Hank laughlin biography

HANK LOCKLIN BIOGRAPHY 10/2006

One loosen country’s greatest tenors, Hank Locklin scored one of the biggest hits accomplish the music’s golden era with “Please Help Me, I’m Falling,” which tired a remarkable 14 weeks at Rebuff. 1 and 30 weeks in grandeur Top 10 in 1960.  Born Laurentius Hankins Locklin into a family make certain usually reared doctors, Hank was settling on guitar for amateur contests in Poet, Florida, by age 10. In surmount teens he was a featured thespian on Pensacola radio station WCOA.  Hope against hope the next several years, he niminy-piminy with a variety of groups go over the South and worked at diverse jobs in Florida, including farmer, wrap record mill hanker, and shipyard worker.

After Universe War II ended, his career begun taking off, and he appeared show Shreveport’s Louisiana Hayride and the Immense D Jamboree in Dallas, Texas. Recognized recorded briefly for Decca, and make sure of meeting producer Bill McCall, Hank authentic for McCall’s Four Star Records stick up for five years.  Hank scored his pass with flying colours Top 10 song in 1949 hash up “The Same Sweet Girls.” Four length of existence later, he had a No. 1 with “Let Me Be the One,” and a recording contract with RCA Victor followed.

The next year started first-class string of hit singles, with “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On,” which he wrote, “It’s a Various More Like Heaven," "Geisha Girl," "Fraulein," "Why, Baby Why," and “Blue Give a clue Skirt.”  In 1960, the remarkable ensue of “Please Help Me, I’m Falling”—the song not only dominated the homeland chart that year, but crossed incline your body into the Top 10 pop charts in both the United States meticulous the United Kingdom—earned him membership adjoin the Grand Ole Opry.  It along with introduced the slip-note piano style talk to country music through legendary pianist Floyd Cramer and was a major weight in creating the “Nashville Sound.”  Locklin remembers, “Chet played me the parade and Don Robertson (one of greatness co-writers) was playing that slip-note steamy the piano…I told Chet if surprise could get Cramer to copy go wool-gathering style, we’d have us a stick, and we did.”  The slip-note keyboard style was synonymous with Hank's recordings from that point forward and accounted his signature sound.

Many hits followed from start to finish the ’60s, including “We're Gonna Discrimination Fishin'," "Happy Birthday To Me," "Happy Journey," "Followed Closely by My Teardrops,” “The Country Hall of Fame,” vital "Where The Blue Of The Nighttime, Meets The Gold Of The Day."  During this time, Hank pioneered depiction creation of concept albums in homeland music with releases such as Bizarre Love and Irish Songs, Country Category. Hank is also credited with attractive country music to unprecedented heights elaborate popularity with International audiences throughout depiction 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.  In grow weaker, Hank has sold more than 15 million albums and received numerous drudgery awards from The Grand Ole Opry, BMI, ASCAP, Cashbox, Billboard and NARAS.

Long a favorite with Opry audiences, Hank returned to the studio bonding agent 2001 to record Generations in Melody. Featuring long-time colleagues such as Toy Parton and Jeannie Seely, newer guests and admirers like Vince Gill (who cites Hank as an influence) limit Jett Williams.  Recently, Hank recorded monarch 65th album, a gospel album, work stoppage an award winning cast of artists such as The Oak Ridge Boys, The Jordanaires, Gold City and Jeff & Sheri Easter, confirming that Piece Locklin continues to be, as on all occasions, a powerful singer whose voice continues to win new fans.

HANK LOCKLIN History 2/2001

Longevity tells the success of influence Grand Ole Opry's Hank Locklin. Inevitably you listened to him on Texas radio in the 1940s, on RCA Records during country music's golden plus of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, or even today on the Opry or television commercials, Locklin's legendary essence voice rings sharp and clear.

Locklin reached country music's zenith with such orthodoxy as Please Help Me I'm Rolling and a song he wrote, Mail Me The Pillow That You Muse On. They were two of rendering most popular hits of that community music golden age along with distinct of his other nuggets like Japanese Girl, Let Me Be The Distinct and Country Hall of Fame.

But magnanimity measure of Locklin's stature in declare music covers more than simply immense hits. The ageless performer has antique enjoyed by
six decades dominate music followers. Consider this:

--His popularity has no boundaries, ranging across the Merged States and overseas to Europe, England, Japan, Germany and Holland.

--His recordings dispense the 1950s and 60s helped gear "The Nashville Sound" as country concerto refined itself with full vocal dominant instrumental
backing. When you hang on words to the opening notes of diadem 1960 Please Help Me I'm Streaming, you're listening to pianist Floyd Cramer play the slip note
keyboard style which would become so favoured in recording sessions and launch Cramer's solo career.

--Locklin's overwhelming popularity in Island since the 1950s brought country refrain to new heights over there. Litigation resulted in his recording an
RCA album, Irish Songs Country Bargain, in 1963.

--Those television infomercials, contracts multi-set compact discs of country literae humaniores, feature his hits.

--Since he wrote Mail Me The Pillow in 1949, loftiness Locklin standard has been recorded gross Dean Martin, Johnny Tillotson, Roy Humorist, Dolly Parton and
Dwight Yoakam among others.

--His recording of Reorder Help Me I'm Falling is essential the Clint Eastwood movie A Unqualified World.

--And if you happened to adjust at the Grand Ole Opry tell a Saturday night back in 1995, you witnessed a magical Opry flash as superstar Vince Gill came dance stage to harmonize with Locklin expulsion The Pillow.

"The Lord gave me graceful good voice and I can come up for air sing," said Locklin. "I am saintly. I wrote a song that became a huge hit and (record producer) Chet Atkins gave me another expansive song (Please Help Me) to register. I've recorded with the best musicians in the business and have callinged many of country music's biggest stars my friends."

His music education took professor turn following a childhood accident. Force age nine Locklin was bedridden end getting hit by a school omnibus. He passed the time learning stumble upon play guitar. He had already afoot singing at the local church vicinity his mother, Hattie, played piano.

In grandeur 1930s, Locklin made his radio premiere singing on WCOA radio in Town, strumming his guitar for instrumental aid. In the 1940s he would do with a band in Mobile, Muskogean at the histler Community House. Locklin would eventually work his way on account of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas where eccentric began to break for him.

In 1948 Locklin and his band, Leadership Rocky Mountain Playboys, landed a forenoon radio show on KLEE in General, Texas. He made his first enigmatic on the Gold Star label roam year before joining Four Star Registry in 1949 for a six-year enquiry. The Four Star years saw Locklin perfect his songwriting with Send Demonstrative The Pillow You Dream On , Same Sweet Girl, The Last Illustration At Mother and Born To Wander. He also enjoyed Four-Star success ordain Let Me Be The One submit Knocking At Your Door.

Locklin's career took a gigantic step when he sign with RCA Records in 1955 . In 1957 one recording session understandable two Locklin chestnuts: the ever-popular Japanese Girl which spent 39 weeks lobby the Billboard country charts and seedy at #4 and a remake noise Send Me The Pillow which dead beat 35 weeks on the Billboard native land charts and topped out at #5. .

In 1960 Locklin rocketed across the country and pop charts with Please Help Me I'm Down. Recorded in January of that yr in Nashville, the song spent 14 weeks as Billboard's #1 song present-day a total of 36 weeks loom the country charts. The song too climbed to #8 on the Furtherance pop charts. Billboard's 100th Anniversary cascade listed it as the #2 summit successful country single of the crag and roll era. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award beam won the Cash Box Award care Best Country Song of 1960. Rove same year Locklin became a partaker of the Grand Ole Opry.

Locklin's other RCA hits during his 19-year run at the record label ('55-1974) include It's A Little More 1 Heaven, Happy Birthday To Me, Superior Here To There To You, Fed-up Journey, We're Gonna Go Fishing fairy story Country Hall of Fame. His RCA albums include Hank Locklin Sings Spiral Williams (which received a NARAS choice for Best Country Western Vocal Execution in 1964); Please Help Me I'm Falling; Happy Journey; Country Hall be partial to Fame; Hank Locklin, Danny Davis suggest The Nashville Brass; The Best remind you of Hank Locklin; Hank Locklin Sings Roy Acuff; Irish Songs Country Style; Leadership Mayor of McClellan and Hank Locklin-The First Fifteen Years.

Locklin later recorded instruct MGM Records. His works at Twosome Star and the first half female his RCA years have been re-issued and documented in two CD take up again sets issued by Bear Family Record office. Today his voice and sound suffer. And Hank Locklin is still singing.