Description
Lee Emerson - 1-CD Digipac (4-plated) with comprehensive booklet, 35 tracks. Playing time approx. 80 minutes.
First ever CD release by Lee Emerson! Lee Emerson wrote classic country hits and recorded hillbilly, rockabilly, and even an R&B single! In 1978, Lee Emerson was shot and killed by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler ('The Ballad Of The Green Berets')! Features rare demos and recordings from Lee Emerson's Estate!
Lee Emerson left rural poverty in Virginia for a new life out west. In Cody, Wyoming in 1953 he recorded his first single for Wagon Wheel Records. Friends told him he should go to Nashville, so he did.
Right after arriving, Lee Emerson landed a contract with Columbia and caught the attention of the label's biggest star, Marty Robbins. They taped two duet sessions together - the very few Marty Robbins ever did! Lee Emerson's Columbia issues also included his original version of what is now a bluegrass classic, I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name. Emerson shuttled between hillbilly, rockabilly, and rock 'n' roll. Two unissued Columbia masters are included. In 1961, Lee Emerson recorded an R&B single as Heywood Jenkins for Mercury, but didn't record again until 1976. In between, he wrote one of Marty Robbins' biggest hits, Ruby Ann.
By 1978, Lee Emerson had become a drunk and a pill-head. He was writing songs in Texas with Freddy Fender but returned to Nashville to work with... and date... a female singer. Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler ('The Ballad Of The Green Berets') also dated the woman and on December 2, 1978 Barry Sadler shot and killed Lee Emerson.
This is the full story. Lee Emerson's tragic life and complete output... many new to CD! As a bonus, there are 12 demos of songs that Lee Emerson wrote for Kitty Wells, the Willis Brothers, and others. Wonderfully eccentric and engaging music!
Track Listing
- It's So Easy for You To Be Mean
- I Cried Like A Baby
- Where D'ja Go'
- You Call That Waitin''
- I'm Gonna Rise And Shine Tonight
- I'll Know You're Gone
- Thank You My Darlin'
- So Little Time
- A Pair Of Broken Hearts
- You Don't Know
- How Long Will It Be
- What A Night
- Start All Over
- Catch That Train
- I Thought I Heard You Calling My Name
- Do You Think
- I Hate To Say Goodnite
- Forever Alone
- You CanÃâ t Hear Me
- Lover Boy
- Totalin' Time
- You CanÃâ t Hear Me (take 4)
- Gospel Truth (Like It 'tIs)
- Ten Thousand Crying Towels
- IÃâ ve Thought Of Leaving Too
- Ben-Ja-Min Franklin
- IÃâ m Gonna Go In Hiding
- IÃâ m Keeping It To Myself
- Hossy Riding Police
- Truck Stop Cutie
- Thirty Blocks Across The City
- Waiting In the Shadows Late At Night
- AinÃâ t It Funny How Stripes Can Turn Love Off
- SinnerÃâ s Corner
- Dreams Always Lie
Additional Details
Label: Bear Family Records
Genre: Pop/Rock
Run Time: 80 mins
Release Date: 08/29/11
UPC: 4000127165268
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