Singer, guitarist, songwriter

Born in Corsicana, Texas, in 1928; died in 1975

• Born William Orville, son of a Texas oil driller

• Golden Gloves boxer whose wicked left hook earns him his nickname

• Weaned on the music of Jimmie Rodgers, and later cuts a memorable tribute album of Rodgers’ standards

• Wins fame in early 1940s playing dance-hall and club circuit in Greenville, Waco and Dallas

• First makes Top 10 with two singles in 1950: “I Love You a Thousand Ways” and “If You Got the Money, Honey, I’ve Got the Time”

• Has four songs in the national top 10 simultaneously in 1952

• Regular member of the Grand Ole Opry from the early 1950s

• Invites a devoted 16-year-old fan, Merle Haggard, to open his show at Bakersfield’s Rainbow Gardens in 1953 or 1954

• Features Bakersfield’s Roy Nichols, later to play with Haggard, on lead guitar in early- to mid-1950s

• Plays occasionally at the Blackboard

• 13 career top-10 songs, three No. 1 hits

• Dies in Nashville following a stroke at age 47

Album reviews

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