STORY BEHIND THE SONG

[Rhonda]

STORY BEHIND THE SONG


A lot of hit songs have been written from lines in movies or television programs and according to Bob McDill, Keith Whitley’s 1988 hit, “Don’t Close Your Eyes” was one of those tunes!

McDill commented, “That idea came from a Neil Simon play that was made into a movie titled “California Suite” with Maggie Smith and the English actor—I can’t think of his name. Anyway he plays a gay man who’s married to this gal and she’s about to win her first Oscar. They come to the awards ceremony and he’s involved in hustling some little boy at dinner. She’s learned to live with all of that. She wants him to make love to her that night and I was walking thru the room when my wife and my daughter were watching that movie when Maggie Smith said “hold me tonight and make love to me tonight and don’t close your eyes. Don’t pretend I’m somebody else. “ And I thought that was a great title. So that’s where that song came from.”

Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” entered the country music charts April 30th, 1988 and made it to number one.

It was his 10th charted song and was on the charts for 23 weeks.


Keith Whitley - Don't Close Your Eyes

I know you loved him, a long time ago
Even now in my arms, you still want him I know
But darling this time, let your memories die
When you hold me tonight, don't close your eyes

CHORUS:
Don't Close Your Eyes, let it be me
Don't pretend it's him, in some fantasy
Darlin' just once, let yesterday go
And you'll find more love than you've ever known
Just hold me tight, when you love me tonight
And DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES

Maybe I've, been a fool, holding on all this time
Lying here in your arms, knowing he's in your mind
But I keep hoping someday, that you'll see the light
Let it be me tonight and don't close your eyes

CHORUS x2

Just hold me tight, when you love me tonight,
And Don't Close Your Eyes

Alcoholism and death

Keith Whitley was a longtime alcoholic, who had begun drinking early in his career at Bluegrass concerts -- long before he was legally allowed to drink alcohol. Many times he had tried to overcome his alcoholism, but these methods had failed. Whitley preferred to drink alone, making it tough for anyone to detect that he had a drinking problem.
On the morning of May 9, 1989, after a weekend of drinking and partying with friends, Whitley woke up and spoke with his mother briefly on the phone and was visited by his brother-in-law, and the two of them had planned a full day over a cup of coffee. The day would be with golf, a good lunch, and also that evening Keith had planned to start penning more records for him and Lorrie to possibly record when she came home from her tour. His brother-in-law had to leave for a bit and told Keith to be ready within an hour. Upon returning Whitley was found face down on his bed. He was pronounced dead at 11:16 a.m. He was only 34 years old.
The cause of death was alcohol poisoning, and the coroner report stated his blood alcohol level was five times over the legal limit to drive.
The day after his death, Music Row was lined with black ribbons in memory of Keith.

[Rhonda]

AMES BROTHERS

The Ames Brothers were a singing quartet from Malden, Massachusetts who were particularly famous in the 1950s for their traditional pop music hits.

Their name was originally Urick, and the name "The Ames Brothers" was suggested for them by the playwright Abe Burroughs when the Urick Brothers first went from the Boston area to New York to perform. One of the brothers, Ed, (born July 9, 1927), later went on to become a well-known soloist. The other brothers were Joe (born May 3, 1921), Gene (born February 13, 1923), and Vic (May 20, 1925-January 23, 1978).

They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

Hit records

The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane (also a hit for Archie Bleyer) (1954)
My Bonnie Lassie (1955)
Forever Darling (1956)
It Only Hurts for a Little While (1956)
Tammy (a bigger hit for Debbie Reynolds) (1957)
Melodie D'Amour (1957)
A Very Precious Love (1958)
girl thingy Cat (1958)
Red River Rose (1959)

Lyrics
The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane

The naughty lady of Shady Lane
Has hit the town like a bomb
The back-fence gossip ain't been this good
Since Mabel ran off with Tom
Our town was peaceful and quiet
Before she came on the scene
The lady has started a riot
Disturbin' the suburban routine

CHORUS
The naughty lady of Shady Lane has the town in a whirl
The naughty lady of Shady Lane
Me-oh, my-oh, what a girl

You should see how she carries on
With her admirers galore
She must be givin' them quite a thrill
The way they flock to her door
She throws those come-hither glances
At every Tom, thingy, and Joe
When offered some liquid refreshment
The lady never never says "no"

CHORUS

The things they're trying to pin on her
Won't hold much water, for sure
Beneath the powder and fancy lace
There beats a heart sweet and pure
She just needs someone to change her
And she'll be nice as can be
If you're in the neighborhood, stranger
You're welcome to drop in and see

The naughty lady of Shady Lane
So delightful to hold
The naughty lady of Shady Lane
So delectable
Quite respectable
And she's only NINE DAYS OLD!!!

Lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett.
Recorded by The Ames Brothers (1954).

[Rhonda]

STORY BEHIND THE SONG


A lot of hit songs were influenced by Cajun music or the Cajun beat. According to Bob McDill, Mel McDaniel’s `1981 hit, “Louisiana Saturday Night” was one of those songs.


McDill commented, “I love that Cajun music. I grew up down in Beaumont, Texas, which is sort of a Cajun corner of Texas down there….on the Louisiana border. I always loved that Cajun beat. That beat in that song is kind of what you’d call a “stomp.” So I put that song together from that and that’s another song that still plays on the radio like a hit song. It just keeps’ S going.”


Mel McDaniels’ Capitol Records single, “Louisiana Saturday Night” entered the country music charts March 28th, 1981 and peaked at # 7. It was his 14th charted song and was on the charts for 14 weeks.

Louisiana Saturday Night Lyrics

Chorus:
Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen 'til the mornin' light,
Louisiana Saturday night!

Waiting in the front yard sitting on a log,
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.
Yonder come my kinfolk, in the moonlight
Louisiana Saturday night!

Chorus:
Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen 'til the morning light,
Louisiana Saturday night!

--- Instrumental ---

My brother Bill and my other brother Jack,
Belly full O beer and a possum in a sack.
Fifteen kids in the front porch light,
Louisana Saturday night!

When your kinfolks leave and the kids get fed,
Me an' my woman gonna slip off to bed.
Have a little fun when we turn off the light,
Louisiana Saturday night!

Chorus:
Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen 'til the morning light,
Louisiana Saturday night!

Chorus:
Yeah, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen 'til the morning light,
Louisiana Saturday night!

--- Instrumental ---

Chorus:
You get down the fiddle and you get down the bow
Kick off your shoes and you throw 'em on the floor
Dance in the kitchen 'til the morning light,
Louisiana Saturday night!..

[Rhonda]

STORY BEHIND THE SONG





A lot of songs come from actual slices of life and according to Sonny Throckmorton, John Conlee’s “Friday night Blues” as one of those tunes!


Sonny commented, ““The Friday Night Blues,” believe it or not…happened to me. I was in a marriage where there was a lot of that going on and I just observed it and had to write about it. It was such an obvious thing that men and women at some point are on a different page as to what’s really bringing them joy in life . And at the time, a TV and the six o’clock news was doing it for me. And I had a great co-writer on that song-- Rafe Van Hoy. I had written quite a bit of the song and I got with Rafe and played it for him and he helped me with the second verse and that was that!”



He's been work-in' all week, he's got men-tal fa-tigue
and that old couch sure looks fine
All week he's been gone, she's been sit-tin' a-lone
slow-ly go-in' out of her mind
As he kicks off his shoes for the six o-clock news
she's get-tin' all pret-tied up


oh, she's want-in' to boo-gie, he's want-in' to lay there
she's got the Fri-day Night Blues

CHORUS:
And the Fri-day Night Blues they get in your shoes,
and they work to get you down
Oh, and there ain't a la-dy that I ever knew
who didn't need her a night on the town
But the hills and the bills and a week's worth of deals
has got him feel-in' more than used
Oh, he's kick-in' his shoes off, she's put-tin' her's on
she's got the Fri-day Night Blues

Oh,there once was a time, she was top of the line
her nights like teen-age dreams
Now it's op-'ras at noon, danc-in' 'round with her broom
talk-in' to her wash-in' ma-chine
Oh, the girl down the street says her old man is neat
and she makes it sound so true
Now she's feel-in' lone-ly thinks she's the on-ly
One with the Fri-day Night Blues

CHORUS

And the Fri-day Night Blues they get in your shoe's
and they work to get you down
Oh, and there ain't a la-dy that I ever knew
who didn't need her a night on the town


Conlee’s MCA single, “Friday Night Blues,” made the country charts May 34d, 1980 and made it to number two, where it stayed for two weeks. It was Conlee’s 6th charted song and was on the charts for 16 weeks.

[aka]

Hi Rhonda, thanks for all the interesting info.

Being an "oldie" I can remamber when, "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" was on the hit parade. Your post bought back fond memories, of a far quieter, less rushed lifestyle.

[Rhonda]

Glad you enjoyed it. I remember those less rushed quieter days as well.

I realize that not everything I post is something everyone will enjoy but i find the stories behind sometimes are interesting.

[Rhonda]

BJ had mega-big secular hits in the 60's and 70's such as "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" before becoming a Christian. There aren't many areas of popular music B.J. Thomas hasn't impacted.

Since the mid-1960's, when he became one of the most successful artists on the American musical landscape, he has recorded an incredible string of successes in several genres - 15 Top 40 pop hits, 10 Top 40 Country hits, five Grammys, two Dove awards, two platinum and 11 gold records, and chart-toppers on the pop, country, gospel and adult contemporary charts.

Along the way, his has become one of the most recognized and respected voices of his generation. Almost 50 million records after his initial successes, B.J.'s versatility is still as much of his approach as his wonderfully expressive voice. In fact, B.J. Thomas has always chosen to present positive, uplifting material, no matter what genre he's been working in.

By '68, he'd had four gold records - "The Eyes Of A New York Woman," "Hooked On A Feeling" and "It's Only Love" being the other three - and labelmate Dionne Warwick, who'd been working with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David songwriting team, recommended him for "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," which was written for the motion picture Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

"I was in the right place at the right time," B.J. says, "and probably got their best song ever." "Raindrops" was Bacharach/David's first million-seller; it won an Academy Award and B.J. sang the song on the 1970 Academy Awards telecast. B.J. would go on during the early '70's to record hits like "I Just Can't Help Believin'," "No Love At All" and "Rock And Roll Lullaby" scoring a dozen gold records. Throughout the period, he sold tens of millions of records and appeared regularly on TV programs like the Ed Sullivan Show and in top nightclubs and concert halls.

In 1976, he released the first of several gospel albums, "Home Where I Belong," which went platinum, making him the biggest contemporary Christian artist of the period. Over the next several years, he received a couple of Dove awards.

He's had 10 Top 40 hits on the country charts with hits like "What Ever Happened To Old Fashioned Love" and "New Looks From An Old Lover". His country success led him to become, on his 39th birthday, the 60th member of the Grand Ole Opry.



I can't stop this feelin' deep inside of me
Girl, you just don't realize what you do to me
When ya hold me in your arms so tight
You let me know everything's all right

I-I-I, I'm hooked on a feelin'
High on believin' that you're in love with me

Lips are sweet as candy, the taste stays on my mind
Girl, you keep me thirsty for another cup of wine
I got it bad for you, girl but I don't need a cure
I'll just stay addicted and hope I can endure

All the good love when we're all alone
Keep it up, girl, yeah ya turn me on

I-I-I, I'm hooked on a feelin'
High on believin' that you're in love with me

All the good love when we're all alone
Keep it up, girl, yeah ya turn me on

I-I-I, I'm hooked on a feelin'
I'm high on believin' that you're in love with me

[Rhonda]

Skeeter Davis was a country star throughout the 50's, 60's and 70's who had some hits that crossed over to the pop charts in the early 60's. She managed to make the pop top ten on two occasions.

She was born Mary Frances Penick in 1931 in the Appalachian town of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, and raised on a farm. As a child her grandfather gave her her unusual nickname, because he said that she was always buzzing around like a mosquito. Even while very young her ambition was to be a singer. In high school she teamed up with a friend, Betty Jack Davis, to form an act known as the Davis Sisters.

The Davis Sisters -- who were the best of friends, but not sisters -- appeared on the radio in Lexington, Kentucky in 1949 and met with mild success. They became better known regionally and their circle widened to include television and radio appearances in Detroit, Cincinnati, and Wheeling, West Virginia. They signed with the Fortune record label and later with RCA. One of the recordings by the Davis Sisters, I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know, reached the top of the country charts in 1953, when the girls were only 21 years old. And then tragedy struck.

An automobile accident involving another vehicle took the life of Betty Jack Davis in August, 1953 and left Skeeter Davis, as she was now known, critically injured. It took over a year for Skeeter to recover. Eventually she resumed her career, for a brief time with Betty's sister Georgia and by 1955, as a solo act. By the late 50's she was working with producer Chet Atkins, and scored her first solo country hit with Lost To A Geisha Girl. She followed it up with (I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too, an answer song to Hank Locklin's Please Help Me I'm Falling. Skeeter moved to Nashville and realized a long-time dream by becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1960 she married Nashville radio personality Ralph Emery. She dabbled with songwriting and co-wrote My Last Date (With You) with Boudleaux Bryant and Floyd Cramer. She also co-wrote Set Him Free which reached the top ten on the country charts. Two of these songs, (I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too and My Last Date (With You), crossed over and became top forty pop songs in the early 60's. But major success in the pop field lay just ahead.

In 1963 Skeeter Davis had a tremendously successful country and pop hit with The End Of The World, which reached number two on the pop chart, was a huge hit for her in England, and became her signature song. Later that year she reached the pop top ten for the second and last time with a Carole King/Gerry Goffin tune titled I Can't Stay Mad At You.

Skeeter's marriage to Ralph Emery ended in divorce and later she was married for a time to musician Joey Spampanito. She continued to record on the RCA label, and put out some major country hits throughout the 60's and into the 70's. Among these were I'm Saving My Love, Gonna Get Along Without You Now, Fuel To The Flame, I'm A Lover (Not A Fighter) and Bus Fare To Kentucky. She recorded duets with recording stars such as Porter Wagoner, Bobby Bare, the BeeGees, and George Hamilton IV.

In 1976 Skeeter signed with Mercury Records. Her string of hit singles came to an end but she continued to be a popular live act. Skeeter's autobigraphy Bus Fare To Kentucky was published in 1993. She eventually acquired her own music publishing company.

Skeeter was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1988 and had a recurrence in 1996. The cancer led to her death in Nashville on September 19, 2004 at age 72.


Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world,
'Cause you don't love me any more?

Why do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when I lost your love.

I wake up in the morning and I wonder,
Why everything's the same as it was.
I can't understand. No, I can't understand,
How life goes on the way it does.

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when you said goodbye.

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know it's the end of the world.
It ended when you said goodbye.

[Rhonda]

Please read this fascinating story of his struggle after almost being beaten to death!








-Artist: Jimmie Rodgers
-peak Billboard position # 3 in 1957-58 (21 total weeks in the Top 100)
-Words by Paul Campbell and Music by Huddie Ledbetter
-originally a # 19 hit for the Weavers in 1951


Well, when I was a young man never been kissed
I got to thinkin' it over how much I had missed
So I got me a girl and I kissed her and then, and then
Oh, lordy, well I kissed 'er again

CHORUS
Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmm, mmm, kisses sweeter than wine
(Sweeter than wine)

Well I asked her to marry and to be my sweet wife
I told her we'd be so happy for the rest of our life
I begged and I pleaded like a natural man
And then, whoops oh lordy, well she gave me her hand

CHORUS

Well we worked very hard both me and my wife
Workin' hand-in-hand to have a good life
We had corn in the field and wheat in the bin
And then, whoops oh lord, I was the father of twins

CHORUS

Well our children they numbered just about four
And they all had a sweetheart a'knockin' on the door
They all got married and they wouldn't hesitate
I was, whoops oh lord, the grandfather of eight

CHORUS

Well now that I'm old and I'm a'ready to go
I get to thinkin' what happened a long time ago
Had a lot of kids, a lot of trouble and pain
But then, whoops oh lordy, well I'd do it all again

Because she had kisses sweeter than wine
She had, mmmkissessweeterthanwine





"KISSES SWEETER THAN WINE"

Singer Jimmie Rodgers is back! ...
Thirty years after a savage beating in L.A.
He thanks God for his miraculous recovery
By Dan Wooding

BRANSON, MO (December 2, 2000) -- Singer Jimmie Rodgers had the world at his
feet when a terrible beating changed his life -- and brought him back to God.

Now 67 years old, Rodgers is delighting audiences at the Remember When
Theater in Branson, MO, singing many of his 38 top 40 hits, including "Kisses
Sweeter Than Wine," "Honeycomb," and "Secretly."

Rodgers was one of the biggest stars in early rock and roll history,
especially when he played the Brooklyn Paramount with Buddy Holly, The
Diamonds and the Del Vikings. It was the fifties, and rock and roll was
sweeping the world.

"I roomed with Buddy Holly and we also shared a dressing room at the
Paramount," he said in an interview. "Buddy was very much the gentleman and
I had the feeling that he was not a four-letter word guy and pretty much kept
to himself. In fact, both of us did. We were both really shy kids."

A CRASHING HALT

But it all came to a crashing halt in December of 1967. "I had been at the
Twentieth Century Fox studios in L.A. all day," Rodgers explained. "I was
getting ready to do a film with them and I was working on a motion picture
script and musical story for stage called 'The World Through the Eyes of
Children,' which is a complete two-hour musical.

"We had been to a Christmas party and I had been with my conductor all
evening. He was staying at my place and he was following me home. I was
driving at about 2:00 AM and someone pulled up behind me and blinked his
lights. I thought it was my conductor, so I pulled over and stopped in a
little side street in the San Fernando Valley. Some guy came up to the
window and, thinking it was my conductor, I rolled the window down and that
is last thing I can remember."

Jimmy was beaten so badly that doctors had to reconstruct his skull and use
a 20-inch square plate.

He continued the story: "My conductor had gone on to my home and waited for
me there. When I did not show up, he came back and found my car and there
was a car parked behind my automobile with a police car behind it. The car
behind my automobile took off and then the police car left. We eventually found
out that the guy who stopped me was an off-duty policeman. He later called the
police to come out to the scene where I had been beaten. Everybody suspected
that it was the off-duty policeman who attacked me, but nobody can prove
it."

THREE BRAIN SURGERIES

Jimmie Rodgers was so seriously injured that he had three brain surgeries
following the beating. "This ended my career at that time and it took just
about thirty years for me to get back to being able to work," he said. "I
had to learn to do everything all over again. That's when God came back
into my life.

Jimmie had been raised in a Christian home in the town of Camas in
Washington. He had had committed his life to Jesus Christ "My mother was a
strong Christian with a lot of faith and us kids were raised that way; but
when I grew up I went sideways."

But a healing miracle brought him back to a full commitment to God. "After
the beating, I couldn't walk very well and I couldn't speak or pick things
up," Rodgers recalled. "I could ambulate a little bit, but I had a lot of
difficulty with my motor senses and the nerves. I suffered from seizures
because of the extensive surgery. I was fortunate to be alive."

The miracle took place at a prayer meeting at his Southern California home.
"Some of the members of my church came over one evening," he said. "I was
bedridden at that time. After the prayer meeting where I was prayed for,
everybody left and this was at Christmas time and I told my wife, 'I'm
starting to feel very strange.' It was like air going out of my body. We
had prayed about this. The next day I got out of bed, got off all the
medication and ended up never really going back, except to sleep. It was a
sudden healing.

"God just reached out and put his arms around me. There is no doubt about it
whatsoever. I went from walking with a walker to running 23-mile marathons!
I was running 10 miles every other day."

He went on to say, "Unfortunately, it sometimes takes something dramatic to
bring you back to God. I now have a sign on my word processor that says,
'What God doesn't protect you from He provides you through." I believe
that. I don't think that the Lord is meant to protect us from everything. We
have choices and we make those choices and sometimes those choices get us into
trouble. That's the freedom of being a Christian. We all have a choice."

When asked what it was like to back singing his old hits, Rodgers said,
"It's exciting. It's a revelation for me to have been out of the business for so
long," he said. "I was always able to write and create things and my
background is one of being artistic, so I've always worked; but to be able
to sing again and entertain audiences in terrific. My Branson show began in
April of 1999. My show goes April, May and June and then September,
October, November and December."

Jimmie's first wife, Colleen, died from a clot on the brain shortly after
the beating. He is now married to Mary, and they have a little girl who is
eleven years old, and they have now been married for 23 years.

For those who are in Branson, Jimmie Rodgers can be found singing his heart
out in the Remember When Theater in the IMAX complex. The phone number is
417.335.3533.

For Jimmie Rodgers, he has discovered that God's embrace is really sweeter
than wine.

[Rhonda]

(Doc Pomus and Music by Mort Shuman)

I told her when it comes to talking
I'm the sweetest sweet-talker in the world
She said you better start talking
If you want me to be your girl

And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
She said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
Well, I talked her off the floor
When she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"

I told when it comes to dancing
I'm the best young dancer in the land
Well, she looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes
And then she took my hand

And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
She said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
Well, I talked her off the floor
When she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"

And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
She said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
Well, I talked her off the floor
When she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"

I told her when it comes to kissing
I ain't nothing but a kissing fool
She started to giggle when I told her that I'd teach her
Things she'd never learn in school

And she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
She said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
Well, I talked her off the floor
When she said, "Go, Jimmy, go"
"Go, Jimmy, go." "Go, Jimmy, go"



thingyie Lee, Jimmy Clanton, Fabian Forte and Frankie Ford

Rock `n roll fans worldwide know Jimmy Clanton for solid gold hits such
as "Just a Dream," "Go Jimmy Go," and "Venus in Blue Jeans," as well as
his memorable films, Go Johnny Go (1959), starring with Alan Freed,
Chuck Berry, Richie Valens, Jo-Ann Campbell and Eddie Cochran, as well
as Teenage Millionaire (1961), starring with Rocky Graziano, Zazu Pitts,
Chubby Checker, Dion and Jackie Wilson.

What has contributed to his longevity as a solid gold entertainer is much
more than the early fame. He was more complex than most of the teen
idols which whom he is usually grouped, standing head and shoulders
musically above them. One of the main reasons was that Jimmy was
always a dedicated Rhythm and Blues enthusiast. His songs were always
build on his one-of-a-kind voice that reflected a genuine feel for New
Orleans music. In addition, he wrote most of the songs that he recorded,
another rarity during those "instant" teenage one-hit wonder days.

Clanton was born in Baton Rouge on September 2, 1940. He reached his
teen years just as R&B was starting to find an wider audience. By 1956
when he formed his first band, the Dixie Cats, he was greatly influenced
by Louisana's Southern-fried sounds of Fats Domino, Little Richard and
Elvis Presley and Johnny Ace. Local music rivals in those days included a
young John Fred, more than a decade away from his chart-topping "Judy
in Disguise (With Glasses)" and Johnny Ramistella, later known as Johnny
Rivers and still eight years from his big break. Clanton joined forces with
a rival band leader, pianist thingy Holler (later the author of "Abraham,
Martin and John"), in The Rockets, a combo that was hot enough to justify
a 1957 trip to New Orleans and a visit to Cosimo Matassa, who owned the
only recording studio in the city.

Matassa was taken with Clanton's easygoing charm and his way with a
tune as he sang R&B from deep inside his soul. Jimmy's outgoing, likable
personality made him even more attractive. Matassa signed both Clanton
and Holler under his management, recorded each one fronting The
Rockets and then got them both recording deals with Mississippi-based
Ace Records in September 1957.

Jimmy Clanton's first record, "Just a Dream" began to gain airplay and
sales, starting in the South and then building elsewhere. Eventually, the
record reached number four on the Billboard Pop chart and topped the
R&B charts in 1958. Suddenly Clanton was one of Ace's hottest properties.
Appearances on thingy Clark's American Bandstand followed, along with his
first bookings outside of the South.

There were engagements at
the Hollywood Bowl and
performances on Freed's
package tours which, in turn,
led to Clanton's starring
role as "Johnny Melody" in
Alan Freed's rock ` roll film,
Go Johnny Go (which co-
starred Chuck Berry, Sandy
Stewart, Jackie Wilson, The
Cadillacs, Eddie Cochran,
Jo-ann Campbell, Richie
Valens and The Flamingos.

Clanton's next chart hits include "Letter to an Angel" and "A Part of Me."
In 1960 he again reached the Top Ten, with "Go Jimmy Go" By that time,
the teen idol boom was going full-force and Clanton was perfectly cast in
the role with his good looks and easygoing personality.

That flick was followed by Teenage Millionaire, starring Jimmy as "Bobby
Chalmers" and co-starring ZaZu Pitts, Rocky Graziano, Chubby Checker,
Dion DiMucci and Jackie Wilson.

In early 1961, Clanton was drafted and spent the next two years in the U.S.
Army, continuing to have chart successes with "Don't Look at Me" and
"Because I Do." His next major hit, "Venus in Blue Jeans," peaked at
number seven in mid-1962. His return to civilian life, however, was
marked by the British Invasion, which marked the end of an era for many
great performers in the rock `n roll era.

Jimmy Clanton, realizing the gigantic shift in the music world, dedicated
himself more than ever to being a consummate entertainer. His shows
through the years around the globe have always been marked with
powerful musicianship and a heartfelt connection with audiences.

"One of the things that has always worked in my favor," Clanton says
today, "is that my first hit came during the Fifties. I was literally schooled
by the amazing entertainers who had paid their dues the hard way. I got to
travel and hang around the likes of Ray Charles, La Vern Baker and Fats
Domino. I gained such an appreciation for the way they knew how to play
to an audience. Then my later hits came during the early Sixties, which
was an entirely different audience. Just a few years made such a
difference in the way people remember those songs. Even today, when I
sing `Just a Dream' and `Venus in Blue Jeans,' I find a whole different
reaction among certain people in the crowd. I love doing what I'm doing.
It's such a great privilege and honor to continue to play and sing music
that touches a very special part of people's heart because of what was
going on in their lives when those songs were popular."

Top-tier entertainers who share Jimmy Clanton's history in both the Fifties
and Sixties are rare, indeed. A genuine, solid-gold Teen Idol with his first
hits such as "Just a Dream" and "Go Jimmy Go" fifty years ago, he was
also part of the new sound emerging in the Sixties with "Venus in Blue
Jeans" and more.

The people who grew to love the hits from those two distinct eras both
claim Jimmy Clanton as their own.

Both Fifties and Sixties (and 2007!) audiences agree, Jimmy is a genuine
golden icon!