Leon Payne
Leon Roger Payne (born June 15, 1917 in Alba , Texas , † September 11, 1969 in San Antonio , Texas) was an American country musician and songwriter . Payne's most successful compositions include country classics like Lost Highway and I Love You Because .
Life
Childhood and youth
Leon Payne, who was blind from birth , grew up in Wood County , Texas. At 18, he graduated from the Texas School for the Blind, which he had attended since he was seven. There he met his future wife Myrtle and was encouraged by his teachers to devote himself to music. Payne began to play guitar , piano , organ , drums and trombone and performed for friends and acquaintances.
Career
Payne soon had his first professional engagements. He played in a number of regional bands in the mid-1930s and made his first radio appearance in 1935. Two years later he joined Bob Wills ' Texas Playboys, with whom he remained loosely connected throughout his career. At the same time Payne began to write his first songs and got the opportunity to record his first records in 1939. Well-known early pieces were You Don't Love Me But I'll Always Care and Down Where the Violets Grow .
Most of Payne's 1940s was spent as The Blind Texas Hitchhicker, performing in vaudevilles and various country shows . In 1948 Payne became a member of Jack Rhodes' Rhodes Boys and occasionally played with Bob Wills. A year later he formed his own band, the Lone Star Buddies , which included Payne as guitarist and singer, Frankie Surisek ( steel guitar ), Ernest Hunter ( fiddle ), Peter Burke ( bass ) and Joe Reesideau (piano and accordion ). With this group, Payne got appearances on successful shows such as the Louisiana Hayride , the Big D Jamboree and the most successful radio show in North America, the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville . At the same time he became successful as a songwriter. George Morgan had a hit with Payne's Cry-Baby Heart and Hank Williams made it to number 12 on the country charts with Lost Highway . Williams was to bring another Payne title to the charts with They'll Never Take Her Love from Me . Leon Payne himself had his biggest hit with I Love Because in 1950. He had written the title for his wife and childhood sweetheart Myrtle. Many notable artists later recorded their own version, including Ernest Tubb , Jim Reeves , Don Gibson Johnny Cash, and a pop version of Al Martino . Even the young Elvis Presley recorded a cover for the song during his Sun Sessions in 1954.
In the years that followed, musicians like Hank Snow and Carl Smith had repeated successes with Payne's titles. Payne played records until 1964; In the mid-1950s he tried his hand at Starday Records under the pseudonym "Rock Rogers" as a rockabilly and in 1963 he released two albums. In 1965 Payne suffered a heart attack , as a result he had to restrict his tours, but did not give up the music. Other artists continued to have success with his titles; Things Have Gone to Pieces became a hit with George Jones that same year, and in 1967 Don Gibson recorded Lost Highway .
Leon Payne died in 1969 due to another heart attack. He was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 with over 1,000 composed pieces .
Discography
Singles
Discography is not exhaustive.
year | title | # | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
Decca Records | |||
194? | Pedro the Tamale Man / Don't Be Afraid | ||
194? | The Face in the Crowd / You Haven't Got a Heart | ||
194? | A Lifetime to Regret / The Moon, Your God and You | ||
Bullet Records | |||
Empty Arms / Lipstick Trail | 647 | with Jack Rhodes and the Lone Star Buddies | |
1947 | Don't Try It / Lifetime to Regret | 649 | with Jack Rhodes and the Lone Star Buddies |
1948 | Lost Highway / Baby Boy | 670 | |
What's the Need / Rollin 'Stone | 671 | ||
I Found Someone New / They'll Never Take Her Love | 672 | ||
1948 | Cheaters Never Win / I'll Stick by You | 679 | |
Capitol Records | |||
1949 | You Still Got a Place / I Couldn't Do a Thing | ||
1949 | I Miss That Gal / Did I Forget to Tell You? | ||
1950 | I Love You Because /? | ||
1950 (?) | My Daddy / Because You Love Me | ||
1951 | Great American Eagle / Fatal Letter | A-side with Tex knight | |
1951 | I Don't Know Why / If I Could Only Live My Live Over | ||
1951 | Empty Dreams / Farewell Waltz | ||
1951 (?) | Lonely and Blue over Someone / A Million Years Ago | ||
1951 (?) | Teach Me To Forget / It's Many A Mile Back Home | ||
1952 (?) | Gentle Hands / He's the Light of the World | ||
1952 (?) | I Want You to Love Me / How Can I Help It? | ||
1952 | Polk Salad Green / Weeping Willow | ||
1953 (?) | Lyin 'to My Heart / Mailman | ||
1953 (?) | I Need Your Love / Wouldn't It Be Beautiful? | ||
1953 (?) | If I Took the Time / Sister Sue Polka | ||
19 ?? | I Love You Because / A Link in the Chain of a Broken Heart | ||
19 ?? | Find Them, Fool Then and Leave Them / I Hate to Leave You | ||
195 ?? | A Link in the Chain of a Broken Heart / I Love You Because | Republication | |
195 ?? | I'm a Lone Wolf / I Just Said Goodbye to My Dreams | ||
Starday Records | |||
1954 | We're on the Main Line / I The 10,000 Times a Day | ||
1955 | Christmas Everday / Christmas Love Songs | ||
1956 | Doorsteps to Heaven / You Are the One | ||
1956 | Two by Four / You Can't Lean on Me | ||
1956 | That Ain't Right / Little Rock Rock | as "Rock Rogers" | |
1956 | All the time / one more chance | ||
1956 | Sweet Sweet Love / A Prisoner's Diary | ||
1963 | Joe Lopez / You Stood Me Up This Morning | ||
1963 | Close to You / Log Train | ||
1964 | September Memory / Six Foot Six | ||
D records | |||
1960 | Brothers of a Bottle / Mitzie McGraw | ||
1960 | There's No Justice / With Half a Heart | ||
1960 | Blue Side of Lonesome / Things Have Gone to Pieces | ||
Unpublished titles | |||
1956 |
|
Starday |
Albums
- 1963: Americana
- 1963: Leon Payne: A Living Legend of Country Music
- 2001: I Love You Because ( Bear Family work edition)
Web links
- Leon Payne in the All Music Guide
- Leon Payne on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- biography
- Discography with audio samples
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Payne, Leon |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Payne, Leon Roget (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country musician and songwriter |
DATE OF BIRTH | June 15, 1917 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Alba , Texas , United States |
DATE OF DEATH | 11th September 1969 |
Place of death | San Antonio , Texas , United States |