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Dick Curless
American country music singer (1932–1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dick Curless (March 17, 1932 – May 25, 1995), the Baron of Country Music, was an American-Canadian country music singer and guitarist known for his extensive vocal range, trademark eye patch, and songs about life on the road. Rising to fame with the 1965 hit "A Tombstone Every Mile," Curless built a loyal following with his blend of truck-driving country, folk ballads, and gospel. Active from the 1950s until his death, he was a tireless performer who brought grit, heart, and authenticity to every stage he stepped on.
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Curless was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, United States, and moved with his family to Massachusetts at the age of eight.[1] He began his music career in 1948 in Ware, Massachusetts, where he hosted a radio show and toured with a local band called the Trail Blazers.[1]
Curless married his wife, Pauline, in 1951, and only six months after the wedding, he was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954, first as a truck driver and later as a radio host with the alias "Rice Paddy Ranger".[1]
Curless returned home to Maine in 1954 and continued performing on radio shows, but he spent much of the following year, 1955, at home due to a chronic illness.[1]
In 1956, Curless returned to the public spotlight with his own rendition of Streets of Laredo. In 1957, he appeared on the CBS television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.[1] He spent much of the late 1950s making what seems to be the world record of consecutive one night stands, ranging from Quebec, Canada all the way to Los Angeles, California. He occasionally returned home to recover from fatigue and chronic illness, caused by his intense addiction to alcohol. [1] While in Maine, Curless recorded several singles, including "China Nights" (1957) at Event Records with Al Hawkes. Eventually he temporarily left the music industry and bought his own lumber trucking vehicle in Maine.[1]
In 1965, Curless recorded the biggest hit of his career, "A Tombstone Every Mile", which cracked the top 5 on the Billboard country charts and propelled him to national fame.[1] In 1966, he recorded the album A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You with Kay Adams. From 1966 to 1968, he toured the nation with the Buck Owens All American Show. The pinnacle of his career came in the late 1960s with eleven top-40 hits, including "Six Times a Day (the Trains Came Down)", Travelin' Man, Big Foot, and lots of others.[1] Altogether, he recorded 22 Billboard top-40 hits throughout his career.
After Curless' success in 1970 with the hits "Big Wheel Cannonball" and "Hard, Hard Traveling Man", he recorded infrequently until he released the albums Welcome to My World and It's Just a Matter of Time in Norway in 1987. The albums were successful in Europe, especially in Norway and Germany.[1]
Curless recorded an album with German country musician Tom Astor in 1991. From 1992 all the way to his death, he performed often at the Cristy Lane Theater in Branson, Missouri.
Curless died of stomach cancer in 1995, aged 63.[2]
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Discography
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