Roy Drusky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Roy Drusky | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Roy Frank Drusky Jr. | |
| Born | June 22, 1930 | |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Died | September 23, 2004 | |
| Genre(s) | Country Music | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, producer, actor, disc jockey | |
| Years active | 1953-2004 | |
| Label(s) | Starday Records, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Mercury Records | |
| Associated acts |
Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Priscilla Mitchell | |
Roy Drusky (June 22, 1930 - September 23, 2004) was a country music singer. Born as Roy Frank Drusky Jr., he was popular in the 1960s through the early 70s.
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[edit] Early life and early career
A native of Georgia, Roy Drusky became a popular Country singer during the 1960s, who was known for his baritone voice. He sounded very much alike his counterpart Eddy Arnold, another fellow Country singer. They were both known for their ochestra-typed Country songs. It is almost impossible to tell the two apart.
Roy was born Roy Frank Drusky Jr. in 1930, out in Atlanta, Georgia. He didn't do too much singing, until the late 40s. This is when Drusky joined the Navy. His mother was a church organist. She tried for years to get her son into music as a child, but he focused more on sports. Originally planning to become a baseball player, he began his music career in the early 1950s performing on a Decatur, Georgia radio station. He attended Emory University, after finishing his service in the Navy and studied veterinay medicine. During this time, he also played Country music with a group he founded called the Southern Ranch Boys.
Drusky also worked as a disc jockey. In 1953, he signed on to Starday Records. His first single he released from the record company was called "Such a Fool". In 1953, he also joined the Grand Ole Opry. A couple of years later, he recorded for Columbia Records, but none of his work gained much success.
[edit] Work as a songwriter
Faron Young, a well knwon Country singer himself, helped Drusky's career. The two songs he wrote called "Alone With You" and "Country Girl", he turned into major #1 Country hits. After that, he moved onto Decca Records.
[edit] Height of his career
In 1960, Roy Drusky finally struck it big. he released his single by Decca Records called "Another", a song that was co-written by him. At Decca he worked with producer Owen Bradley. He was a legendary producer who led legendary Country singer Patsy Cline into big success in the early 60s as well. Bradley would help smooth out Drusky's orchestral tones. The next year, he reached the Country Top ten with the single "Second Hand Rose". In 1963, he switched onto Mercury Records.
He released his first hit from his new record company the same year he signed on to it. The song was called "Peel Me a Nanner", which was written by Bill Anderson. He cut a lot of duets with Priscilla Mitchell. One of his biggest hits with her was the #1 hit "Yes Mr. Peters". Mitchell was the wife of Jerry Reed, a well-known Country singer too. During his career, he racked up a good number of Top 40 Country hits.
Some of these songs that were Top 40s were written by famous songwriters. The singer/songwriter Liz Anderson wrote the song "Pick of the Week" for him. Kris Kristofferson wrote the song "Jody and the Kid". Another song was written by Neil Diamond called "Red, Red Wine". After 1965 though, his chart success was beginning to fade away.
[edit] Television career
While also being a successful Country singer, Drusky also had a small television career. In 1965, he appeared in the movie White Lightnin' Express and also two other films as well. These two films were The Golden Guitar and Four Acre Fued.
[edit] Decline and comeback
After 1965, Roy Drusky's success on the Country charts was wearing away. He racked up a couple other Top Tens like "Where the Blue and Lonely Go". This was a hit for him in 1969. However, he made a good comeback with the song "Long Long Texas Road", a Top Five hit for him. This was first Top Five Country hit in six years. After that, his career success in Country music faded away for good.
His albums and singles went into a rapid downfall, due to the new changes and tastes of what Country music would become during the 70s and 80s. He returned though to writing and producing music. He had been producing music in fact since the 60s. After doing not much in the 1980s, he went into more Country-Gospel during the 1990s.
[edit] Death
On September 23, 2004, Roy Drusky died. He was 74 years old. It was said that he had died from a lengthy illness he had been battling for a long time. During his death, he had no funeral service, but only a memorial service.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Hit singles
| Year | Single | Album | U.S. Country | |
| 1960 | "Another (Just Like Me)" | Anymore With Roy Drusky | #2 | |
| 1960 | "Anymore" | Anymore With Roy Drusky | #3 | |
| 1960 | "I Can't Tell My Heart That" (with Kitty Wells) | Kitty Wells Duets | #26 | |
| 1961 | "Three Hearts In a Triangle" | Anymore With Roy Drusky | #2 | |
| 1963 | "Second Hand Rose" | Roy Drusky | #3 | |
| 1964 | "Peel Me a Nanner" | Greatest Hits | #8 | |
| 1964 | "Pick of the Week" | #13 | ||
| 1965 | "All My Friends Are Gonna Be Strangers" | Golden Hits | #6 | |
| 1965 | "White Lightnin' Express" | #21 | ||
| 1965 | "Yes Mr. Peters" | Love's Eternal Triangle | #1 | |
| 1967 | "If the Whole World Stopped Lovin'" | If the Whole World Stopped Lovin | #12 | |
| 1968 | "Jody and the Kid" | Jody and the Kid | #24 | |
| 1969 | "Such a Fool" | My Grass Is Green | #7 | |
| 1970 | "All My Hard Times" | All My Hard Times | #9 | |
| 1970 | "Long Long Texas Road" | I'll Make Amends | #5 |
[edit] Selected albums
| Year | Album | |
| 1961 | Anymore With Roy Drusky | |
| 1963 | Roy Drusky | |
| 1964 | Songs of the Cities | |
| 1964 | Yesterday's Gone | |
| 1965 | Country Music All Around the World | |
| 1965 | Pick of the Country | |
| 1966 | If the Whole World Stopped Lovin' | |
| 1966 | In a New Dimension | |
| 1966 | Roy Drusky's Greatest Hits | |
| 1966 | Together Again | |
| 1967 | Now Is a Lonely Time | |
| 1968 | Greatest Hits Volume 2 | |
| 1968 | Jody and the Kid | |
| 1969 | My Grass Is Green | |
| 1969 | Portrait of Roy Drusky | |
| 1970 | All My Hard Times | |
| 1970 | I'll Make Amends | |
| 1970 | The Best of Roy Drusky | |
| 1971 | I Love the Way You've Been Lovin' Me |
[edit] Sources
- Country Music: The Rough Guide; Wolff, Kurt; Penguin Publishing
- LP Discography.com
- All Music.com
