March 11, 2009
Hank Locklin RIP
Country singer, and former mayor of his hometown, McLellen, Florida, Hank Locklin, has died. He was 91.
Born Lawrence Hankins Locklin in 1918 in Florida's timber-rich Panhandle, as a teenager he played guitar and sang on radio stations across the South, including the "Big D Jamboree" on KRLD in Dallas and "The Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, La.
He scored his first top 10 country hit with "The Same Sweet Girls" in 1949 and scored another chart-topper with "Let Me Be the One" in 1953.
Locklin's 1958 recording of his song "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" crossed over from country to U.S. and became a standard for many performers, including Johnny Tillotson, Dean Martin, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton.
His recording of "Please Help Me I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top of the US country music charts in 1960, the same year he joined the Grand Ole Opry. His last performance at the Opry was in September 2007.
He was hugely popular in the British Isles having had 4 chart hits, the biggest,"Please Help Me I'm falling" making the Top 10 in 1960. He also recorded a couple of Irish albums, the earliest in 1964. One of his most recorded songs was "Irish Eyes".
In 1968 he recorded "The Country Hall Of Fame" in honour of the new landmark of Country music history. Incredibly, despite being a Top 10 Country hit, Locklin was never been made a member of the institution.
Locklin died Sunday at his home in Brewton,Alabama.
Born Lawrence Hankins Locklin in 1918 in Florida's timber-rich Panhandle, as a teenager he played guitar and sang on radio stations across the South, including the "Big D Jamboree" on KRLD in Dallas and "The Louisiana Hayride" in Shreveport, La.
He scored his first top 10 country hit with "The Same Sweet Girls" in 1949 and scored another chart-topper with "Let Me Be the One" in 1953.
Locklin's 1958 recording of his song "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" crossed over from country to U.S. and became a standard for many performers, including Johnny Tillotson, Dean Martin, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton.
His recording of "Please Help Me I'm Falling" spent 14 weeks at the top of the US country music charts in 1960, the same year he joined the Grand Ole Opry. His last performance at the Opry was in September 2007.
He was hugely popular in the British Isles having had 4 chart hits, the biggest,"Please Help Me I'm falling" making the Top 10 in 1960. He also recorded a couple of Irish albums, the earliest in 1964. One of his most recorded songs was "Irish Eyes".
In 1968 he recorded "The Country Hall Of Fame" in honour of the new landmark of Country music history. Incredibly, despite being a Top 10 Country hit, Locklin was never been made a member of the institution.
Locklin died Sunday at his home in Brewton,Alabama.
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