Died On This Date (August 13, 2013) Tompall Glaser / Country Music Great
themusicsover Tompall Glaser
September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013
Tompall Glaser was one of the original so-called “outlaws” of country music. Alongside the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Billy Joe Shaver, Glaser put Nashville on watch by working, living, and playing outside the mainstream country music rules of the ’70s. Born in Spalding, Nebraska, Glaser initially moved to Nashville with his brothers to sing back up for Marty Robbins. The brothers were also making their own records before Tompall went off on his own. Over the course of his solo career, he released around a dozen albums that included hit country singles like “Put Another Log On The Fire” and “It’ll Be Her.” Perhaps his most famous song however, “Streets Of Baltimore,” found its glory thanks to being covered by the likes of Gram Parsons, Bobby Bare, the Statler Brothers, Charley Pride, and Norah Jones‘ country group, the Little Willies. Meanwhile, Glaser and his brothers opened Glaser Brothers Sound Studio, or as it was affectionately known around town, Hillbilly Central. The compound quickly established itself as the fostering ground for the “outlaw” movement. As it took hold, even RCA Records had to react by releasing Wanted! The Outlaws, a compilation of previously released tracks by Glaser, Nelson, Jennings, and Jessie Colter. Glaser’s contribution, “T For Texas,” reached #36 on the Country Singles charts and is considered one of the milestones of the era. The album itself, released in 1976, became the first Country album to sell over 1 million copies as it reached #1 on the Country Album charts and #10 on the Pop Album charts. Glaser continued to record with his brothers until 1982 and released one last solo album in 1986 before selling the studio and retiring from the music business altogether. Tompall Glaser died following a long undisclosed illness on August 13, 2013. He was 79.
What You Should Own
James Gray is perhaps best remembered as the one-time keyboardist for successful Canadian alt-country band, Blue Rodeo. Gray joined the group during the early ’90s, just in time to play on their hit album of 1993, Five Days In July. The video for the album’s “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” quickly became a staple on MTV helping them gain a foothold in the US. Over the next decade, Gray toured and recorded with the band as they grew in popularity in both Canada and around the world. His last album with the group was 2005’s Are You Ready. Outside of Blue Rodeo, Gray played with such outfits as Hopping Penguins, Whitenoise, and Vital Signs. James Gray died unexpectedly from a heart attack on August 5, 2013. He was 52.
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Larry Robinson was a beloved San Diego-area singer-songwriter who, over the course of his career, released six albums, three of which as a member of the Dorados during the ’90s. Americana in vein, Robinson’s songs spoke of a California that unfortunately, many are too young to have known. During the ’60s, he played in the band, Things To Come who once shared the Whiskey A Go-Go stage with the Byrds. On March 22, 3013, 64-year-old Larry Robinson was bound and severely beaten during a robbery of Pete’s Music Store where he worked part-time in Temecula, California. He died of his injuries the next day . His assailant or assailants remained unidentified in the weeks following his death.