Tommy Spurlin
Tommy Spurlin (* 12. January 1928 in Elba , Alabama as Thomas M. Spurlin ; † 27. July 2005 in Gulfport , Mississippi ) was an American country - and rockabilly musician who especially for his title Hang Loose is known .
Life
Childhood and youth
Tommy Spurlin grew up in Jackson , Alabama with his half-brother George "Benny" Dumas before the family moved to Glenmore , Louisiana in the 1940s . Shortly after World War II , Spurlin was drafted into the Air Force , where he worked with Charlie Louvin, a later member of the Louvin Brothers . In 1948, his family moved to Miami , where Spurlin's grandfather had settled.
Career
There he founded the band Tommy Spurlin and his Southern Boys with George ( double bass ) in 1952 , which also consisted of Virgil Powell ( fiddle ), Jimmy Slade ( guitar ) and Bill Johnson ( steel guitar ). First they played country music , and in 1954 they even made their first recordings for Jiffy Records . In 1955 they were signed by Harold Doane for his newly founded label Perfect Records and in late 1955 they released their second country single Danger! / Ain't Had No Lovin ' .
In 1956, Spurlin and the Southern Boys dropped the fiddle and steel guitar and also added rockabilly songs to their repertoire. The band now consisted of Spurlin (guitar / vocals), Jimmy Slade (electric guitar) and George Dumas (bass). After another country single in the spring of 1956, Spurlin and the group became members of the Gold Coast Jamborees , a new live show from Miami. In August, the first rockabilly single, Hang Loose / One Eyed Sam , was released, shortly afterwards, with added drums, again on Art Records , another Doane label. This version was released on RM Records in the UK in the 1970s . The original version can be heard on the compilation CD Miami Rockabilly .
Billboard wrote in August 1956 about Spurlin's Hang Loose : “ Spurlin essays a semi-Presley style here (without echo chamber, however), and brings off this rhythmic material very well. Those who have been following Spurlin's releases will find this of the strongest commercially to date. “ One Eyed Sam also received a good rating:“ This is country blues, too, but tze material doesn't quite match that of the flip. Another good job by Spurlin . “At that time, however, the single didn't get beyond regional successes. At the same time, the Southern Boys accompanied another Perfect artist named Wesley Hardin on his session.
After another single with Art, Spurlin retired from the music business in 1957 and pursued a regular job. His piece Heart Throb was passed on to Jerry Reed by Bill Lowery , who changed the text somewhat. This edition was used in the film Porky’s .
Meanwhile, his friend George Dumas continued to perform under the band name until 1963. He then became head of a paper mill in Jackson, Alabama. Spurlin died completely unnoticed in Mississippi in 2005.
Discography
| year | title | Record company | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Been Livin 'Wrong / My Adress Is The Same | Jiffy 205 | |||
| 1955 | Danger! / Ain't Had No Lovin | Perfect 45-C-107 | |||
| 1956 | Tomorrow I'll Be Gone / There Might Have Been a Love Song | Perfect 108 | |||
| 1956 | Hang Loose / One Eyed Sam | Perfect 45-109 | |||
| 1956 | Hang Loose / One Eyed Sam | Art 45-C-109 * | |||
| Heart Throb / No Time For Heartaches | Art 45-131 | ||||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
|
|||||
* With Art 45-C-109, a drum kit was added afterwards.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Billboard from August 4, 1956: "Reviews of New C&W Records"
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Spurlin, Tommy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spurlin, Thomas M. (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 12, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Elba , Alabama |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 27, 2005 |
| Place of death | Gulfport , Mississippi |