Lou Graham

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Lou Graham (born July 15, 1929 in Woodleaf , North Carolina , as Alexander Graham Lyerly ; † 1999 ) was an American country and rockabilly musician . Graham worked with Bill Haley a lot in the 1950s .

Life

Lou Graham was born in North Carolina in 1929 and was an active musician in the Philadelphia area in the early 1950s . During this time he also took his stage name "Lou Graham". In the summer of 1951 he was hired by Bill Haley as a singer for his tours and also played bass in his backing band. Graham's popularity rose steadily in the region and in February of the same year he had recorded three singles for the small Gotham label. During this session he was supported musically by Haley and his Sadlemen . One of the notable recordings was a cover of the Hank Williams hit Lone Gone Daddy .

By 1956, Graham was working in the Camden , New Jersey area and was also a regular on the WTNJ broadcast station in Trenton , New Jersey. With his band, the Carolina Kinfolks , Graham appeared in nightclubs, on television, other radio shows and on some Camden jamborees. Graham also had the opportunity to play with stars like Webb Pierce , Hank Thompson and Ernest Tubb . Another highlight in Graham's career was his isolated appearances on the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville , Tennessee , the most famous and successful country show in the United States.

In 1957 Graham signed a contract with one of Bill Haley's publishing groups and recorded the two rockabilly tracks Wee Willie Brown / You Were Mean Baby for Haley's label Clymax Records. Since Haley was in desperate need of money at the time, he sold the master recordings after the release on Clymax to Coral Records , which pressed both songs again in January 1958. As a result, the title was later re-released on several Decca Rockabillies LPs of MCA Records in the course of the rockabilly revival .

Lou Graham died in 1999 at the age of 70.

Discography

Singles

year title Label #
1952 Long Gone Daddy / Two Timin 'Blues Gotham G-7416 *
1952 I'm Lonesome / A Sweet Bunch of Roses Gotham G-7429
1953 My Heart Tells Me / Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind Gotham G-7433
1957 Wee Willie Brown / You Were Mean Baby Clymax 318
1958 Wee Willie Brown / You Were Mean Baby Coral 9-61931

* According to Adam Komorowski, the catalog number is Gotham 416.

Albums

  • 1989: Lou Graham (Gotham, UK)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Graham, Lou
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lyerly, Alexander Graham (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country and rockabilly musician
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Woodleaf, North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH 1999