's Musical Director, and started playing regularly on the programs Noontime Neighbors and Sunday Down South. During this time, Bradley was also leading his own dance band, which played parties throughout Nashville's high society. The group stayed together until 1964. Bradley began working for Decca Records in 1947 as an assistant to producer Paul Cohen. By working at Cohen's side, Bradley learned to produce, and assisted in making records by Ernest Tubb and Red Foley, among many others. Eventually, Owen began producing records by himself, whenever his mentor couldn't travel to Nashville from New York. Owen and his brother Harold opened a film studio in 1951, moving it, s location to Hillsboro Village within a year. It stayed there for two years, before it was moved again, this time to a house on 16th Avenue South with a Quonset hut attached to the main building. The Quonset Hut was converted into a studio in 1955 it was the first studio on the street that would become known as Music Row. Two years later, RCA built a studio a block away from the Bradley hut; in 1962, the brothers sold the studio to Columbia Records. Cohen left Decca in 1958, and the label offered Bradley a position as Vice President of the label's Nashville Division. At Decca, he began pioneering the Nashville Sound, incorporating orchestration and pop production techniques into country music. Patsy Cline was Bradley's most successful country-pop production. He had worked with her when she was with Four Star, but when she signed with Decca, Cline's music shifted toward country-pop and she began a string of Top 10 hits. Following her success, other artists that he produced in that style, most notably Brenda Lee, became successful as well. During this time, Bradley also produced harder-edged hits during this time by Webb Pierce and Kitty Wells. In addition to his record production, Owen released a handful of records by his instrumental quintet, including the minor 1958 hit "Big Guitar." With his brother Harold, Bradley produced a half-hour television series, Country Style U.S.A, during the late '50s. Bradley bought a farm outside of Nashville in 1961, converting a barn into a demo studio. Within a few years, the barn was upgraded to a first-class recording studio called Bradley's Barn and over the next two decades, it became one of the most popular and legendary studios in country music. In 1980, it burned down, yet it was rebuilt with a few years in the exact same same spot. Throughout the '60s and '70s, Bradley worked with many of Decca's most famous artists, including Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. In 1974, Bradley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In the early '80s, he retired from full-time producing, yet he continued to work on the occasional special project. His last major work was k.d. lang's 1988 album, Shadowland. Bradley died January 7, 1998. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skeeter Davis Born - Mary Frances Penick December 30, 1931 in Dry Ridge, KY Skeeter Davis has never gotten a lot of critical attention, but in the '50s and '60s, she recorded some of the most accessible crossover country music, occasionally skirting rock & roll. Born Mary Penick, Davis took her last name after forming a duo with Betty Jack Davis, the Davis Sisters. Their 1953 single "I Forgot More than You'll Ever Know" was a big country hit; its B-side, the remarkable "Rock-A-Bye Boogie," foreshadowed rockabilly. That same year, however, the duo's career was cut short by a tragic car accident in which Betty Jack Davis was killed, and Skeeter was severely injured. Skeeter did attempt to revive the Davis Sisters with Betty Jack's sister, but was soon working as a solo artist. In the early '60s, Davis followed the heels of Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline to become one of the first big-selling female country crossover acts, although her pop success was pretty short-lived. The weepy ballad "The End of the World," though, was a massive hit, reaching number two in 1963. "I Can't Stay Mad at You," a Top Ten hit the same year, was downright rock & roll; penned by Goffin and King, it sounded like (and was) an authentic Brill Building girl group-styled classic. Goffin and King also wrote another successful girl group knockoff for her, "Let Me Get Close to You," although such efforts were the exception rather than the rule. Usually she sang sentimental, country-oriented tunes with enough pop hooks to catch the ears of a wider audience, such as "I Will." Davis concentrated on the country market after the early '60s, although she never seemed too comfortable limiting herself to the Nashville crowd. She recorded a Buddy Holly tribute album in 1967, when Holly wasn't a hot ticket with either the country or the rock audience. But she certainly didn't reject country conventions either: she performed on the Grand Ole Opry, and recorded duets with Bobby Bare, Porter Wagoner, and George Hamilton IV. In the 1980s, she had a mild comeback with the rock crowd after recording an album with NRBQ; she also married NRBQ's bass player, Joey Spampinato. Richie Unterberger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dorsey Burnette Born December 28, 1932 in Memphis, TN Died August 19, 1979 in Canoga Park, CA Dorsey Burnette is best remembered today as the brother of Johnny Burnette and a member of the Johnny Burnette Trio, and as the father of Billy Burnette. He had a solo career of his own, however, during the early 1960s, and also wrote over 350 songs covered by the likes of Rick Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, and Stevie Wonder, among many others. Dorsey Burnette was born on Dec. 28, 1932 in Memphis, the older of two sons of Dorsey Sr. and Willy May Burnette. He got his first guitar, a Gene Autry model, from his father at age six, at the same time that his father gave four-year-old Johnny a similar instrument the two immediately smashed them. His father eventually convinced the pair that if they learned to play guitar, they could be like the players on the Grand Ole Opry. Dorsey was a tough kid with a violent te, mper and not a lot of smarts holding it in check, and he was constantly in trouble in school and spending time with the wrong crowd. By the time he was a young teenager, Dorsey was hanging out at the Poplar Street Mission with future recording artist Lee Denson, when he wasn't getting arrested for truancy or fighting. He competed in the Golden Gloves as an aspiring boxer, and it was at the 1949 championship that he met Paul Burlison, another aspiring fighter. They made note of their shared interest in music, but Burlison's induction into the Army in 1951 prevented him from hooking up just then with Dorsey and Johnny, who had begun playing together in the late 1940s. They were good enough to get sponsored by a local appliance store on one of the Memphis radio stations, doing country music, and they played gigs throughout the Memphis area, principally for beer money, fun, and girls he and his confederates worked hard and played hard. Music and the possibility of success that it came to offer probably kept Dorsey out of jail. Dorsey, Johnny, and Burlison finally hooked up in mid-1952, working as a trio and within other, larger groups. They cut their first record, "Go Mule Go"/"You're Undecided," for the tiny Von label in 1954, their lineup augmented by a fourth member, fiddler Tommy Seeley. That record may have sold fewer than 200 copies, but Dorsey Burnette wasn't to be stopped he claimed to have auditioned for Sam Phillips at Sun, who rejected them. Dorsey worked his day jobs picking cotton, deckhand on a riverboat, fisherman, carpet-layer, and electrician's apprentice at Crown Electric. While he was there, a day laborer a little younger than Dorsey who had grown up in the same housing project quit his job to try and make it in music after cutting a couple of records. Elvis Presley's example, going off as part , of a trio with Scotty Moore and Bill Black, brought the Burnette brothers and company to the decision to formalize their work together. Burlison and Burnette's subsequently being laid off by Crown Electric made the decision a no-brainer. As a result, in early 1956, they were off to New York, where Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison got jobs as electrician's assistants while Johnny Burnette went to work in the garment district in Manhattan's west 30s. They decided to try out for Ted Mack's Amateur Hour, which was one of the top new talent showcases in the country, just at the time when Elvis Presley now signed to RCA-Victor was burning up the airwaves with "Heartbreak Hotel," and were picked to play on the program. The group, known as the Rock 'n Roll Trio, won three successive shows broadcast over the ABC network, and by the time of the third they had professional management, and soon after that they were signed to the Coral label, part of the Decca Records (now MCA) family of labels. The Rock 'n Roll Trio didn't last, either as a trio or a name, as they failed to find any hits despite a killer version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" to their credit and by late 1957 they were getting billed as "Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio." This was probably as much a marketing ploy as a reflection of the reality that a fourth member, in the person of a drummer, had joined the group Johnny Burnette was a good rock & roll name to push in lieu of the group's moniker, although Dorsey was the one who did most of the songwriting and had also sung lead on some of their numbers. He couldn't stomach the change in billing or his younger brother's sudden push to the front, and finally quit the group and returned to Memphis just prior to their scheduled appearance in the Alan Freed jukebox movie Rock Rock Rock. He tried assembling his own group, Dorsey Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio, but they never caught on and disbanded before 1958 was over. He tried reconstituting himself as a solo act and got an offer to go out to California to appear on The Town Hall Party (the West Coast's leading country music showcase), rejecting the chance to work The Louisiana Hayride. He moved his whole family including Johnny, who was no longer recording, under his name or any other out with him and struggled to make ends meet, working as an electrician and writing songs in his spare time. It was Burnette's brashness in walking up to the home of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson famous from television and radio as entertainers, and the parents of Ricky and David Nelson and asking to speak to Ricky that got him his break as a songwriter. Rick Nelson literally pulled up on his motorcycle, accepted Dorsey's introduction, and had him and Johnny audition right there. He ended up recording a dozen of their songs, most of them written by Dorsey Burnette, and his success with "Waitin' In School" got the Burnettes a new contract with Imperial Records and Dorsey a hookup with Imperial's publishing division, Commodore Music. Roy Brown later covered Dorsey and Johnny's "Hip Shakin' Baby," and Dorsey managed to get a solo hit in 1959 on the Era label with "Tall Oak Tree," a song that Rick Nelson had rejected. Ironicall, y, given Johnny Burnette's prominence, Dorsey's first hit came five months before his brother finally reached the charts with "Dreamin'." The two successes led Coral Records to dig into their vaults and release a 1957-vintage single of "Blues Stay Away from Me." The Burnettes never had another hit, although Dorsey kept writing and recording long after "Tall Oak Tree." His contract was sold to the Dot label (now owned by MCA), and he cut three singles and an album during the six months he was there. During this period, eight-year-old Billy Burnette made his recording debut on the maudlin "Little Child," which mercifully wasn't released until 1992. Dorsey Burnette's family life took a tragic turn from which he never fully recovered in 1964, when Johnny Burnette died in a drowning accident. The surviving brother, driven by guilt or depression and his self-destructive nature, became a chronic alcoholic and drug abuser, his musical abilities and reliability suffering in the process as he staggered from failure to failure across a dozen labels over the next 15 years. Dorsey Burnette found some belated comfort in Christianity, becoming "born-again" in the 1970s and returning to where he started, in country music. His country recordings for Capitol Records got him pegged as "most promising newcomer" by one music organization that never recognized his earlier activity in rock & roll, and revitalized his career. Burnette by then was appearing in small venues and playing to anyone who would pay him, getting into fights occasionally and taking too many drinks and too many pills. In his shows, he would do his newer songs and a few of the old rockabilly numbers like "Tear It Up," which he counted as country music. Somehow, he never found the right label once the Capitol contract was over. In 1979, however, he signed a contract with Elektra Records and began recording with fellow former rockabilly star Jimmy Bowen. Things looked promising, and Burnette, whose fame in England had never subsided (American rockabilly stars being treated like Olympian demi-gods anywhere but America), even supposedly did a recording session with Led Zeppelin (according to rumor). The first single by Burnette and Bowen had just been released when Burnette died of a heart attack on August 19, 1979. Among those who performed at the benefit concert organized on behalf of Burnette's widow by Delaney Bramlett were Kris Kritofferson, Tanya Tucker, Roger Miller, and Glen Campbell. Dorsey Burnette will probably always be best remembered as a member of the Rock 'n Roll Trio in association with his brother Johnny, their work spread among the MCA and Capitol/EMI labels (which took over the Liberty catalog), but he spent most of his time in music as a solo act, whether he was recording or writing songs. Apart from "Tall Oak Tree" and "Hey Little One," he recorded an impressive array of soulful pop and rockabilly numbers, eerily recalling Elvis Presley's 1950s and early 1960s sound (only Burnette's songs are better), most of which are worth owning. Bruce Eder -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ed Bruce Born Dec 29, 1939 in Keiser, Arkansas Like so many other artists, singer Ed Bruce got his start as a rockabilly act for Memphis' famed Sun Records; however, he was probably best known for his songwriting acumen. Born William Edwin Bruce Jr. in Arkansas in 1939, he cut his first sides for Sun at the age of 17. His career as a frenetic rockabilly performer was largely unsuccessful, however, and by 1964 Bruce had moved to Nashville to become a member of the Marijohn Wilkins Singers. He also entered into a lucrative career singing advertising jingles; his best-known campaign cast him as a character called the Tennessean. In 1966, Bruce signed with RCA, notching his first chart hit with the single "Walker's Woods." More singles and a change of labels followed, but the singer struggled until 1975, when he took his composition "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" into the Top 20. The song, Bruce's best-known, was later a monster hit when covered by the duo of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in 1977. His songs have also been recorded by the likes of Charlie Louvin, Tex Ritter, Tanya Tucker, and Crystal Gayle. After a brief tenure at Epic Records between 1977 and 1978, Bruce achieved his greatest commercial success with MCA in the 1980s. "The Last Cowboy Song," featuring guest vocals from Willie Nelson, hit number 12 in 1980; both "G, irls, Women and Ladies" and "(When You Fall in Love) Everything's a Waltz" also fell just short of entering the Top Ten. In 1981, Bruce hit number one with "You're the Best Break This Heart Ever Had"; other Top Five singles included "Ever, Never Lovin' You" (number four, 1982), "After All" (number four, 1983), "You Turn Me On (Like a Radio)" (number three, 1984), and "Nights" (number four, 1986). After the 1986 album Night Things and a 1988 self-titled follow-up, Bruce made a conscious decision to cut back on his music to focus on his acting career, appearing in several made-for-TV films. Jason Ankeny -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Hathcock Born 1919 Died Dec 26, 2000 in Amarillo, Texas One of country music's most prolific writers of all-time was Johnny Hathcock, penning more than 400 songs during his long career. Scoring his first hit in 1954 with "Wake Up Irene" co-written with Weldon Allard. (recorded by Hank Thompson on Capitol) Hathcock also enjoyed another major hit with a song he wrote 10 years later, "Welcome to my World," which went on to become the theme song for renowned country entertainer Eddy Arnold. Besides Arnold, more than 60 other artists recorded their own versions of the song over years, including Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, and Andy Williams. In the ensuing years, Hathcock worked for radio stations in New Mexico and Texas, and also as an editorial writer for Record Stockman (a syndicated livestock publication) as well as a columnist for the Amarillo Globe-News. 1999 saw the releas, e of a poetry collection, entitled 'Sweet & Sour.' Hathcock died on December 26, 2000 in Amarillo, Texas, at the age of 81. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotty Moore - There When It Happened Born December 27, 1931 in Gadsden, TN Scotty Moore is one of the great pioneers of rock guitar. As the guitarist on Elvis Presley's Sun Recordings, he may have done more than anyone else to establish the basic vocabulary of rockabilly guitar licks, as heard on classic singles like "That's All Right, " "Good Rockin' Tonight, " "Baby Let's Play House, " and "Mystery Train." Moore took the stinging licks common to both country music and bl, ues, and not only combined elements of C&W and R&B, but added a rich tone through heavier amplification. His concise, sharp phrasing, and knack for knowing both what to play and when not to overplay, were perfect accents to Presley's vocals. Although his Sun riffs may be his most famous, Moore in fact continued to play on Presley records until the late 1960s, and laid down some of his best accompaniments to the star on RCA discs. Unsurprisingly, the best of these were in Elvis' early RCA years in the 1950s, when Moore added more wattage and recklessness to his riffs to come out with classic solos on "Hound Dog, " "Jailhouse Rock, " and "Too Much, " among others. As extensive as Moore's resume with Presley is and as well-known as his solos are, he actually contributed more to Presley's career than is often realized. He was crucial to Presley's early live shows, and did much to help advance Elvis' career in business capacities. He also did quite a bit of production and recording work, for several decades, in which Presley was not involved. He also had a brief career as an instrumental solo artist, although the mid-1960s album released under his name, The Guitar That Changed the World, was not the ideal showcase for his skills. After a lengthy stint in the Navy, Moore settled in Memphis in the early 1950s, playing honky tonk music when not working at a dry cleaners. His band, Doug Poindexter & the Starlite Wranglers, recorded a routine country single for Sun Records in the spring of 1954. Although the record did nothing, and the band would soon break up, Moore gained a valuable musical partner in their bassist, Bill Black. When Sun Records, and its owner/producer Sam Phillips, were mulling over trying a recording with young hopeful Elvis Presley, and in general looking for a new musical direction, Moore, Black, and Presley started to play together, groping for some common musical ground. Very shortly after Moore met and played with Presley for the first time, they were in Sun on July 5, 1954. This was the session that resulted in "That's All Right, " the first great rockabilly record and possibly the first great rock'n'roll record , made by White musicians. All three musicians made stellar contributions to the track by shedding their inhibitions, mixing country and blues, and going into new territory, Moore's soloing imbued with a masterful fluidity and crisp reverberance. In 1954 and 1955, Moore and Black were nearly equal partners with Presley; indeed, on Sun releases they were billed as Elvis Presley, Scotty, and Bill. What's more, Scotty became Presley's first manager, in a July 1954 contract that identified Moore as the bandleader. The trio played together live and with increasing success on the southern circuit, and inevitably, as Presley started to attract wide attention and come into his own as a frontman, more powerful interests edged Moore out of his business role in the band. First Bob Neal, and then Colonel Tom Parker, took over Presley's management. By the summer of 1955, Moore and Black became salaried employees of the act, rather than partners. Drummer D.J. Fontana was added to the band shortly afterwards, and the musicians continued to record, and play live with, Elvis when the singer began recording with RCA in 1956. While additional musicians on RCA sessions would sometimes make Moore's role less prominent than it had been at Sun, Scotty still added a great deal to Elvis' earliest and best RCA discs. There was the chilling, fiercely echoing solo on "Heartbreak Hotel, " the almost avant-garde mad runs up and down the scales on the solos of "Hound Dog" and "Too Much, " the brief but blasting one on "Jailhouse Rock, " and the bubbly one on "My Baby Left Me, " which was as pure and sparkling as anything Moore had played at Sun. Still, Moore and Black became less close to Elvis both personally and professionally. Some biographers have speculated that Tom Parker viewed anyone who had a close personal and artistic relationship with Elvis as a threat to his own power over the singer, and that the manager tried to drive a wedge between Elvis and the ot, h, er musicians, or even force Moore and , Black out of the picture. For the soundtrack of Love Me Tender, Scotty and Bill were not allowed to record with Presley. (They did help on other soundtracks from the period, as well as appearing in some Presley movies.) Frustrated with their limited salaried incomes as Presley became a superstar and earned more and more, Moore and Black gave Presley letters of resignation in September 1957. Although this was patched up after about a month, tension remained, and in any case Moore and Black were out of work again early in 1958, when Presley was drafted. Moore began working at Fernwood Records in production, and got a big national hit with Thomas Wayne's "Tragedy" in 1959. When Elvis returned from the army in 1960, Moore resumed playing sessions for him, although Black was not involved any longer, having started a successful solo career as the leader of the instrumental Bill Black Combo. There wasn't a lot of income from either Fernwood or Elvis, though, so Moore began working for Sam Phillips as a production manager in 1960, continuing to work with Elvis occasionally. In 1964, perhaps influenced by the success of former bandmate Black, Moore released an entire album of instrumentals for Epic in 1964, consisting of versions of songs recorded by Elvis Presley in the 1950s, on which (with one exception) Scotty had played. Although Moore played well on the LP, it was rather pointless given the superiority of the Elvis versions, and sold few copies. In March of 1964, Moore was fired by Phillips, and the guitarist moved to Nashville to work at Music City Records as an engineer, as well as doing some producing. His ongoing work with Presley as a session guitarist finally came to an end in the late 1960s, although he did appear onstage with Elvis on the singer's heralded 1968 television comeback special. Moore continued to work as an engineer, occasionally crossing paths in this capacity with unexpected clients such as Ringo Starr, Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth, and the Holy Modal Rounders. He got back into playing guitar again, after a layoff of about 25 years, on recordings and live shows with Carl Perkins in the early 1990s. In 1997, he did a tribute album to Elvis Presley with D.J. Fontana, All the King's Men, which included appearances by Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Jeff Beck, and Ronnie Wood. The presence of such heavyweights was a testament to the influence of Moore on other guitarists, not just rockabilly ones, but also rockers of a later generation, such as Richards. The Rolling Stones guitarist, indeed, is quite vocal and enthusiastic in his praise of Moore, even saying that it was hearing "Heartb, reak Hotel" that made him want to devote his life to playing guitar. Moore's life story, both with and without Elvis, is recounted in the autobiography"That's Alright, Elvis,"co-written with James Dickerson. Richie Unterberger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barbara Mandrell - Country When Country Wasn't Cool. Born December 25, 1948 in Houston, TX Thanks to a string of hit singles and a popular television variety series, vocalist Barbara Mandrell was arguably, ,the,biggest female star in country music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Born the oldest daughter into a musical family in Houston, Texas on Christmas Day, 1948, Mandrell was already reading music and playing accordion by the age of five. Just six years later, she was so adept at playing the steel guitar that her father escorted her to a music trade convention in Chicago, where her talents caught the attention of of Chet Atkins and Joe Maphis. Soon after, she was a featured performer in Maphis' Las Vegas nightclub show, followed by television performances and tours with Red Foley, Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. When Mandrell was 14, her family formed its own group, with her father Irby on vocals and guitar, her mother Mary Ellen on bass and Barbara handling pedal steel and saxophone. The band also included drummer Ken Dudney, whom Mandrell would eventually marry. The Mandrells toured the U.S. and Asia before Barbara made her first recordings in 1963, among them the minor hit "Queen for a Day." After a few more years of touring, Mandrell briefly retired in order to become a housewife, but she soon grew restless and returned to the music business. After si, gning with Columbia in 1969, she notched her first chart hit, a cover of the Otis Redding classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long." In 1970, Mandrell scored the first of many Top Forty 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. 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 Number One with 1978's "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed," which was immediately followed by another chart-topper, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," in early 1979. Later in the year, "Years" also reached Number One, as did three more singles"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 numerous industry awards and accolades. In 1980, the TV program Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters premiered on NBC. In addition to hosts Barbara, Louise and Irlene Mandrell, the show featured musical guests and comedy sketches. Each broadcast also closed with a gospel song, and in 1982 Mandrell released her own inspirational album, He Set My Life to Music. As a result of her busy schedule, she began suffering from vocal strain, and on doctor's orders pulled the plug on the television program in 1982. In 1983, she premiered The Lady Is a Champ, a Las Vegas stage show, and released two LPs, Black and White and Spun Gold. A collection of duets with Lee Greenwood, Clean Cut, followed in 1984. Tragedy struck later in the year, however, when Mandrell and two of her children were involved in a nightmarish head-on car crash that left the other driver dead. Though Mandrell and her kids survived, all three faced a long period of recovery. When she finally returned to performing a year later, the country music landscape had changed dramatically, with the "New Traditionalist" movement gaining dominance while the glitzier, more pop-influenced music Mandrell favored began falling out of favor. As the 1, 980s became the 1990s, she began focusing almost exclusively on live performing, where she remained a significant draw; she also published her autobiography, Get to the Heart: My Story. Jason Ankeny -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freddie Hart Born Fred Segrest - Dec 21, 1933 in Lochapoka, Alabama Freddie Hart, a popular singer/songwriter during the 1970s, began life as one of 15 sharecropper's children. He was only five when his grandfather fashioned him a "guitar" out of a cigar box and wire from a Model T Ford. Hart first ran away from home at age seven. At age 12, his parents sent him to a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. When he was 16, Hart lied about his age and joined the Marines, and was sent to Iwo Jima and Okinawa. When not in battle, he entertainec at the non-commissioned officer's clubs. Following his stint in the military, Hart began working odd jobs all over the country. In 1949, he moved to Nashville to work as a roadie for Hank Williams, who helped Hart learn to write songs. Later that year, he cut his first single, "Every Little Thing Rolled Into One," a song written by George Morgan. Hart moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1950 to work in a cotton-seed mill; there he met Lefty Frizzell and tried to sell him one of his songs. Instead, Frizzell ended up signing him to tour. Hart also signed with Capitol at this time, but had no chart success with his songs. In 1953, Hart left Frizzell's show to work as a regular on Town Hall Party in Southern California. Three years later he became a black-belt karate instructor for the LA Police Academy. In 1955, he penned "Loose Talk," and it was recorded by Carl Smith. The song has since become a country standard recorded by numerous artists. Hart signed to Columbia in 1959 and finally began to gain popularity with two respectable hits, "The Wall" and the "Chain Gang." Through 1961, he appeared on the charts three more times and later that year debuted on the Grand Ole Opry. He didn't chart again until 1965, when he and his band the Heartbeats released "Togetherness" and "Born a Fool." He went back to Capitol in 1970 and had a hit with "The Whole World Holding Hands." 1971 was a banner year, starting with his number one hit "Easy Lovin'," which also crossed over to become a Top 20 pop hit. It was followed by four more number one hits through 1973, among them "Bless Your Heart." His star waned through the rest of the decade, however, and though he continued to appear on the charts it was with decreasing frequency. He began label-hopping during the '80s and in 1987 had one of his last hits with "Best Love I Never Had." He continued to tour and write songs, and appeared frequ, ently in Branson, Missouri. Sandra Brennan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hawkshaw Hawkins Harold Franklin Hawkins Born December 22, 1921 in Huntington, WV Died March 5, 1963 in Camden, TN Born Harold F. Hawkins, Hawkshaw is a country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and entertainer. A large man (6 ft., 6 in.) with a deep singing voice, Hawkins was an immensely popular performer in country music for many years without the benefit of big record success. He started on radio, becoming a regular on WWVA's Wheeling Jamboree by 1946 and making his first records for the King label around that time. By 1953 he signed with RCA Victor and became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry by 1955. Described as "the man with eleven and a half yards of personality," Hawkins was a warm and engaging performer both onstage and on records, able to pull off a wide variety of material from maudlin weepers to uptempo novelties. His label-jumping from Columbia by the late '50s and back to King by the early '60s moved his material closer to commercial mainstream country, but his time in the spotlight ran out when he perished in the same plane crash as Cowboy Copas and Patsy Cline. Hawkshaw Hawkins (b. Harold Franklin Hawkins, December 22, 1921; d. March 5, 1963) was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. His first foray into performing came at the age of 15, when he won a talent contest at a local radio station, WSAZ. Following his win, he began working at the station, eventually moving to WCHS in Charleston by the end of the '30s; at WCHS, he frequently sang with Clarence "Sherlock" Jack. During 1941, he travelled the United States with a revue. The following year, he joined the military, where he was stationed in the Phillippines; in Manila, he sang on the local army radio. Following his discharge from the Army, Hawkins signed with King Records, releasing the minor hit and the song that would eventually become his signature tune "The Sunny Side of the Mountain." In addition to recording for King, he was a regular on WWVA's Wheeling Jamboree betwen 1946 and 1954. In 1948, he had his first hit single with "Pan American," which climbed into the country Top Ten. Over the next three years, he had four other Top Ten singles "Dog House Boogie" (1948), "I Love You a Thousand Ways" (1951), "I'm Waiting Just for You" (1951) and "Slow Poke" (1951). In 1953, he left King and signed with RCA, but he had no hits for the label. In 1955, Hawkins became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Hawkshaw joined Columbia's roster in 1959, releasing the number 15 single "Soldier's Joy" later that year. The following year, he married fellow country singer Jean Shepard, and they made their home on a farm outside of Nashville, where he bred horses. Hawkins re-signed to King in 1963, releasing "Lonesome 7-7203" as a comeback single early that spring. Though it became a number one hit, Hawkins didn't live to see it reach the top of the charts , he tragically died in the same airplane crash that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas on March 5, 1963. Shepard was pregnant with their child at the time of the crash; the child was a son, and he was named after his father. Hawkins' recorded legacy was treated haphazardly in the three decades after his death, but in 1991, Bear Family released a comprehensive, multi-disc overview of his RCA and Columbia Records called Hawk. Cub Koda -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buddy Harman - THE WORLDS GREATEST COUNTRY DRUMMER Born December 23, 1928 in Nashville, TN Nashville-born session drummer Buddy Harman has been around country music so long that he actually pre-dates the time when drums were even used on country records. In fact, it was Harman who formed the foundation from which subsequent Nashville drummers built upon. The longtime studio ace is recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame as being among the small handful of musicians who pioneered the "Nashville Sound." Following in his mother's foot steps, Harman took up the drums before his teens and, after a stint in the military, studied percussion in Chicago under Roy Knapp. Upon his return to Nashville Harman learned that, contrary to what was protocol before his departure, artists were now asking for drums on their records. Splitting his time between session work and drumming in a strip joint, Harman played on early recordings by Patsy Cline (including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight") and Marty Robbins. Whereas Harman had first taken to using only a snare drum and brushes, by the early '60s he was utilizing a full kit for artists such as the Everly Brothers and Elvis. Because he was there from the beginning, and in many aspects actually pioneered country drumming within a studio context, Harman has played on several legendary sessions, Roger Miller's "King of the Road," Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" being just a small list. In 1991 Harman returned to the stool of house drummer at the Grand Ole Opry, a position he originated in 1959. A walking history book of the evolution of Nashville and country music, Harman has played on over 18, 000 sessions making him arguably the most recorded drummer ever. Steve Kurutz -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STONEY EDWARDS - "HANK AND LEFTY RAISED HIS COUNTRY SOUL" Born December 24, 1937 in Seminole, OK Died April 5, 1997 Stoney Edwards never made it to the big time, yet he and his soulful honky-tonk sound had a devoted following, and he was one of the few African-American performers to try his hand in the genre. He was born Frenchy Edwards in rural Oklahoma, one of seven children. Even as a boy, Edwards dreamed of playing on the Grand Ole Opry like his hero, Bob Wills. By the time he was 13, he had mastered several instruments and frequently jammed with his , uncles. After leaving home as a teen, in 1954 he married and moved to San Francisco to settle down for the next 15 years. When not working, he played music. After breaking his back in a job-related mishap, Edwards was ordered to avoid heavy work by his doctors. Without an income, he seriously thought of leaving his family so they could receive welfare, but just as he was leaving his daughter came forth with the gift of wind-up toy. Deeply moved, Edwards was inspired to write his first song, "A Two Dollar Toy," and began focusing his energy on a music career. In 1970, he was invited to play at a benefit for Bob Wills in Oakland, and his performance led to a contract with Capitol Records. The following year, he released his first album, Stoney Edwards, A Country Singer, and made his single debut with "A Two Dollar Toy," which made the Top 70. In 1972, Edwards released his second album, Down Home in the Country, and began to attract a following. "He's My Rock" came out in 1973 and stayed in the Top 20 for almost four months. Although his subsequent releases were generally minor hits, some have become regarded as country classics, such as his version of the Frazier & Owens song "Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul." He continued recording and appearing on the charts through the early '80s, when his career and his health began to wane. Eventually he had part of his right leg amputated due to problems with diabetes. In 1986, Edwards returned to make an album with Johnny Gimble, Ray Benson, Floyd Domino, Jimmy Day, Leon Rausch and Ralph Mooney. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Jumpin" Bill Carlisle Born December 19, 1908 in Wakefield, KY COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME-2002 AT AGE 94 Yodeling singer/songwriter/guitarist Bill Carlisle was the younger brother of popular 1930s country singer Cliff Carlisle. During the '30s, Bill established himself as a blues singer, but during the '50s and '60s, he was best known for his novelty songs as he and his family band, the Carlisles, became regulars on the Grand Ole Opry. Brother Cliff gave young Carlisle his start in 1933 by letting him audition with the ARC label group. His first single, "Rattlesnake Daddy," became quite popular; during the '40s, it became a bluegrass favorite. Dubbed "Smilin' Bill" by publicists, he was noted for his precise and extremely fast runs on the guitar. Eventually Bill became almost as popular as his older brother, with whom he shared a talent for yodeling and a tendency to sing songs filled with risqué double entendres, such as "Copper Head Mama" (1934) and "Jumpin and Jerkin' Blues" (1935). During the late '30s, Bill signed with Decca and explored different styles, but still recorded bawdy songs as well. During the '30s and '40s, Carlisle worked at different radio stations in Kentucky, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, sometimes with Cliff and sometimes solo. In 1946, Bill and Cliff scored a giant hit with "Rainbow at Midnight." Two years later, Bill had his own Top 15 hit with "Tramp on the Street." Cliff eventually retired in 1950, and Bill then organized the Carlisles and went back to Knoxville to do shows with Don Gi, bson, Chet Atkins, and Homer and Jethro, among others. It was during these performances that he began to leap about on stage and develop his comical alter-ego "Hot Shot Elmer," a character he created during the 1940s. As Elmer, Carlisle would interrupt performances by jumping over chairs, falling off the stairs and creating general mayhem on stage. During the '50s he recorded a series of novelty songs for Mercury. The first, "Too Old to Cut the Mustard," hit the Top Ten in 1952. "No Help Wanted" climbed to number one the following year and stayed there five weeks. That year he had three more hits, all of which made it to the Top Ten, including the Ira Louvin song "Taint Nice (To Talk like That)." This string of successes led the Opry to invite the Carlisles aboard in 1953. Bill's children joined his band in the 1960s, and he had another hit in 1965 with "What Kind of Deal Is This." During the '80s and '90s, the fun-loving Bill was noted for appearing onstage in crazy green wigs and with his constant theatrical leaps earned the nickname "Jumping" Bill Carlisle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Little Jimmy Dickens A/K/A "Tater" Born December 19, 1925 Bolt, WV Little Jimmy Dickens is the master of the country novelty songs, as well as a renowned ballad singer. He also known for his diminutive stature he's less than five feet tall and his affection for flamboyant, rhinestone-studded outfits and country humor. Although he never had a consistent presence on the charts, he managed to have hits in every decade between the 1940s and the 1970s, and he became one of the Grand Ole Opry's most popular performers. Dickens was the 13th child of a West Virginian farmer. During his childhood, he fell in love with music and had a dream of performing on the Grand Ole Opry. He began performing professionally while he was a student at the University of West Virginia in the late '30s, singing on a local radio station. Dickens left school shortly after he received his regular radio job. He began travelling around the country, singing on radio shows in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan under the name Jimmy the Kid. Roy Acuff heard Dickens sing on a radio show in Saginaw, MI, and invited him to sing on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1949, Dickens who was now using the name Little Jimmy Dickens became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry. That year, he also signed a record contract with Columbia Records, releasing his first single, "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait," in the spring of 1949. The song became a Top Ten hit and launched a string of hit novelty, ballad and honky tonk singles that lasted for a year, which included "Country Boy," "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed," "Hillbilly Fever," and "My Heart's Bouquet." Early in the '50s, he formed a band called the Country Boys, which featured a steel guitar, two lead guitars and drums. With their spirited, traditional country approach and vague rockabilly inflections, the band didn't sound like their Nashville contemporaries. Perhaps that's why Dickens only had one hit between 1950 and 1962 1954's "Out Behind the Barn." Dickens bounced back to the Top Ten with the ballad "The Violet and the Rose" in 1962. Three years later, he had his biggest hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose." The single topped the country charts and crossed over to number 15 on the pop charts. Although his next single, "When the Ship Hit the Sand,' was moderately successful, Dickens wasn't able to replicate the success of "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose." In 1968, he stopped recording for Columbia, signing with Decca Records where he had three minor hits in the late '60s and early '70s. In 1971, he moved to United Artists, which resulted in two more small hits, but by that time he had begun to concentrate on performing as his main creative outlet. Dickens continued to tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry into the '90s, becoming one of the most beloved characters in country music. Stephen Thomas Erlewine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frankie Miller - "The Blackland Farmer" Born Dec 17, 1931 in Victoria, TX Frankie Miller recorded several dozen sides for Starday during the late '50s and '60s, including two country hits in 1959. Born in Victoria, Texas on December 17, 1931, Miller earned a football scholarship to a local junior college, at which time he formed the Drifting Texans and began broadcasting on the area station KNAL. He also worked in Houston, where he gained a contract with the 4 Star subsidiary, Guilt Edge. Though he recorded several numbers in 1951, Miller soon left to serve in the Korean War. He returned two years later with a Bronze Star, and signed to Columbia in 1954. None of the dozen sides he recorded in the subsequent year placed on the charts, though. Miller appeared around Texas (including on Fort Worth's Cowtown Hoedown) during the late '50s and recorded occasional one-off singles for local labels. Don Pierce, owner of the Starday label, had been of the few who appreciated Miller's Guilt Edge recordings, so he signed the young singer in 1959. Miller rewarded the label-owner's confidence that same year when "Blackland Farmer" hit the Country Top Five and became one of Starday's most popular recordings. "Family Man" reached number seven in October 1959, and Miller was tapped as Cashbox's Most Promising Country Artist for 1960. He joined the Louisiana Hayride and,appeared on the Grand Ole Opry several times. Unfortunately, Miller had already reached the pinnacle of his success he hit the charts only three more times. "Baby Rocked Her Dolly" entered the Top 15 in 1960 and "A Little South of Memphis" hit number 34 in 1964, while a re-release of "Black Land Farmer" hit number 16 in 1961. Frankie Miller recorded for United Artists in 1965, but retired from music to work at a Chrysler dealership in Arlington, TX. The German label Bear Family re-released three of his albums during the '80s. Frankie now makes his home near the Ft. Worth/Dallas area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WEBB PIERCE STORY Born August 8, 1926 in West Monroe, LA Died February 24, 1991 in Nashville, TN Webb Pierce was one of the most popular honky tonk vocalists of the '50s, racking up more number one hits than similar artists like Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizzell, and Ernest Tubb. For most of the general public, Pierce with his lavish, flamboyant Nudie suits became the most recognizable face of country music, as well as all of its excesses; after all, he boasted about his pair of convertibles lined with silver dollars and his guitar-shaped swimming pool. For all of his success, Pierce never amassed the reputation of his contemporaries, even though he continued to chart regularly well into the '70s. Webb's weakness for gaudy ornaments of his wealth, as well as his reluctance to break away from hardcore honky tonk meant that he had neither supporters in the industry, nor the ability to sustain the ever-changing tastes of a popular audience. Nevertheless, he remains one of the cornerstone figures of honky tonk, both for his success and his artistic achievements. As a child in West Monroe, Lousiana, Webb Pierce became infatuated with Gene Autry films and his mother's hillbilly records, particularly those of Jimmie Rodgers and various western swing and Cajun groups. He began to play guitar before he was a teenager. At the age of 15, he was hired as a singer by Monroe's KMLB. During World War II, Pierce enlisted in the Army. While he was in the service, he married Betty Jane Lewis; their wedding was in June of 1942. After he was discharged, Webb and his wife moved back to Monroe, but by 1944 he moved to Shreveport. Getting a job at Sears Roebuck, Pierce began singing on radio stations, night clubs, and dances with Betty Jane. At first, they were featured on an early morning radio show on KTBS, while they would perform in the evening a, t clubs. It took them five years before they were noticed by the industry. In 1949, the California-based 4 Star Records signed the duo under separate recording contracts. Webb signed under his own name, while his wife was signed for duets with her husband under the name Betty Jane and Her Boyrfriends. However, success didn't come to the duo it only came for Webb; in the summer of 1950, the couple divorced. In late 1949, Pierce accepted a spot on the Louisiana Hayride, a radio program on KWKH that was instrumental in launching the careers of many country artists. Webb began to assemble a band of local Shreveport musicians, which included recruiting pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist/vocalist Faron Young, bassist Tillman Franks, and vocalists Teddy and Doyle Wilburn. The Wilburns and Franks all wrote songs, which provided the basis for Webb's initial set list. Pierce also founded a record label called Pacemaker and Ark-La-Tex Music, a publishing company, with Horace Logan, the director of the Lousiana Hayride. On Pacemaker, Pierce made several records between 1950 and 1951. They weren't designed to be big sellers they were created with the intent of attracting radio play around Louisiana. In 1951, he was able to get out of his 4-Star contract and Decca Records signed him immediately. Webb's second single, "Wondering," became his breakthrough hit, climbing to number one early in 1952. After the single became a hit, Pierce left Louisiana for Nashville, where he met and married his second wife, Audrey Greisham. In June of 1952, he had his second number one single with "That Heart Belongs to Me." The following September, the Grand Ole Opry needed to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Hank Williams, so they invited Pierce to join the cast. After Williams's death, Pierce became the most popular singer in country music. For the next four years, every single he released hit the Top Ten, with a total of ten reaching number one, including "There Stands the Glass" (1953), "Slowly" (1954), "More and More" (1954) and "In the Jailhouse Now" (1955). Pierce and Opry manager Jim Denny formed Cedarwood Music, a music publishing company, in 1953; later, the pair would invest in radio stations together. Their business ventures were not looked upon kindly by the Opry superiors and they began pressuring the duo to cease any outside interests. At the same time, Pierce was growing tired of being confined to the Grand Ole Opry he thought wasn't being treated with the respect a star of his stature deserved and he wanted to be able to partake in the lucrative financial rewards that came with touring. Webb left the Opry in 1955 and began appearing on Ozark Jubilee, a television program on the ABC network. He left Ozark Jubilee in 1956 and returned to the Opry, but left for good the following year. Pierce continued to have hits until the end of the '50s, but he did take a significant dip in popularity after rock & roll's arrival in the late '50s. Nevertheless, Webb stayed on the charts, primarily because he kept in close touch with DJs across the country, which meant that he was able to keep , his streak of 34 consecutive Top Ten hits running into 1957. For a while, Pierce tried to keep up with rock & roll, covering the Everly Brothers and recording pseudo-rockabilly numbers. Once those proved unsuccessful, he stuck with honky tonk and he continued to rack up Top Ten hits right through 1964. By 1965, the country-pop leanings of the Nashville Sound had pushed honky tonk from the top of the country charts. Pierce remained a star, but he simply didn't have many big hits in the latter half of the '60s the most notable was "Fool Fool Fool" in 1967. Since his music had faded from the spotlight, he became known for his excessive lifestyle. Instead of indulging in intoxicants, Webb indulged in material items. Pierce had Nudie Cohen, a Hollywood tailor famous for his custom-made flamboyant clothing, line two Pontiac convertibles with silver dollars. He built a guitar-shaped swimming pool at his Nashville home. The swimming pool became a popular tourist attraction nearly 3, 000 people visited it each week causing his neighbors, led by Ray Stevens, to file a legal suit against Pierce in order to prevent visitors from coming into their neighborhood. Throughout the '70s, Pierce continued to record, but most of his income came from his highly lucrative financial investments. Webb left Decca Records in 1975, making a handful of records for Plantation Records that didn't experience much chart success. His last hit came in 1982, when his duet on "In the Jailhouse Now" with Willie Nelson scraped the bottom of the country charts. Despite all of his success, Webb Pierce was never inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during his lifetime; it's likely that the members never forgave him for his rejection of the Grand Ole Opry and the Nashville industry. Webb Pierce died of pancreatic cancer on February 24, 1991. Just months before his death, he didn't receive enough votes to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, his career stands as one of the most successful in the history of country music. Webb will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in November, 2001, ten years after his death.It's a damn shame the petty jerks in Nashville didn't make it happen in his lifetime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE MEL TILLIS STORY Lonnie Melvin Tillis August 8, 1932 Tampa, Florida In light of all the attention given Mel Tillis' infamous speech impediment he even named his autobiography Stutterin' Boy the polished, sincere vocal delivery and songwriting skills that first earned him fame were often lost in the shuffle; nonetheless, throughout the course of his many decades in country music, Tillis remained one of Nashville's most enduring personalities. Born Lonnie Melvin Tillis in Tampa, Florida on August 8, 1932, it is believed that his stuttering was the result of a bout with malaria at the age of three. As a child, he learned guitar, and in high school studied both the violin and the drums. At the age of 16, he first performed publicly at a local talent show, and after graduation he entered the military. While stationed in Okinawa, Japan, he formed a group called the Westerners, which played local clubs. After exiting the service in 1955, Tillis went to college and held odd jobs until moving to Nashville the following year. He found little success as a writer or performer there, and soon returned to Florida; then, in 1957, Webb Pierce reached number three with Tillis' composition "I'm Tired, " earning the aspiring artist a songwriting contract with Pierce's Cedarwood Music. After playing with the likes of Minnie Pearl and Judy Lynn, Tillis cut his first single, a cover of the standard "It Takes a Worried Man to Sing a Worried Song, " in 1957; the B-side, the self-penned "Honky Tonk Song, " quickly became a chart-topper for Pierce. After a few excursions into rock 'n' roll territory, Tillis earned his first Top 40 hit with 1958's "The Violet and a Rose." While Tillis continued to chart singles like 1959's "Finally" and a pair of duets with Bill Phillips, "Sawmill" and "Georgi, a Town Blues, " his greatest success at the turn of the decade remained as a songwriter. He continued supplying Pierce with hit after hit, including the 1959 smashes "I Ain't Never" and "No Love Have I" along with 1962's "Crazy Wild Desire" and 1963's "Sawmill." Also covering Tillis' songs were Bobby Bare ("Detroit City"), Ray Price ("One More Time, " "Burning Memories, " "Heart Over Mind"), Stonewall Jackson ("Mary Don't You Weep"), and Little Jimmy Dickens ("The Violet and a Rose, " also covered by Wanda Jackson). In 1962, Tillis released his first LP, Heart Over Mind; a year later, he teamed with Pierce for the hit "How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me." In 1965, Tillis recorded his first Top 15 hit, "Wine." A string of successes followed, including 1966's "Stateside, " "Life Turned Her That Way" (the title cut from his 1967 album), and his first Top Ten, 1968's "Who's Julie." At the same time, his stature as a songwriter continued to grow thanks to hit covers of his "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (by both Johnny Darrell and Kenny Rogers & the First Edition) and "Mental Revenge" (Waylon Jennings). At the end of the 1960s, Tillis and his esteemed new backing band the Statesiders came into their own as performers; after two 1969 Top Ten hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere, " he sco, red back-to-back Top Five hits in 1970 with "Heart Over Mind" and "Heaven Everyday." In 1971, he began a successful string of duets with Sherry Bryce which included "Take My Hand" and "Living and Learning, " and released the album Live at the Sam Houston Colliseum. 1972's "I Ain't Never" became his first chart-topper, and the remainder of the decade which followed was Tillis' most fertile period as an artist, as evidenced by a series of Top Five smashes like "Neon Rose, " "Sawmill, " "Midnight, Me and the Blues, " "Stomp Them Grapes" and "Memory Maker." Between 1976 and 1980, he scored five more Number Ones"Good Woman Blues, " "Heart Healer, " "I Believe in,You, " "Coca Cola Cowboy, " and "Southern Rains." He also appeared in a number of films, including 1975's W.W. and the Dancekings (with Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed), 1977's The Villain (starring Kirk Douglas and Arnold Schwarzenegger), Clint Eastwood's Every Which Way But Loose in 1979, and 1980's all-star Smokey and the Bandit Part II. Albums of the period included 1976's Love Revival and 1980's M-M-Mel Live, in addition to a series of hits compilations.In 1979, Mel ventured into radio broadcasting in Amarillo, Texas. First with KIXZ AM, then adding an Rock FM station, which would laterbe changed to a country format by Program Director Dugg Collins and known as KMML, for M-M-Mel Tillis.In the early 80's, Mel also bought the stand alone AM WUNI in Mobile, Alabama. He sold his radio properties at the end of 1985. In 1981, Tillis recorded a duets album with Nancy Sinatra called Mel & Nancy, but like most of his work throughout the 1980s, it failed to repeat the success he had previously enjoyed. Although he continued to work in fi, lms (co-starring in both Cannonball Run pictures) and notched the occasional Top Ten hit (like 1981's "A Million Old Goodbyes" or 1983's "In the Middle of the Night, "), his days as a superstar were over. Still, he remained a popular songwriter, especially among younger artists; his "Honey (Open That Door)" and "Diggin' Up Bones" were Number One hits for, respectively, Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. Tillis also continues as a successful road act and enjoys great success with his Mel Tillis Theater in Branson, Missouri. In the early '90s, his daughter Pam became one of country's biggest stars. December 31, 2002, Mel will leave his Branson Theater and once again be a road act. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A CLASSIC COUNTRY LOOK AT WYNN STEWART Wynnford Lindsey Stewart - Morrisville, Missouri Born: June 7, 1934 - Died: July 17, 1985 Wynn Stewart was one of the leading figures of West Coast Country Music, developing in the ear, ly 50's, the style that would later be known as the Bakersfield Sound. Along with Tommy Collins and Buck Owens, they created a sound that would be the rage of country music from the late 50's through the mid 70's. The early singles of Wynn Stewart such as "Wishful Thinking" and "Big, Big Love," clearly inspired singers like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Wynn was a singer's, singer. Just about everyone from those early California years wanted to have a sound like Wynn Stewart. Take a listen to those early Owens and Haggard records and you'll see what I mean. Wynn was born in Morrisville, Missouri and spent most of , his childhood moving around the country with his sharecropping family. Following World War 11, he spent a year working for KWTO in Springfield, Missouri before moving to California with his family in 1948. While still in high school, he formed a band and began playing clubs around California. Eventually, he met steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, who joined Wynn's band. Other famous players on that band were Roy Nichols on guitar and Bobby Austin on bass. After stints with some independent records labels, Wynn signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1956 and released his first single for the label called "Waltz Of The Angels." That song spent one week at number 14 on the country charts and later on was a hit for George Jones andMargie Singleton. Subsequent singles were released, but none of the records made any impact and Stewart left the label. In 1958, now with Challenge Records, radio started listening to Wynn Stewart. He soon had hits like "Wishful Thinking," Big, Big Love," "Another Day, Another Dollar," and duets with Jan Howard like "Wrong Company."In 1962, Merle Haggard joined Wynn's band as his bass player and Wynn eventually gave Merle a song he had written called "Sing A Sad Song," which became Merle's debut single. In 1965, he re-signedwith Capitol Records in California. Early in , 1967, he ha,,d a monster hit with "It's Such A Pretty World Today." I became friends with Wynn in 1966 and watched him grow into a great artist for Capitol with a string of hit records. If I ever, in my singing career, tried to sound like anybody on stage, it was Wynn Stewart.I just loved what he recorded and weworked a lot of dates together from the mid 60's until his death in the mid 80's. From the time I got to know him, I watched the bottle slowly destroy one of the finest talents I have ever known. On the morning of July 17, 1985, I had just finished my air shift at KMML in Amarillo and was preparing to leave to meet my band in Childress, Texas for a three day rodeo. Wynn called me that morning to say thanks for my support on his latest single, on his own label called, "Wait Till I Get My Hands On You." He told me he was trying hard to kick the bottle and had just leased a bus and put together a band. They had some dates lined up and was supposed to leave that afternoon for the first date. He indicated he was calling from his mothers home. I told him how happy I was that he was trying to get away from the alcohol and delighted to see him working again. After about thirty minutes on the phone,we said goodbye and I headed for Childress to join the band. On the way down, I listened to tapes of new material I planned to do on the job that weekend. Did not turn the radio on once, so I had no access to news during the trip. Upon my arrival at the hotel, the boys in the band asked if I had heard about Wynn. That was the first I knew of his death. Needless to say, it broke my heart. Just a few hours earlier, he was so filled with hope for the future, then it was all taken away. By the time he decided to make one more try at stardom, he was in very ill health and suffering from high blood pressure. His new tour was to start at Twitty City, but they found him dead from a heart attack, sprawled on the bed in the room from where he had called me late that morning. I suspect he died shortly after our conversation. Perhaps, Wynn's work, both as a singer and songwriter, will be greater appreciated and his song catalog will be trawled for material that is highly recordable now and, in years to come. Wynn Stewart will always be a country superstar to me and to a lot of us old timers in country music. I treasure every second we spent together on and off the stage. I still miss him. I still listen to his records and, from time to time, still try to sing like him. Go To FIMC Click here to visit Wynn's Web Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GREAT LEFTY FRIZZELL - Trend Setter and Song Stylist Born: William Orville Frizzell MARCH 31, 1928 - JULY 19, 1975 I remember the day Lefty died. Joyce, the kids and I were headed back to Amarillo, Texas after spending a few days in Ft. Worth with my brother and some otherrelatives. The radio was set to WBAP and they ran a bulletin saying, "Country Music great Lefty Frizzell died today, of a massive heart attack." That news just broke my heart. The news shouldn't have been that shocking, since I knew Lefty had been fighting a losing battle with the bottle for sometime and he was in very poor health. Lefty Frizzell was the definitive honky-tonk singer. He set the style for generations of vocalist that followed him. He changed the way country vocalist sang forever.Hundreds of artist have emulated and expanded Lefty's innovations. His singing became the foundation of how hard country music should be sung. Lefty was the first of eight children. Born in Corisicana, Texas, the son of an oil field worker,he was know as Sonny to his family, but that changed when Lefty won a school yard fight at age 14.He began singing professionally before he reached his teen years, landing a regular spot on KELD, El Dorado, Arkansas, where he and his family lived for several years. His first single record, which he wrote, "IF YOU GOT THE MONEY, I'VE GOT THE TIME," went straight to number one and, the B-Side, "I LOVE YOU A THOUSAND WAYS," also went to number one. As many as forty artist tried to cover those two songs, but Lefty was the one country folk wanted to hear sing 'em. Merle Haggard said Lefty was the greatest singer that ever lived and Lefty certainly had a profound effect on Merle. Much of what Haggard has done in his career can be traced directly to the Frizzell influence. I started working dates with Lefty in the late 60's until 1974. It was a short asociation, but one I will never forget. I have an 8x10 picture on my office wall of the two of us on one of those dates in Texas. His influence is still strong today in many of the younger country acts. That influence will continue for many years to come, but we all know, there is only one, Lefty Frizzell. He left us at the very young age of 47. Lefty was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4200 North Old Lawrence Road Wichita, KS 67219 Phone: 316-838-9141 Fax: 316-838-3607 Lobby Hours: M-F 8:00 - 5:30 Studio Line - 436-1070