Country

Died On This Date (November 11, 2013) Bob Beckham / Country Music Publisher

Bob Beckham
July 8, 1927 – November 11, 2013

bob-beckhamBob Beckham was a successful Nashville music publisher who, over a career that began in the late 50s, helped guide the early careers of Tony Joe White, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and many more.  Born in Oklahoma, Beckham got the show business bug early on so began performing in a traveling when he was just eight years old.  He later spent time in Hollywood where he did a bit of acting.  After a stint in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper during World War II, Beckham signed to Decca Records and charted twice with 1959’s “Just As Much As Ever,” and “Crazy Arms,” which reached #2 on the pop charts the following year.  He moved to Nashville in 1959 and landed jobs plugging songs, eventually co-owning Combine Music where he stayed until it sold in 1986.  In 1990, he formed HoriPro Music as a U.S. division of Taiyo Music publishing company in Japan.  He retired in 2006.  Bob Beckham was 86 when he passed away on November 11, 2013.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus of Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.



Died On This Date (August 13, 2013) Tompall Glaser / Country Music Great

Tompall Glaser
September 3, 1933 – August 13, 2013

tompall-glaserTompall 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

Click to find at amazon.com
Click to find at amazon.com



Died On This Date (August 10, 2013) Jody Payne / Longtime Guitarist For Willie Nelson

Jody Payne
January 11, 1936 – August 10, 2013

jody-payneJody Payne was a country singer and musician who spent decades as Willie Nelson‘s guitarist on album and in concert.  Nelson formed his perennial back-up band, the Family in 1973, and Payne was by his side until he retired in 2008.  Born in Kentucky, Payne was singing with his sister as far back as five years old.  He learned to play the mandolin around that time as well.  A gig at his older (yes older) sister’s 1st grade graduation was his first gig.  He could be heard singing on a local radio station by the time he was 11.  He hit the road with a bluegrass band in 1951, and after being discharged from the Army in 1961, he went on to tour with Merle Haggard, and later recorded with the Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Tanya Tucker, Leon Russell, and Hank Snow.  Jody Payne died from cardiac problems on August 10, 2013.  He was 77.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus of Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.

What You Should Own

Click to find at amazon.com
Click to find at amazon.com



Died On This Date (August 8, 2013) Cowboy Jack Clement / Legendary Nashville Producer, Musician & Songwriter

Jack Clement
April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013

Photo by Dan Loftin
Photo by Dan Loftin

Cowboy Jack Clement was a successful record producer, songwriter and session player who worked with a wide range of artists over a career that spanned 60 years.  Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Clement was still in his teens when he first picked up the guitar.  After serving in the Marines during the late ’40s/early ’50s, he co-founded his first band, a bluegrass outfit named Buzz and Jack & the Bayou Boys.  In 1954, he went to work at Sun Studios where he worked on early recordings by the likes of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins.  As his career continued, Clement produced such iconic records as Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” George Jones‘ “She Still Thinks I Care,” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” for Jerry Lee Lewis who he is credited for having discovered.  As a songwriter, Clement penned tunes that have been recorded by the likes of Cash, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Tom Jones.  He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1973.  He is also a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame.  In April of 2013, it was announced that the Country Music Hall of Fame would include him in their class of 2013.  In 1987, U2 hired Clement to produce tracks for their Rattle and Hum album at Sun Studios.  He worked on “When Love Comes To Town” “Love Rescue Me,” and “Angel Of Harlem.”  Parts of the sessions can be seen in the Rattle and Hum film.  In recent years, Clement could be heard during his weekly radio program on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel.  Cowboy Jack Clement was 82 when he passed away in his home.  Cause of death was not immediately released.


Died On This Date (July 14, 2013) Curly Lewis / Western Swing Fiddle Legend

Julian “Curly” Lewis
1924 – July 14, 2013

curly-lewisCurly Lewis was an influential fiddle player who, over a career that spanned 80 – yes, 80 years, played on some of the greatest western swing records ever made and helped popularize the genre.  At the age of 11, Lewis won a fiddle contest that was sponsored by Bob Wills who probably would have hired him on the spot had he not been just a kid.  By the time Lewis was 20, he had relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he landed a job playing with Johnny Lee Wills with whom he’d stay for more than a decade.  He later spent time playing with Wills and later still, in Leon McAulliffe’s Cimarron Boys and Hank Thompson.  Lewis played what turned out to be his last gig in February of 2013 at his induction into the National Fiddlers Hall Of Fame in Tulsa.  Curly Lewis was 88 when he passed away on July 14, 2013.