Buddy Knox

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Buddy Wayne Knox (* 20 July 1933 in Happy , Texas ; † 14. February 1999 in Bremerton , Washington ) was an American singer and songwriter who primarily by his rockabilly - number one hit "Party Doll" known has been.

biography

Knox was born in the small farming community of Happy in Texas. He learned to play the guitar as a child . As a teenager, he formed a band with some friends from high school called Rhythm Orchids . In 1956 they appeared on a radio broadcast with Roy Orbison , also from Texas, who suggested they visit the music producer Norman Petty in his studio in Clovis ( New Mexico ).

Knox and his band recorded three songs in Petty's studio. One of them was “Party Doll,” which he wrote with bassist Jimmy Bowen . Two of the recorded songs were released by the small Texas record company Triple-D in 1956, "Party Doll" on the A-side and Jimmy Bowen's "I'm Stickin 'With You" on the B-side. The single became a regional success in the north Texas panhandle and around Lubbock, Texas . Roulette Records then acquired the rights to the recordings and released "Party Doll" with the new B-side "My Baby's Gone" under US catalog number 4002 in early 1957. The single entered the charts for the first time on February 23, 1957, and lasted 23 weeks in the hit parade and replaced on March 20, 1957 Tab Hunter's "Young Love" at the top of the US hit parade . Knox recorded "Party Doll" , which reached number 3, and his second hit "Hula Love" , number 13, in the rhythm and blues charts .

The track "Party Doll" was covered several times in 1957. The most successful cover version was by Steve Lawrence , the title reached number 10 on the "Top 100" charts. Two other versions made it into the charts in 1957: The instrumental version of Wingy Manone And His Orchestra reached number 56 on the "Top 100" charts, Roy Brown's version landed at number 89 on the "Top 100" charts and at number 14 on the R&B best seller charts.

The following single "Rock Your Little Baby to Sleep" was less successful, reaching number 23 on the "Top 100" charts. Knox had his second and last top ten success with the title "Hula Love" , the original version of which was recorded by Leadbelly in the late 1940s . Peter Kraus covered the title for the German-speaking record market, his single "Hula Baby" reached number 1 in the German single charts in 1958. With "Somebody Touched Me" , Knox had another respectable hit for Roulette Records in 1958, which reached number 22 on "Hot 100 “charts landed.

Since January 1959 the Rhythm Orchids have not been mentioned on the record releases. After the record success decreased significantly, Knox moved to the record company Liberty Records in mid-1960 . He had another top 40 hit in the US with Liberty in 1961, "Lovey Dovey" , a cover version of the Clovers R&B hit from 1954. His last chart entry in early summer 1961, "Ling-Ting- Tong “ was a cover version of a Doo Wop classic. After he had no more success on the pop music market after 1961, he turned to country music . In 1962 in Great Britain he brought the single "She's Gone" into the top 50.

Knox recorded for Liberty Records until 1964, was in 1965 and 1966 with Reprise Records under contract, where only four singles appeared. After a break, seven singles and one album were released on United Artists Records from 1968 to 1971 . By the early 1980s, records appeared on the Sunny Hill Records label. Buddy Knox had no more chart successes after 1961.

Buddy Knox died of lung cancer in 1999 . His grave is in the cemetery Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon ( Texas ).

Remarks

  1. The artist named Buddy Knox and the Orchids on the label, and Buddy Knox as the sole composer and lyricist. The single had no catalog number, but was released under the matrix number Triple-D G8OW-797. The record company was named after the radio station KDDD in Dumas (Texas).
  2. The title topped the charts “Bestsellers in Store”, reached number 2 in the “Most Played in Juke Boxes” charts and number 5 in the radio charts and came in at number 2 in the “Top 100” charts. Whitburn , Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 338
  3. ^ Billboard , March 30, 1957, issue, p. 66
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. 1942-2004. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 326
  5. US catalog number: Coral 61792; Radio charts at number 5, best-seller charts at number 12, juke box charts at number 11. Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 346
  6. US catalog number: Decca 30211. Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 378
  7. ^ US catalog number: Imperial 5427. Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 74
  8. On the R&B radio charts, the track was number 13. Whitburn, Joel: Top 40 R&B and Hip-Hop Hits. 1942-2004. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 71
  9. The single was released with the artist name Lieutenant Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids, catalog number Roulette 4009, B-side: "Don't Make Me Cry" .
  10. The title reached the top 10 only in the radio charts, in the bestseller charts and the top 100 the title came in at number 23. US catalog number: Roulette 4018, B-side: "Devil Woman" . Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids appeared with this title in 1957 in the rock film "Jamboree!"
  11. Ehnert, Günter (Ed.): Hit balance sheet. German chart singles 1956-1980 . Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 118
  12. Original title published in 1954 by Ruth Brown on Atlantic 1044. US catalog number: Roulette 4082, B-side: "C'mon Baby" .

literature

  • Erlewine, Michael / Bogdanov, Vladimir u. a .: All Music Guide to Country. San Francisco, Cal .: Miller Freeman Books, 1998, p. 260
  • Neely, Tim: gold mine. Country & Western . 2nd edition, Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 2001, p. 245 (complete discography until 1971)
  • Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 19

Web links

Discography on "Rockin 'Country Style" until 1964 complete