Bill Watkins

Bill Lee Watkins (born October 2, 1931 in Corbin , Kentucky ) is an American rockabilly musician and songwriter.

Life

Childhood and youth

Bill Watkins grew up in rural Tennessee with his sister Viola and mother Martha. Watkins' father left the family early and did not return until years later. Watkins took an early interest in music and made his first radio appearance at the age of 14. He left school early at the age of 16 and then worked on farms and in restaurants until he joined the US Army at 18 . In 1951 he fought in Korea .

Career

After his discharge from the army, Watkins settled in Cincinnati , Ohio , where he worked in a paper mill during the day and played in country clubs in the evening. During this time he came into contact with other Cincinnati musicians such as Rusty York and Gene Lawson. In 1957 Watkins wrote the song Missed the Workhouse , which he only recorded in 1959 for the local label Lucky Records . The single is now a collector's item in Europe and is being sold for high prices.

Six years after his first single, Tip-Toe's record I Got Troubles / Lips Too Cold to Kiss followed in 1965 . Around the same time, country star Roy Acuff was recording Watkins' ballad Time Will Make You Pay . In the 1970s Watkins opened his own tip-toe recording studio in Cincinnati, where he recorded other artists as well as two of his own albums. One album was released in 1989 on Rockhouse Records in the Netherlands and one in 1991 on Gee Dee Records in Germany . In the 1970s, Watkins teamed up with producer Randy McNutt and signed to McNutts label General Store Records. With a new version of the rockabilly title Red Cadillac , which he wrote in the 1950s and recorded as a demo, he hit the charts for the first time. The song placed in the top 10 of the American Independent Charts. Another chart success followed with Rockabilly Christmas .

In 1990 Watkins had another hit when he entered the national country charts with the country song Cowboy . Nowadays Watkins devotes himself mostly to gospel and bluegrass , performing at church events, running his studio and writing songs.

Discography

Discography is not exhaustive.

Singles

year	title	Label #
1959	Missed the Workhouse / Time Will Make You Pay	Lucky 0006
1965	I Got Troubles / Lips Too Cold to Kiss	Tip-Toe 14321/1
Unpublished titles
	Big guitar Mess at the Workhouse [!] (Old version) Red Cadillac (Version 1) Red Cadillac (Version 2)

Albums

• 1989: Return of the Cincinnati Rocker
• 1991: That Rockin 'Country Man

Web links

• Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• Discography with audio samples