Curtis Hobock
Curtis Hobock (born May 7, 1926 in Hatchie , Tennessee , as Curtis Edgar Hobock, Jr. , † 1988 ) was an American country and rockabilly musician .
Life
Childhood and youth
Curtis Hobock was born in Haywood County , Tennessee, in 1926 and grew up on their parents' farm. Hobock's parents Curtis Edgar Sr. and Anna Lee-Moore were of German and Dutch descent and had five other sons and six daughters. Hobock himself worked on the farm at an early age, but had no early education musically. His role model in those days was Roy Rogers . In 1942/1943 he volunteered for the US Navy , where he learned to play guitar and steel guitar .
Career
After his release in 1945, Hobock married Geneva Sue Johnson, with whom he later had several children, and moved back to Tennessee, where he supported his family with odd jobs. In April 1956 he moved to Bemis, which is near Jackson , Tennessee.
In 1956 and 1957 he began to be musically active. He played a band from Jackson, the Stardusters , who were looking for a singer. Shortly thereafter, Hobock became a member of the band, which he also managed. At the time, the band consisted of Tommy Jones (guitar), Coy Lomax ( bass ), Joe Ritchie ( drums ) and Eula Mae Stevens ( piano ). The Stardusters played around Jackson in numerous clubs, toured and could be heard in nearby Memphis on WHBQ. The repertoire consisted of country and rockabilly; Hobock's personal idol these days was Jim Reeves . Hobock's first session for the local label Lu Records was not released. In June 1959, Hobock and the Stardusters' first record was finally released on Lu, The Whole Towns Talking / Do You Think . Another single on Lu followed a month later with Tom Dooley Rock & Roll / China Rock .
After these first recordings for Lu, the line-up of the Stardusters changed constantly, only guitarist Tommy Jones and Hobock himself remained as singer, guitarist and pianist. At the same time Hobock and his band were often heard in the Dixieland Jamboree and allegedly made recordings for Sun Records , which were not released. Hobock's son Roy later denied that his father recorded pieces for Sun.
After extensive tours that led to Las Vegas , Hobock met producer Murray Nash around 1963. Nash got Hobock record deals with Cee & Cee Records and MusiCenter Records, each of which released two Hobock singles. Persistent failure - none of Hobock's singles made it to the charts - eventually led Hobock to quit music in August 1966 and move his family to Fresno , California .
Hobock continued to play in private circles, but did not perform any more. Curtis Hobock died in 1988. By this time, some of his songs had already been re-released several times, but Hobock had no knowledge of it.
Discography
Singles
All Sun recordings may not be from Hobock.
| year | title | Label # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Whole Towns Talking / Do You Think | Lu 506 | |||
| 1959 | Tom Dooley Rock & Roll / China Rock | Lu 508 | |||
| 1965 | Hey Everybody / What a Dream | Cee and Cee 501 | |||
| 1965 | Have Mercy / If You Only Loved Me | Cee and Cee 502 | |||
| 1965 | I Found a Way / Lonely Weekends | MusiCenter 3103 | |||
| 1965 | Definition of Love / One Heart'll Love You | MusiCenter 3105 | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
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Live recording | ||||
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| 1959-1960 |
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Sun | |||
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Albums
- 2003: Hey Everybody: Anthology 1958-65 (Star-Club, Sweden)
Web links
- Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- Discography with audio samples
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hobock, Curtis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hobock, Curtis Edgar junior (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country and rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 7, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hatchie , Tennessee |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1988 |