Post by ۞Quaalude™۞ on Mar 18, 2011 7:46:55 GMT -5
Ferlin Husky, a pioneering country music entertainer in the 1950s and early '60s known for hits like "Wings of a Dove" and "Gone," died Thursday. He was 85.
The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee died at his home, said Country Music Hall of Fame spokeswoman Tina Wright. He had a history of heart problems and related ailments.
With his resonant voice and good looks, Husky was one of the most versatile entertainers to emerge from country music. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and even a comedian whose impersonations ranged from Bing Crosby to Johnny Cash.
He was one of the first country musicians to bring the genre to television and helped spread its popularity in booming post-World War II California, an important step in country's quest for a national audience.
He said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press that he was buoyed by his Hall of Fame induction because he worried he'd been forgotten as his health failed over the years.
"The main thing I'm proud of, this is for my family and for the many people who want to see me go in there before I die," he said. "It's a great honor."
Husky, who was one of the first country artists to have his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sold more than 20 million records, mostly in the '50s and early '60s, according to his website. He won many country music awards long before such gala shows were televised and meant so much to careers.
He was born in 1925 near Flat River, Mo. After five years in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he began his singing career in honky-tonks and nightclubs around St. Louis and later in the Bakersfield, Calif., area.
"I'd walk into a bar and if they didn't have any music there I'd ask the bartender if I could play. Then I'd pass the hat around," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1957.
He recalled he could count on netting 50 or 75 cents. He recorded some songs early in his career under the name Terry Preston, and in some early records he spelled his last name Huskey.
Signed to Capitol records in the early 1950s, he had his first big success when he teamed with 2011 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Jean Shepard on "Dear John Letter," which ranked No. 4 on Billboard's list of top country songs of 1953. He was also the headline act for a tour that included a young Elvis Presley
QC
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferlin_Husky
The 2010 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee died at his home, said Country Music Hall of Fame spokeswoman Tina Wright. He had a history of heart problems and related ailments.
With his resonant voice and good looks, Husky was one of the most versatile entertainers to emerge from country music. He was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and even a comedian whose impersonations ranged from Bing Crosby to Johnny Cash.
He was one of the first country musicians to bring the genre to television and helped spread its popularity in booming post-World War II California, an important step in country's quest for a national audience.
He said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press that he was buoyed by his Hall of Fame induction because he worried he'd been forgotten as his health failed over the years.
"The main thing I'm proud of, this is for my family and for the many people who want to see me go in there before I die," he said. "It's a great honor."
Husky, who was one of the first country artists to have his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sold more than 20 million records, mostly in the '50s and early '60s, according to his website. He won many country music awards long before such gala shows were televised and meant so much to careers.
He was born in 1925 near Flat River, Mo. After five years in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he began his singing career in honky-tonks and nightclubs around St. Louis and later in the Bakersfield, Calif., area.
"I'd walk into a bar and if they didn't have any music there I'd ask the bartender if I could play. Then I'd pass the hat around," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1957.
He recalled he could count on netting 50 or 75 cents. He recorded some songs early in his career under the name Terry Preston, and in some early records he spelled his last name Huskey.
Signed to Capitol records in the early 1950s, he had his first big success when he teamed with 2011 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Jean Shepard on "Dear John Letter," which ranked No. 4 on Billboard's list of top country songs of 1953. He was also the headline act for a tour that included a young Elvis Presley
QCen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferlin_Husky
Attachments:
QC
QC
QC