Rusty Wellington
Rusty Wellington (born April 10, 1925 in Camelton , New Brunswick , as Douglas Wellington ; † 1986 ) was a Canadian country and rockabilly musician.
Life
Childhood and youth
Rusty Wellington was born in Canada, but moved to Manchester , New Hampshire, USA with his parents George T. and Margaret Wellington in 1936 . At the age of ten, Wellington made his radio debut in Montreal with CKAC. Cowboy singer Tex Ritter encouraged young Wellington to keep listening to the music at one gig and took Wellington on tour when he was 13. Tours with Hank Williams and Hank Snow and a radio show on a local station in Manchester followed.
Career
After Wellington fought in World War II between 1943 and 1946 , he tried his hand at the music business. He was now active in and around Philadelphia , where he played with other local musicians such as Jesse Rogers , the Down Homers or the then unknown Bill Haley . Wellington also appeared as a singer with the Down Homers.
In the early 1950s, Wellington got a recording deal with Arcade Records , a Philadelphia label owned by Jack Howard and sometimes also by Bill Haley. His first single came out there in 1953 with Doggone It Baby, I'm in Love / Every Precious Memory ; the A-side was a cover of a Carl Smith hit. More singles followed with Arcade and some of these records were also taken over by MGM Records nationally, but none of the single turned out to be a big hit.
From 1955 Wellington began to include rockabilly in its repertoire, which has just been popularized by the Sun Records artists , especially in the southern United States. Still, it was clear that Wellington was still influenced by country musicians like Hank Williams. In 1955, during a session, a first rockabilly song, Jump Jump Honey , was released that same year. A second session with rockabilly followed in 1957, during which cover versions of Rudy Grayzell's Ducktail and Warren Smith's Rock'n'Roll Ruby were recorded, but these disappeared in Arcade's archives. Rocking Chair on the Moon , later a hit for Bill Haley, was released on MGM in November 1957.
Despite the lack of a hit, Wellington continued to perform across New England , joining Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets, for some time in the 1960s. He then returned to New England and had two top ten hits on the country charts as a result. He wrote some songs for Bill Haley, was a member of the band Duke and the Swingbillies and had a guest appearance on Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree . Wellington spent the 1970s mainly on television. He had his own TV show, appeared on Arthur Godfrey's talent show, and appeared on Perry Como's show, and appeared regularly on the CBS show Action in the Afternoon .
After Wellington's daughter narrowly escaped death and the Swingbillies broke up, Wellington turned to religion. He was even a pastor at times and had a gospel show on Channel 18. His gospel music also played in churches all over New England.
Rusty Wellington died in 1986 after a few years with heart problems. He was nominated for the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame Award that same year and was honored with induction into the Maine CMA Hall of Fame in 1989 . In 2005 he was also inducted into Maine's Hillbilly Heaven .
Discography
| year | title | Label # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Doggone It Baby, I'm in Love / Every Precious Memory | Arcade 45-AR-116 | |||
| 1954 | I Want a Little Lovin '/ Slowly But Surely | Arcade 45-AR-124 | |||
| 1955 | Blue Ranger / I Ain't a Tater (with Ginger Wellington) | Arcade 45-AR-137 | |||
| 1955 | Blues from Tennessee / Jump Jump Honey | Arcade 45-AR-140 | |||
| 1957 | The Convict and the Rose / I Ain't - Movin 'on No More | Arcade 45-AR-144 | |||
| 1957 | Rocking Chair on the Moon / I Lost My Someone to Someone Else | MGM K12581 | |||
| 1965 | The Allegash / I've Been Away From You So Long | Arcade 45-AR-184 | |||
| 1966 | Soft Shoulders / The Old Man | Arcade 45-AR-185 | |||
| Echo / Free from the Blues | Arcade 45-AR-189 | ||||
| 1967 | Lonely Lips / Isle of Wild Roses | Arcade 45-AR-191 | |||
| Bright Lights of a City / Wings of a Dove | Arcade 45-AR-203 | ||||
| No Christmas Tree in Vietnam /? | Arzee RZ-103 | ||||
| I Just Don't Care / Poor Little Me | Arzee RZ-107 | ||||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
| 1957 |
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Albums
- 1970: Yes, It's Me Again (Arzee)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wellington, Rusty |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wellington, Douglas (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country and rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 10, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Camelton , New Brunswick |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1986 |