Burning The Wind - Muziek

Billy Wallace March 26 1917 - June 3 1978 Was An American Country And Rockabilly Singer Songwriter And Guitarist. Wallace Had One Of The Most Unique Voices In Rockabilly Music And Played A Different Guitar Style Than Most Of The Guitarists Back Then Would Do. Both His Voice And Full-Bodied Guitar Play Worked Well Together On His Classic Session As Billy Wallace & The Bama Drifters In 1956 For Mercury Records On Which He Laid Down Four Songs. But Wallace Had Also A Long And More Successful But Also Unknown Career In Songwriting. He Never Achieved The Honor He Should Have. Wallace Was Born In Oklahoma City Oklahoma In 1917 But His Family Moved Soon After To Athens Alabama. Previously His Father Had Worked On The Oil Fields In Oklahoma. He Grew Up On His Father’s Farm And Learned To Play The Guitar At An Early Age. As A Teenager He Began To Write Songs And Was Later Influenced By The Country Music Stars Back Then Like The Delmore Brothers Rex Griffin And Roy Acuff But Also Listened To Hank Smith Ernest Tubb And Hal Smith. In 1943 Wallace Got Married And Moved To Huntsville Alabama. His Career As A Songwriter Began When Bill Carlisle Recorded One Of His Songs. After That Wallace And His Wife Moved To Nashville Tennessee Hoping To Be Discovered In The « Music City USA ». In 1950-51 He Recorded His First Three Singles For The Small Tennessee Record Label Based In Nashville On Tennessee 829 “Southwind” Is A Worthy Addition To The Train-Song Catalogue And Is Performed In Typical Wallace Style. The Flipside Is “I’m Gonna Turn You A’Loose” Sic And Features Excellent Fiddle Playing From Nashville Session-Man Tommy Tucker. Others Included « Dog Hauled Around/You Got Some Explaining To Do » # 719 . None Of Them Charted But In 1952 He Was Signed To A Contract With Decca Records. Although Wallace Was Signed As A Performer His Songwriting Took Off At Decca Instead Of His Recording Career. His First Single On The Label « Back Street Affair » # 28243 Wasn’t A Hit But Was Covered By Webb Pierce Who Hit #1 On The Country Charts. That Was The Ticket For Wallace To Songwriter Stardom. The Next Two Years Saw Wallace Being A Successful Composer And Writer Of Songs For Artists Such As Red Foley Kitty Wells Johnny Bond Billy Walker Bill Carlisle Little Jimmy Dickens And Patsy Cline. An Entire 4-Song Decca Session Remains Unissued Today. Another Good Decca Track Is « While The Gettin’s Good » # 28568 A Typical Nashville Hillbilly Bop Of The Era 1952-53. Then He Cut On Blue Hen Out Of Harrington Delaware « You Can’t Ride On My Train » A Fine Reminiscent Of « Southwind » # 210 . read less