Died On This Date (January 30, 1980) Warren Smith / Rockabilly Pioneer
themusicsover Warren Smith
February 7, 1932 – January 30, 1980
Warren Smith was a rockabilly pioneer who, in 1956, had a hit with his first record, “Rock & Roll Ruby.” It was recorded by Sam Phillips for his Sun Records and ended up outselling the Sun debuts from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. Smith continued to record for Sun through the ’50s, but only saw moderate success, likely due to the fact that the label was putting all of its promotional muscle behind his more famous label mates. During the ’60s, Smith switched gears and released several country records for Liberty Records. Smith’s career faltered due to drug and alcohol issues, but he found himself back in demand during the rockabilly revival of the late ’70s. On January 30, 1980, Warren Smith, age 47, died of a heart attack on the eve of what would have been his comeback tour of Europe.
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Shirley Collie Nelson was a country singer who, over the course of her career, released a handful of hit country singles. An ambitious kid, she left home at the age of 14 to start a career in radio. By the late ’50s, Collie Nelson was a regular on the popular television program, Ozark Jubilee. During the ’60s, Collie Nelson released three hit country singles, “Dime a Dozen,” “Why Baby Why” (with