| Subject: Jerry Wallace, RIP |
Author:
D.
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Date Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 18:08:31
In reply to:
D.
's message, "Eddie Arnold, RIP" on Thu May 08, 2008 09:37:00
Jerry Wallace, who started out in pop music before beginning a long association with country, passed away Monday (May 5) of congestive heart failure at the age of 79 at his home in Corona, California. Born in Guilford, Missouri in 1928, he was raised in Glendale, Arizona. Jerry’s father was a grocer, and traded a crate of eggs for his first guitar as a 14th birthday present. While he waited for a chance to record his own songs, Jerry honed his skills wrking for a company that released cheap soundalikes of the hits of the day. Early recordings for Allied Records in the early ‘50s went nowhere, but a switch to Challenge Records in 1958 yielded paydirt with the #11 hit, “How The Time Flies”. “Primrose Lane” the next year gave him his biggest pop hit, reaching #8. But success continued to be spotty over the next five years. The country-tinged “Shutters And Boards” (#24-1963) and “In The Misty Moonlight (#19-1964) convinced Jerry to make the switch to country music permanently, and he chalked up 35 songs on the country charts from 1965 to 1980, including “Do You Know What It’s Like To Be Lonesome” (#2-1973), “Don’t Give Up On Me” (#3-1973) and “My Wife’s House” (#9-1974) In 1972, his song “If You Leave Me Tonight, I’ll Cry” was used in an episode on TV’s “Night Gallery” and not only became a #1 country hit, but returned him to the pop top 40, as well. Jerry appeared in several television programs (including the aforementioned episode of “Night Gallery”) and was heard as the voice on many commercials, as well.
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