Bobby Lee Trammell
Bobby Lee Trammell (born January 31, 1934 in Jonesboro , Arkansas , † February 20, 2008 there ) was an American rockabilly musician and politician .
Life
Childhood and youth
Bobby Lee Trammell was the son of cotton farmers Wiley and Mae Trammell. His father played the fiddle and his mother played the organ in the church where Trammell was influenced by the gospel sounds . He also regularly listened to the Grand Ole Opry . During his time in high school, Trammell mainly listened to country music .
Career
When Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash often performed in the area around his hometown, Trammell was caught up in the new "rockabilly sound". Carl Perkins often invited young talent during his tours to make music with him, on stage and in the booths. He did the same with the young Trammell and arranged a meeting with Sam Phillips , Perkins' then producer, manager and owner of Sun Records in Memphis , Tennessee . The meeting was unsuccessful, however, and Trammell moved to the west coast of Long Beach , California , where he worked at Ford .
There he managed to complete a gig alongside Bobby Bare , which was seen by Lefty Frizzell , one of the most successful country musicians of the time. Frizzell was impressed by Trammell's rockabilly and got him a job at the Jubilee Ballroom in Malibu . There he appeared in the opening act for stars like Frizzell, Freddie Hart and Johnny Cash. One evening he met the producer and label owner Fabor Robison there, who gave him the chance to get a contract with his Fabor label. In November 1957 Trammell played together with James Burton (guitar) and James Kirkland (bass) the two tracks Shirley Lee and I Sure Do Love You Baby . With the sparse line-up and guitar playing by Burton, these songs are now considered classics of the rockabilly genre; at the time, however, they were completely unsuccessful. The single was re-released nationwide by ABC-Paramount , but did not enter the charts despite high sales. Ricky Nelson recorded a cover version of Shirley Lee for his second LP on Imperial Records.
The next few years remained unsuccessful. Trammell turned down further offers from Ricky Nelson to record his titles. Instead, he continually recorded wild rockabilly for various labels. His rough and energetic stage presence (he tore his clothes, jumped on the piano) soon left him unemployed due to a bad reputation in California and Trammell returned to Arkansas. There he tried his hand at being a country musician, but this failed because he destroyed Jerry Lee Lewis ' piano during a performance . When the " British Invasion " came up in the 1960s, Trammell let his hair grow longer and tried to counter it with rough rockabilly and rock'n'roll. Due to his bad reputation, however, his records were never played on the radio and he was no longer booked for appearances. He had to sell some of his records from his car himself.
In the 1970s he switched to country music and for the first time his records were selling so well that he could live on his income. Between 1970 and 1972 he recorded for Soundcot Records. The track Love Isn't Love (Until You Give It Away) reached number 52 on the Billboard charts in July 1972. The success brought Trammell to Capitol Records , for which he also re-recorded his old rockabilly number You Mostest Girl in 1973 . This version was even rated better than the original by experts. The success of Love Isn't Love could not be repeated afterwards, so the collaboration with Capitol was terminated after two singles. In the following decade Trammell tried to gain a foothold in the European rockabilly revival, but failed. The reason for this was, among other things, some of his show performances, which were not well received by many rockabilly purists: Instead of the 1950s look, he often appeared in a Superman costume. From then on, Trammell withdrew from music. In 1998, he devoted himself to politics and was for the Democratic Party in the Arkansas House of Representatives voted, to which he belonged by 2002.
Bobby Lee Trammell died in 2008 at the age of 74.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Record company |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Shirley Lee / I Sure Do Love You Baby | Fabor Records |
| 1958 | Shirley Lee / I Sure Do Love You Baby | ABC paramount |
| 1958 | You Mostest Girl / Uh Oh | Radio records |
| 1958 | My Susie J, My Susie Jane / Should I Make Amends | Radio records |
| 1959 | Open Up Your Heart / Woe Is Me | Warrior Records |
| 1960 | Hi Ho Silver / Been A-Walking | Vaden Records |
| 1961 | You Mostest Girl / Uh Oh (as Bobby Lee ) | Skyla Records |
| 1961 | It Takes Breakes / Connie | Cuba Records |
| 1961 | Twist It / King Size Love | Cuba Records |
| 1961 | Would You Believe It / Feel Like It Is So | Falew Records |
| 1962 | Arkansas Twist / It's All Your Fault | Alley 1001 |
| 1962 | Come On Baby / I Tried Not To Cry | Alley 1004 |
| 1962 | Sally Twist / Carolyn | Atlanta Records |
| 1962 | I Love 'em All / Come On | Atlanta Records |
| 1963 | New Dance In France / Give Me That Good Lovin ' | Atlanta Records |
| 1963 | Mary Ann / I'll Step Aside | Atlanta Records |
| 1964 | Hi-O Silver / Don't You Know (I Love You) | Santo Records |
| 1964 | You Mostest Girl / Uh Oh | Fabor Records |
| 1964 | New Dance In France / Give Me That Good Lovin ' | Atlanta Records |
| 1964 | New Dance In France / Give Me That Good Lovin ' | Sims Records |
| 1964 | If You Don't Wanna, You Don't Have To / Come On and Love Me | Sims Records |
| 1964 | New Dance In France / Carolyn | Sue Records |
| 1964 | New Dance In France / Give Me That Good Lovin ' | Sue Records |
| 1964 | Tator / Just Let Me Love You One More Time | Atlanta Records |
| 1965 | Twenty-Four Ours / Just Let Me Love You One More Time | Sims Records |
| 1965 | I Tried / Am I Satisfying You? | Sims Records |
| 1965 | Long Tall Sally / Saints Go Marchin 'In | Sims Records |
| 1965 | I Need Love / You Gonna Want It Agin ' | Alpha Records |
| 1966 | Shimmy Lou / You Make Me Feel So Fine | Hot records |
| 1966 | Betty Jean / Tollie Frollie | Hot records |
| 1966 | Tator / Just Let Me Love You One More Time | Hot records |
| 1966 | Shimmy Lou / You Make Me Feel So Fine | Atlantic Records |
| 1966 | I Couldn't Believe My Eyes / What Is The World Coming To? | Hot records |
| 1968 | I'm Cheating Again / Tomorrow or Today | Country Records |
| 1968 | What Is The World Coming To? / I couldn't believe my eyes | Country Records |
| 1969 | Proud Mary Is Rolling Hot Down The River To See The Bad Moon Rising / I Couldn't Believe My Eyes | Hot records |
| 1970 | I Dare America To Be Great / A Gift From God Through The Man From Marion County | Soundcot Records |
| 1970 | 24 Hours a Day / I Lost The Girl I Loved Tonight | Soundcot Records |
| 1970 | You Mostest Girl / Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On | Soundcot Records |
| 1971 | My Shoes Keep Walkin 'Back To You / Let's Wash The World and Make It Clean | Soundcot Records |
| 1971 | Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes / Sheila | Soundcot Records |
| 1971 | You Were Worth The Wait / Wadin 'In The Water | Soundcot Records |
| 1972 | Love Isn't All (Till You Give It Away) / Tell Me That You Want Me | Soundcot Records |
| 1973 | You Mostest Girl / You Stand A Chance Of Losing What You've Got | Capitol Records |
| 1973 | Love Don't Let Me Down / I Couldn't Belive My Eyes | Capitol Records |
| 1974 | Marion County Tradition / The Warmth Of Your Love | Cinnamon Records |
| 1977 | Jenny Lee / It's All Your Fault | Sun International |
Albums
- 1962: Arkansas Twist
- 1970: I Dare America To Be Great
- 1972: Love Isn't All 'Till You Give It Away
- 1973: His Very Best Rockin 'Records
- 1978: Arkansas Twist
- 1983: I Tribute To My Mother - All Mothers
- 1983: Arkansas Twist
- 1984: Bobby Lee Trammell
- 1984: Toolie Frollie
- 1993: Arkansas Twist
- 1995: You Mostest Girl ( Bear Family )
- 2001: Arkansas Twist (Buffalo Bop D)
Individual evidence
Web links
- Bobby Lee Trammell in the All Music Guide
- biography
- Discography with audio samples
- Bobby Lee Trammell in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Trammell, Bobby Lee |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jonesboro , Arkansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 20, 2008 |
| Place of death | Jonesboro , Arkansas |