Hal Willis
Hal Willis (* 15. July 1933 in Rouyn-Noranda , Quebec , Canada as Leonald François Joseph Guy Gauthier , † 4. September 2015 in Nashville , Tennessee , United States ) was a Canadian Country - and Rockabilly singer and songwriter .
Life
Childhood and youth
Born and raised on a farm in the French-speaking part of Canada , Gauthier spoke French as his mother tongue. Even so, he listened enthusiastically to the Grand Ole Opry , one of America's most successful radio shows, and was a fan of Hank Williams . His brother played the guitar and sang; in general his family was very musical. After Gauthier finished sixth grade, he left home and traveled around the country. He worked as a lumberjack or delivery truck driver. In the evenings he performed as a musician in bars and hotels to make a living.
Beginnings
In 1949 he met country singer Ginger Booth and became a member of her band, the Melody Rangers . Booth taught Gauthier English and together they performed on the radio stations CKRN in Rouyin and CFCF in Montreal . After hearing them at one of their performances at the Beaver Club, furniture store owner George Taylor, who also owned a record label, offered them the chance to record on his label. However, Gauthier should first adopt an English-sounding name for it. So Leonald Gauthier became "Hal Willis". With Ginger, Willis recorded some hillbilly tracks that were released on Taylor's Rodeo Records. In August 1951, Willis and Booth married.
Career
After a performance in Buffalo , USA, Webb Pierce , who had been following her performance, advised them to move to Nashville , as the opportunities there seemed to be greater opportunities to start a career.
Willis and his wife followed Pierce's advice and traveled to Nashville. With his help, Hal and Ginger got a job at the Rainbow Club. Ginger also worked as a secretary for Marty Robbins . In February 1956, Willis received an invitation from country singer Hank Snow to take part in a tour of the United States with his wife. Also of participating in the tour, rock 'n' roll -Star Bill Haley and the young Elvis Presley in part. Inspired by Elvis' rockabilly title, Willis wrote several rockabilly titles. In Murray Nash's recording studio, which was in the same building as Marty Robbins' office, Willis recorded My Pink Cadillac and Bop-A-Dee, Bop-A-Doo in a session with Glenn Reeves . In return, Willis played rockin 'rollin' country style guitar on Reeves' recording . Willis' records are very popular with rockabilly collectors today, but they are also extremely expensive. In 1958 he played covers of current hits for Top Hit Tunes and recorded over the next few years for various record companies, including Decca Records , Athens Records and Sims Records . With Sims he could publish his most successful single. The country title The Lumberjack rose to number 5 on the Billboard charts and sold over 1.5 million copies. He has also had the opportunity to tour with the big stars of country music, including Webb Pierce, Johnny Cash , Willie Nelson , Patsy Cline , Porter Wagoner and Loretta Lynn .
Willis remained active as a musician and composer and performed publicly. In 2000 and 2001 he drew attention again with three albums, two of which are Coast To Coast and the Christmas album Santa's Clones . Some singles were also released from the albums. On October 26, 2003 his wife Ginger died.
Discography
Singles
year | title | Record company |
---|---|---|
1951 | The Only Pleasure I'll Get Tonight / The Ride Is Over | rodeo |
1951 | Crooked Heart / Wild Living | rodeo |
1956 | My Pink Cadillac / Bop-A-Dee, Bop-A-Doo | Atlantic 45-1114 |
1957 | Lumberjack / Dig Me A Hole | Quality |
1958 | Crazy Little Mama / Walkin 'Dream | Athens 704 |
1958 | I'm Gonna Hitch My Hotrod to a Star / Only the Tender Young Hearts | Decca 9-30768 |
1959 | Poor Little Jimmie / That's the Way It Goes | Decca 9-30949 |
1961 | I Love You (Around the World) / Bayou Pierre | Mercury |
1964 | Lumberjack / Dig Me A Hole | Sims 207 |
1965 | What's Left of Me / Celle Que J'Aime | Sims 224 |
1965 | Klondike Mike / So Right But So Wrong | Sims 235 |
1965 | Nopper the Topper / Thumb and Shoes | Sims 243 |
1965 | Creole Rose / When It's Springtime | Sims 250 |
1966 | Doggin 'In the US Mail / Battle Of Vietnam | Sims 288 |
1966 | Private Dick / Parson From Paint Rock | Sims 307 |
1968 | Everybody's Got Troubles / Right Where | Wayside |
1969 | Bayou Pierre / Late So Early | Wayside |
Albums
- 1966: Mr. Lumberjack
- 1967: Mr. Lumberjack [Volume II]
- 1972: Hal Willis
- 1999: Santa's Clones
- 2000: Coast To Coast
- 2001: Better Than Ever
- 2006: A Cut Above
- 2006: Better 'N Ever
Web links
- Hal Willis on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- Discography with audio samples (English)
- Clips (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Country singer Hal Willis has passed away. Report on countrymusicnews.de of September 11, 2015. Accessed on September 11, 2015.
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Willis, Hal |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gauthier, Leonald Francois Joseph Guy (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian country and rockabilly musician |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 15, 1933 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Rouyn-Noranda , Quebec , Canada |
DATE OF DEATH | 4th September 2015 |
Place of death | Nashville , Tennessee , United States |