Sonny James RIP

[BarryBobPosthole]

Now there's one of the classics I don't have on my itunes. Sad to see him go. I remember hearing on the AM radio singing Running Bear and Young Love way back when. I'd kind of forgotten about him.

RIP to the Southern Gentleman.

BKB

[Thumper]

Remember him well, but like you, I'd pretty much forgotten about him. I never was a big "country/western" fan, but I practically lived in the racecar shop as a kid and the crew ALWAYS had a country station going on the shop radio, so I had plenty of exposure.

I believe the two songs you mentioned were most likely his biggest hits. I'm sure if I did a search, I'd remember more of them. The thing about Young Love is I'd hear it on the country station at the shop as well as on the "pop" station I'd listen to at home. I guess it was one of those big cross-over hits.

RIP Sonny.

[BarryBobPosthole]

My old man (step dad) worked at a little AM country gospel station in Van Buren, Arkansas in the early 60s, I was 7 or 8, and so I got exposed in a big way to that genre of music. The first songs I later learned on my uncle's old cheap ass guitar were some of those songs. "California Girl" by Tompol and the Glazer Brothers was one of the first songs I learned all the way through. The station owner, when my step dad left to move to another station, took me in a studio and told me I could pick out as many records as I could carry. I didn't even own a record player but I got one for my birthday that year! I don't still have any of those old records but they were sure some good ones! Sons of the Pioneers were two or three of them and Much to my wife's chagrin, they're still on my regular playlist along with Marty Robbins and the Old Possum, George Jones.

BKb

[Thumper]

I tried to "learn the guitar" in my early teen years, but just didn't have the patience for it (I'm not musically inclined anyway and that probably had the most to do with it).

The first (and probably the ONLY) song I learned on the guitar was "House of the Rising Sun". I have no clue why. Thinking back, it seems like that would be a difficult song, but maybe it was easy cords (?) ... I don't remember.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Haha, that was one of the first ones I learned too! I think because it was 'risque' and about a whorehouse that I liked it so much.

BKb

[LJ3]

Same for me... The chords were easy but the correct picking technique gave me quite a challenge back in the day!

[Thumper]

Who'da thunk it? ;)

[quercus alba]

I think Sonny James had 16 consecutive songs hit #1 that's a record

[Thumper]

............. that's a record

No pun intended ... right? ;)