Theron Eugene "Ted" Daffan (September 21, 1912
– October 6, 1996) was an American country musician noted for composing the
seminal "Truck Driver's Blues" and two much covered country anthems
of unrequited love, "Born to Lose" and "I'm a Fool to
Care".
Ted was born in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. When he was
a child, his family moved to Houston where he grew up and attended school. He
had a keen interest in electronics and opened up his own radio repair shop
after graduating where he also worked on electrical musical instruments,
experimenting with amplifiers and teaching himself to play various types of
guitars. By 1933 he was part of a Hawaiian musical group called The Blue
Islanders which performed on a local radio station, and later joined the highly
influential Blue Ridge Playboys. He also performed with several other
Houston-area bands, including the Bar-X Cowboys and Shelly Lee Alley's Alley
Cats.
One day after hearing him perform, the musician Milton
Brown told him he had some talent and should close his shop and focus more on
his musical career. Daffan wrote "Truck Drivers' Blues" after he
stopped at a roadside diner and noticed that every time a trucker parked his
rig and strolled into the cafe, the first thing he did, even before ordering a
cup of coffee, was push a coin in the jukebox. He decided to write a song to
capture some of the truck drivers' nickels and make himself rich and famous.
Recorded by western swing artist Cliff Bruner (with Moon Mullican on lead
vocal) in 1939, the song sold more than 100,000 copies, the best-selling record
of that year.
In 1940, Ted started his own band, Ted Daffan and the
Texans, and based on the popularity of Truck Drivin' Blues, was signed to
Columbia Records. He continued to write and perform what would become classics
of the honky tonk style, but it was his 1942 hit, Born to Lose, that would
cement his name in song writing history.
This song would go on to hit gold,
then platinum, and be recorded by over a hundred artists as diverse as Johnny
Cash, Leonard Cohen, Elton John and Ella Fitzgerald. Other songs followed: I'm
a Fool to Care, No Letter Today and Worried Mind being the most popular and
critically acclaimed.
In 1944 he moved to California and worked as a bandleader
before returning to Texas in 1946. Deciding to move into the business side of
the industry, he created his own label, Daffan Records, in 1955 and handled
artists like Floyd Tillman and Dickie McBride.
In 1958 he moved to Nashville and set up his own music
publishing company with Hank Snow, before returning to Houston in 1961 and
setting up a publishing company there as well. After several years, Ted retired
from the music business entirely and lived a quiet life with his wife Bobbie.
His legacy earned him many accolades: before his death from cancer in Houston on October 6, 1996, he had been inducted into the Academy of Country Music, the Texas Swing Music, the Western Swing Society, the Texas Steel Guitar Association, the State of Louisiana, and the Nashville Songwriters Association Halls of Fame.
(Info edited mainly from article from the Texas State
Historical Association.)
1 comment:
For “Ted DAFFAN - Born to Lose” go here:
http://www27.zippyshare.com/v/cQoLVhIw/file.html
1. I'M SORRY I SAID GOODBYE
2. NO LETTER TODAY
3. CRYING THE BLUES AGAIN
4. BLUE STEEL BLUES
5. CAR HOP'S BLUES
6. DOWN HILO WAY
7. BORN TO LOSE
8. ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW
9. BECAUSE
10. YOU BETTER CHANGE YOUR WAYS
11. BABY YOU CAN'T GET ME DOWN
12. WORRIED MIND
13. LONESOME HIGHWAY
14. THOSE BLUE EYES DON'T SPARKLE ANYMORE
15. TROUBLE KEEPS HANGING 'ROUND MY DOOR
16. YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART
17. THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY
18. LOOK WHO'S TALKIN'
19. GOT MONEY ON MY MIND
20. HEADIN' DOWN THE WRONG HIGHWAY
21. MY FALLEN STAR
22. LONG JOHN
23. NOW I MUST REAP (WHAT I HAVE SOWN)
24. I'M THAT KIND OF A GUY
Born to Lose album for sale by Ted Daffan was released Aug 17, 2004 on the Jasmine label. An introduction to one of music's most prolific song writers who was also a major performer playing to large audiences in the mid forties. Includes the million seller "Born To Lose" as covered by Ray Charles. Born to Lose CD music contains a single disc with 23 songs.
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