Tommy Blake
Tommy Blake (* 14. September 1931 in Dallas , Texas as Thomas Levan Givens ; † 24. December 1985 ) was an American rockabilly - and country musician.
Life
Childhood and youth
Thomas Given's personal life has been chaotic since childhood. Born out of wedlock, Givens was arrested and convicted of rape when he was 14. Blake never met his father. In 1951 he joined the Marines and fought in the Korean War . Prior to this assignment, Blake had lost an eye at a boot camp in North Carolina .
Career
After his discharge from the army, he formed his first own band, the Rhythm Rebels, together with Carl Adams ( guitar ), Eddie Hall ( bass ) and Tom Ruple ( drums ) . At that time, Givens adopted the stage name "Tommy Blake". In 1954, Blake married his first wife, Betty Jones, in Texas. In Shreveport they got their own radio show on KTBS and appeared in the KRLD Big D Jamboree and KWKH Louisiana Hayride .
At the Louisiana Hayride they saw Elvis Presley , who was on tour at the same time and triggered the rockabilly boom with his records. Blake and his band immediately devoted themselves to rockabilly. With the small label Buddy in Marshall , Texas, they recorded their first record in 1956 with the rockabilly title Koolit . At the same time, Blake became a member of the television show of famous country singer Johnny Horton .
The following year, Blake signed with RCA Victor . There he recorded a total of four songs, some of which were covered by Johnny Horton. Also, Chet Atkins , who worked at that time for RCA, a single released by Blake. After problems with the label, Blake switched to Sun Records , the birthplace of rockabilly. His song Flat Foot Sam sold well enough to record another single on Sun and play with famous Sun artists. His play Story of a Broken Heart was later recorded by Johnny Cash . After his time at Sun, Blake was under contract with various labels, including Recco, 4 Star Records , Paula Records and Chancellor.
Withdrawal and death
The success did not want to set in any more, and changing the name to "Van Givens" did not change anything. Frustrated, he withdrew from the music scene and became addicted to alcohol . After taking pictures with Paula, he worked as a carpenter.
On Christmas Eve 1985, Blake came home drunk and aimed a gun at his wife, Samantha Carter. After an argument, his wife got hold of the gun and shot him. Tommy Blake was 54 years old.
In 2007 Bear Family Records released a CD with his recordings.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Record company | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Koolit / If I Am A Fool | Buddy Records | |||
| 1957 | Three Cheers For The Red, White and Blue / I Gotta Be Somewhere | Chancellor Records | |||
| 1957 | Mister Hoody / Freedom | RCA Victor | |||
| 1957 | Flat Foot Sam / Lordy Hoody | Sun Records | |||
| 1958 | I Dig You Baby / Sweetie Pie | Sun Records | |||
| 1959 | F-Olding Money / The Hanging Judge | Recco Records | |||
| 1960 | Texas Lovin ' / Galveston | Aetna Records | |||
| 1961 | Back Door To Heaven / I Try It Harder | 4 Star Records * | |||
| 1964 | Who Threw The Water / You and I | Bragg Records * | |||
| 1966 | Dream Train / To Each His Own | Musicor Records * | |||
| 1967 | Waitin 'In The Watin' Room / Sunday School Beginners | Paula Records * | |||
| 1967 | I Want To Go Home / Stop Kicking My Heart Around | Paula Records | |||
| 1972 | Shake Around / You Better Believe It | Sun Records | |||
| 2001 | Better Believe It /? (B-side of Jimmy Wages ) | Norton / Sun Records | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
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not published | ||||
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not published | ||||
* Released as "Van Givens"
Albums
- 1984: Tommy Blake & Gene Wyatt
- 2007: Koolit: The Sun Years Plus
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Blake, Tommy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Givens, Thomas Levan (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly and country musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 14, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dallas , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 24, 1985 |