Jimmy Haggett
Jimmy Haggett (born December 2, 1928 in Granite City , Illinois , † January 30, 2000 ) was an American country and rockabilly musician.
Life
Jimmy Haggett was born in Illinois but lived almost all of his life in the southern states . As a teenager he played in various country bands before forming his own group, the Ozark Mountain Boys . He also worked as a DJ at KBOA in Kennett , Missouri , and other radio stations in Missouri.
After Haggett had a gig with country singer Bud Deckelman , he met Sam Phillips , who owned the Sun Records label in Memphis , Tennessee . Haggett recorded his first single, the country record No More, No More / They Call Our Love a Sin, for Sun in 1955 . Phillips had recorded a lot more rhythm and blues in the years before , but by then most of his artists had moved out of town, so Phillips was now focusing more on country.
A year later, Haggett played intensively with Brad Suggs , Wayne McGinnis and Bud Deckelman, all under contract with Meteor Records of Memphis. Lidman offered Haggett to sign a record deal with Meteor, but Haggett declined, hoping to stay with Sun. During 1956 he recorded some rockabilly titles such as Rabbit Action , Rhythm called Rock and Roll and How Come You Do Me for Sun, but they were never released. The latter was later often awarded to Junior Thompson on re-releases , as he recorded a title of the same name in 1958. Haggett himself later described in an interview how he got into rockabilly. Around 1955 he toured Arkansas , Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri with the Ozark Mountain Boys . He also performed some gigs with the young Elvis Presley and when he saw how euphoric the audience reacted to Presley's interpretations of That's Alright Mama , Blue Moon of Kentucky and You're a Heartbreaker , Haggett decided to join his band saxophone and piano and expanded his repertoire to include rockabilly songs.
When Haggett was a DJ at WWYN in Arkansas in 1957, Bud Deckelman Haggett offered him again to organize a session for him at Meteor, and this time Haggett agreed. He came to Memphis in March 1957, where he performed the single Gonna Shut You Off Baby / Tell Her True with the Daydreamers, consisting of Lee Adkins ( guitar ), Jimmy Smith (piano) and a musician named Freenchy (saxophone) . After disappointing record sales, Haggett left Meteor.
Over the next several years, Haggett recorded three minor singles for Vaden Records , Caprock Records and K-Ark Records . His band supported Buford Peak in 1957 with recordings for Fernwood Records and in 1959 Johnny Moore with recordings for Vaden. That same year, Haggett appeared on KLCN in Blytheville , Arkansas.
In 1966, Haggett bought a radio station in Piedmont , Missouri, which he ran until his death in 2000.
Discography
| year | title | Label # |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | No More, No More / They Call Our Love a Sin | Sun 236 |
| 1957 | Gonna Shut You Off Baby / Tell Her True | Meteor 5043 |
| 1958 | All I Have Is You / Without You | Cap skirt 107 |
| 1959 | Today's Reality / Please Don't Leave Me | Vaden 45-116 |
| How Can I Be Sure / Absenta | K-Ark 611 | |
| Unpublished titles | ||
| 1956 |
|
Sun Records |
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Haggett, Jimmy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country and rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 2, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Granite City (Illinois) |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 30, 2000 |