Wesley Tuttle

Wesley LeRoy Tuttle (born December 30, 1917 in Lamar , Colorado , † September 29, 2003 in Sylmar , California ) was an American country musician . Tuttle is considered one of the most influential people within the California country scene, but despite its high popularity on radio and television, only had a few chart hits. His style was based on western swing .

Life

Childhood and youth

Wesley Tuttle was born in Colorado in 1917, but his family moved to San Fernando, California shortly before his fifth birthday. In Colorado, he got his first access to music through an old phonograph in a café where his parents worked. Tuttle started playing the ukulele in California , but had to hit with his left hand after an accident at his father's butcher shop because he lost three fingers on his right hand. Jimmie Rodgers had a lasting influence on Tuttle and by the age of twelve he could play guitar , sing and yodel.

Career

His musical skills soon earned Tuttle his own radio show on KNX in Los Angeles . Country musician Stuart Hamblen gave Tuttle several opportunities to appear on his popular show The Family Album in the early 1930s , and from then on Tuttle pursued his career professionally. He dropped out of high school and quickly found work on radio and TV. In the Walt Disney film Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (" Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ") he got a short guest role.

In 1939, Tuttle moved to Dayton , Ohio for a short time , where he married his first wife and met Merle Travis . Tuttle was regularly heard on WLW from Cincinnati , but moved back to the west coast after a dispute with the station.

Too Little Too Late , 1945

Back in California, Tuttle quickly made radio appearances and became a member of the Jimmy Wakely Trio through Johnny Bond and accompanied Tex Ritter on his session in 1944 , which produced the hit Jealous Heart . The success moved Capitol Records , the leading West Coast label, to get Tuttle a record deal. The first session was held in 1944, for which Tuttle brought Merle Travis in as guitarist and background singer. Travis had just moved from Ohio to California and played in Tuttle's band for the next several years.

In addition to its high popularity on the radio, Tuttle had a number of country hits in the 1940s. In 1945 he achieved his only number one hit in the country charts with With Tears in My Eyes . Detour from 1946 is also worth mentioning ; Tuttle's recording was just one of many versions that were in the charts. Tuttles career stress strained his relationship with his wife and the marriage ended in divorce. He married Marilyn Meyers in 1946, who became his duo partner.

In the 1950s, Tuttle took part in the Town Hall Party , a successful radio and TV show from Compton . Tuttle had his last hit in 1954 with his wife Marilyn with Never . In 1956 he produced the short-lived Gold Coast Jamboree from Miami , but withdrew from the country scene in 1957. He gave up his radio and television appearances and terminated his contract with Capitol.

Tuttle continued to work as a gospel musician until 1969 . A few albums were recorded with and without Marilyn, but he was unable to build on his earlier success. As a devout Christian, he also studied theology at a Christian college and became a pastor.

In 1997, Tuttle was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame . He died in Sylmar in 2003. Despite its popularity and success, especially in the 1940s, Tuttle is now forgotten, not least because of his early and sudden retreat from country music.

Discography

Singles

Discography is not exhaustive.

year	title	#	Remarks
Capitol Records
1945	I Dreamed That My Daddy Came Home / Rainin 'On the Mountain	194
1945	Too Little, Too Late / With Tears In My Eyes	216
1946	Detour / I Wish I Had Never Met Sunshine	233
	Tho 'I Tried (I Can't Forget You) / When You Cry (You Cry Alone)	267
	No Children Allowed / I've Loved You Too Long to Forget	321
	Little You Cared / A Broken Promise Means a Broken Heart	373
	I'd Trade All of My Tomorrows / Excess Baggage	398
	Don't Break the Sixth Commandment / Our Love Isn't Legal	2242	with Marilyn Tuttle
	Vaya Con Dios / I Wonder Where You Are	2514	with Marilyn Tuttle
	Don't you remember? / Wonderful Waltz	2577	with Marilyn Tuttle
1954	Never / Friendly Love	2850	with Marilyn Tuttle
	Higher, Higher and Higher / Tennessee Mambo	2983	with Marilyn Tuttle
Coral Records
1950	Slippin 'Around with Jole Blon / Strawberry Roan	64051
1950	Jealous Lies / When the Bloom Is On the Sage	64056
1950	The Lightning Express / That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine	64068
1951	One Diamond Ring / I'm Tired of Playin 'Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar	65076

Albums

• 1969: Sings
• 19 ??: Prayer
• 2002: Detour ( Bear Family )

Web links

• Entry on Allmusic
• Wesley Tuttle on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
• Wes & Marilyn Tuttle on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)