Tom Tall

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Tom Tall (born Tommy Lee Guthrie on December 27, 1937 in Amarillo , Texas , † June 14, 2013 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American country musician . His music is mainly characterized by a mixture of pop , country and rockabilly .

Life

Childhood and youth

Born and raised in Texas, Tom Tall showed a talent for singing at an early age. He was also interested in hunting and fishing. In his youth he was mainly influenced by Hank Williams and Hank Thompson ; at the age of twelve he had his first own radio show on the radio station KSNY in Snyder . The following year, his family moved to California , where he met record label owner Fabor Robison in 1953. Tall later said, “ I won the talent show, and he was there and saw me. He asked me to come out to his place and make a demonstration record. "

Career

After meeting Robison, Tall recorded some demo tapes at the Western Recorders Studios in Hollywood , which he sent to Robison. He was impressed and signed Tall with a contract. Tall's first session took place six months later, when four tracks were recorded. The background band was the Louisiana Hayride house band, which included DJ Fontana on drums and Floyd Cramer on piano , among others . His first single was released on May 14, 1954 with I Gave My Heart To Two People , a second followed in September. Meanwhile, Robison had the idea to have Tall sing a duet with Ginny Wright . Wright already had a top 5 hit with Jim Reeves last year. Tall and Wright's duet Are You Mine rose to number 2 on the Billboard chart ; their second single Boom Boom Boomerang was only a regional hit. When Wright retired from the music business in 1955, Tall concentrated on solo projects.

Today I Started Loving You Today

In 1956 he found other duet partners in Ruckus Tyler and the Creel Sisters . With Tyler he released the rockabilly tracks Don't You Know and If You Know What I Know , with the Creel Sisters the pop song Whose Little Pigeon Are You? . After a tour through Texas together with Elvis Presley , Tall left Fabor Robison in mid-1956 and switched to the small label Sage in Hollywood. From 1955 to 1959 he was a member of various radio shows, such as the KRLD Big D Jamboree , the KFI Town Hall Party , the WSM Grand Ole Opry and a guest at the Ozark Jubilee . During the 1960s he recorded with Columbia Records , Decca Records , Crest Records, Sundown Records and other records, among others, into the next decade . In Los Angeles he befriended the famous rockabilly singer Eddie Cochran . His biggest success from this time was Bad Bad Tuesday from 1964, which reached number 25 on the charts.

In 1979 Tall decided to withdraw from the music business and from then on worked as a businessman in Las Vegas . In 1985 Tall returned to a studio to record and has performed sporadically since then. Tall lived in Las Vegas until his death in 2013.

Discography

Singles

The singles discography is complete until 1964. Further recordings at Columbia, Decca, Sundown, Blue Book and Scorpion are unknown.

year title Record company
1954 I Gave My Heart to Two People / Please Be Careful Fabor 108
1954 You Loved Another One Better Than I / I Want to Walk With You Fabor 115
1955 Are You Mine / Somebody New (with Ginny Wright) Fabor 117
1955 Boom Boom Boomerang / Out of Line (with Ginny Wright) Fabor 121
1955 Goldie Jo Malone / Underway Fabor 123
1955 Give Me a Chance / Remembering You Fabor 125
1955 Will This Dream Of Mine Come True / Come With Me (with Ginny Wright) Fabor 127
1956 Whose Little Pigeon Are You (with the Creel Sisters) / B-side from the Creel Sisters Abbott 3022
1956 Hot Rod Is Her Name (with the Creel Sisters) / Why Must I Wonder Fabor 132
1956 Don't You Know / If You Know What I Know (with Ruckus Tyler) Fabor 139
1957 Three Walls / This Island legend
1958 Stack-a-Records / Mary Jo (and His Tom Cats) Crest 1038
1958 To Be Alone / High School Love Crest 1052
195? In the Shadows of the Night / I Want You Chart
196? Gravy Train / I've Seen Everything Chart
196? Hill Above the City / Eyes Look Away Chart
1964 Bad Bad Tuesday / Oohin 'and Aahin' Petal
Family Problems / Today I Started Loving You Today [!] Blue Book 1004

Albums

  • 2005: Are You Mine ( Bear Family work edition with Ginny Wright)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tall, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guthrie, Tommy Lee (Civil)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country and rockabilly musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Amarillo , Texas
DATE OF DEATH 14th of June 2013
Place of death Las Vegas Nevada