Warren Smith
Warren Smith (born February 7, 1932 in Humphreys County , Mississippi , † January 31, 1980 ) was an American rockabilly and country singer. He is best known for the song Rock'n'Roll Ruby .
Life
Childhood and youth
Warren Smith grew up with his grandparents in Louise , Mississippi , after his parents divorced . In 1950 he was drafted into the US Air Force . He spent most of his military service in San Antonio , Texas . Meanwhile, he used every free minute to play the guitar or sing. After being discharged from the Air Force, Smith moved to Memphis , Tennessee .
Career
There he soon became a member of the Snearly Ranch Boys . Stan Kesler , a session musician with Sun Records and a member of the Snearly Ranch Boys, referred Smith and the band to Sam Phillips , the owner of Sun. Phillips signed the group after a brief audition in early 1956. Smith's first session was on February 5, 1956 with the Snearly Ranch Boys. In this session, he played that of Johnny Cash wrote Rock'n'Roll Ruby along with I'd Rather Be Safe Than Sorry one. The record sold over 68,000 copies and rose to the top of the Memphis charts. He bought a new Cadillac labeled Warren Smith - The Rock'n'Roll Ruby Man and formed a new band consisting of Al Hopson ( guitar ), Marcus Van Story ( double bass ) and Jimmy Lott ( drums ). Together with other Sun stars like Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison , he started a tour and became a member of the KRLD Big D Jamboree in Dallas .
His subsequent single Ubangi Stomp could not repeat the initial success. Due to the rise of Jerry Lee Lewis, his next releases were also failures, as his hits like Great Balls of Fire came out shortly after his records. Smith's contract with Sun expired and Smith moved to California . There he became a member of the KFI Town Hall Party , one of the most famous radio and television shows of the time. Under the pseudonym Warren Baker he brought out three unsuccessful singles on Warner Bros. Records . He released some country tracks on Liberty Records, and his first single came in at number five among the Hot Country Songs . Smith finally seemed to have made his way to stardom, especially as nearly all of his subsequent singles made it into the top 20. But Smith's contract was - as with Sun - not renewed. In the spring of 1964 he held his last session there. With continued failure, Smith consumed excessive amounts of alcohol and became addicted to pills . The result was a car accident from which he made a full recovery. After 18 months in prison, Smith's marriage failed. In the meantime he had turned his back on music.
But Smith found a job as a security director with a company in Longview , Texas . He married again and recorded a single for a friend's newly formed record company. He released an album in the 1970s. In 1977 Smith first appeared on the Sun Sound Show in London . In 1978 and 1979 he toured Europe. 20 years after his futile career as a rockabilly singer, he had now built up a large fan base in the rockabilly community in Europe.
Warren Smith died of a heart attack on January 31, 1980, at the age of only 47. Another tour in Europe was planned for the coming year 1981. Smith was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame for his achievements in rockabilly music .
Discography
Albums
- 1961: First Country Collection
- 1977: Warren Smith
- 1977: Legendary Sun Performer
- 1980: Memorial Album
- 1981: The Last Detail
- 1988: So Long, I'm Gone
- 1991: Bop! Bop!
- 1995: Rockabilly Legend
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1957 | So Long I'm Gone |
US72 (2 weeks) US |
- | |
| 1960 | I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today | - |
Country5 (17 weeks) Country |
|
| 1961 | Odds and Ends (Bits and Pieces) | - |
Country7 (15 weeks) Country |
|
| Why Baby Why | - |
Country23 (3 weeks) Country |
with Shirley Collie
|
|
| Call of the Wild | - |
Country26 (3 weeks) Country |
||
| 1963 | That's Why I Sing in a Honky Tonk | - |
Country25 (4 weeks) Country |
|
| 1964 | Big City Ways | - |
Country41 (2 weeks) Country |
|
| Blue smoke | - |
Country41 (8 weeks) Country |
||
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1956: Rock and Roll Ruby
- 1956: Ubangi Stomp
- 1958: Got Love If You Want It
- 1959: Sweet Sweet Girl
- 1961: Why I'm Walking (with Shirley Collie)
- 1962: Five Minutes of the Latest Blues
- 1962: Book of Broken Hearts
- 1966: Future X
- 1968: When the Heartaches Get to Me
- 1972: Make It on Your Own
- 1972: I Don't Believe
- 1973: A Woman's Never Gone
Web links
- Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- Warren Smith in the All Music Guide
- Discography with audio samples
Individual evidence
- ↑ On Smith's recordings for Sun Records see: Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin 'Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991, pp. 180-184
- ↑ Chart sources: US US Country
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Warren |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baker, Warren (pseudonym at Liberty) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly and country singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 7, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Humphreys County , Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 31, 1980 |