Rusty draper

Farrell H. "Rusty" Draper (born January 25, 1923 in Kirksville , Missouri , † March 28, 2003 in Bellevue , Washington ) was an American country and pop musician , whose greatest success was the million-seller Gambler’s Guitar .

Life

Beginnings

Because of his red hair, the musician was nicknamed "Rusty". He played his first guitar in 1925 and began working on the radio in the 1930s, where he represented the sports presenter Ronald "Dutch" Reagan in Des Moines , Iowa , on WHO radio. After some permanent engagements as a singer and announcer in clubs from 1942 in San Francisco, he received a recording contract with Mercury Records in January 1952 . In February 1952 he recorded his first single, Just Because / How Could You? (Blue Eyes) , to (Mercury # 5820), which the charts took no notice of. Only his sixth single, Texarkana Baby / No Help Wanted (Mercury # 70077), was listed in the pop hit parade and reached a tenth place after its release in February 1953. His songs are classified more as pop music, so his titles are initially were noted in the pop charts. Draper was not a talented songwriter, so his subsequent recordings came exclusively from other authors and were often cover versions of classic titles.

Million seller

Label colleague Jim Lowe had released his own composition Gambler's Guitar in May 1953 , but only managed to reach number 26 on the pop hit parade. Then Draper tried to get more out of the song through a guitar-playing drummer and player. Recorded in May 1953 with the Jack Halloran Singers and released that same month as Mercury # 70167, it reached number 6 on both the pop and country charts. The song sold well and eventually became a million seller. In Germany, the song is known through Fred Bertelmann , who made it The laughing vagabond .

More Achievements

Rusty Draper - The Shifting, Whispering Sands

After Gambler's Guitar , Mercury von Draper brought out a series of songs, most of which did not make it into the charts. It was not until The Shifting, Whispering Sands / Time (Mercury 70696) from September 1955 reached third place in the pop charts, but could not reach the country charts and country radio stations despite their country-like style. It developed into Draper's second million seller, but was also his last big hit. The gold prospector song about the quicksand in the southwestern regions of the USA was written by Jack VC Gilbert (text) and Mary Margret Hadler (music) in 1950 and slumbered in the music publisher until it was picked up by Draper in 1955 and received a BMI award . Then, however, there were a variety of cover versions , such as by Billy Vaughn in September 1955 and the British version of Eamonn Andrews, who released the song in January 1956 and topped the British charts at number 18. Many country singers, like Jim Reeves (1961) and Johnny Cash (1965), also picked up the song.

Later years

Draper has not been in the country charts since then. He released Seventeen / Can't Live Without Them Anymore in July 1955 , which landed at # 18 on the pop charts. In addition to its second million seller, only the Skiffle-Standard Freight Train / Seven Come Eleven , published in April 1957, made it into the top ten (rank 6).

The last chart note was Willie Nelson's composition Night Life in August 1963, which only made it to number 57 on the pop hit parade. After ten years with the Mercury label, he had meanwhile switched to Monument Records . Draper brought out records up to 1979, but he could no longer build on old successes. He then hosted the daily TV show Swingin 'Country and died at the age of 80 of pneumonia in Washington State. A year earlier, Draper had been inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame .

Discography (selection)

Forty-Two , 1956

Below is a selection of important singles with release date:

• Just Because / How Could You (Blue Eyes) (Mercury # 5820), February 1952
• Bouncing on the Bayou / Devil of a Woman (Mercury # 5851), April 1952
• Release Me / Wedding Bells (with Patti Page) (Mercury # 5895), July 1952
• Big Mamou / Tell Me Why, Why (Mercury # 70137), March 1953
• Gambler's Guitar / Free Home Demonstration (Mercury # 70167), May 1953
• Lazy River / Bummin 'Around (Mercury # 70178), June 1953
• Muskrat Ramble / The Magic Circle (Mercury # 70446) September 1954
• Eating Goobes Peas / That's All I Need (Mercury # 70619), April 1955
• Seventeen / Can't Live Without Them Anymore (Mercury # 70651), July 1955
• The Shifting, Whispering Sands / Time (Mercury # 70696), September 1955
• Wabash Cannonball / Are You Satisfied? (Mercury # 70757) November 1955
• Forty-Two / Held for Questioning (Mercury # 70818), 1956
• Pink Cadillac / In the Middle of the House (Mercury # 70921), July 1956
• Tiger Lily / Confidential (Mercury # 70989) October 1956
• Seven Come Eleven / Freight Train (Mercury # 71102), April 1957
• Chicken-Pickin 'Hawk / June, July, and August (Mercury # 71336), June 1958
• Don't Forget Your Shoes / Next Stop Paradise (Mercury # 71463), May 1959
• Anytime / That Lucky Old Sun (Mercury # 71581), February 1960
• Mule Skinner Blues / Please Help Me, I'm Falling (Mercury # 71634), May 1960
• Signed, Sealed, and Delivered / Scared to Go Home (Mercury # 71854), July 1961
• Night Life / That's Why I Love You Like I Do (Monument # 823), August 1963
• Lady of the House / It Should Be Easier Now (Monument # 832), January 1964
• Folsom Prison Blues / You Can't Be True, Dear (Monument # 894), June 1965
• Love Is Gone for Good / You Call Everybody Darling (Monument # 969), September 1966
• There She Goes / A Traveling Song (Monument # 1223), October 1970
• Walking on New Grass / You Were Right (ZS8-8628), October 1974
• Leavin 'Is so Hard to Do / Another (AVI # 202), 1978
• Harbor Lights / Ramblin 'Man (KL 79N-001) November 1979

Web links

• Rusty Draper on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The American collecting societies ASCAP and BMI do not report registrations in favor of Draper.
2. ^ Murrells, Joseph: Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 78.
3. ^ Murrells, as above, p. 88.