Lawrence Hankins 'Hank' Locklin (February 15, 1918 –
March 8, 2009) was an American country music singer-songwriter. A member of the
Grand Ole Opry for nearly 50 years, Locklin had a long recording career with
RCA Victor, and scored big hits with "Please Help Me, I'm Falling",
"Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and "Geisha Girl" from
1957-1960. His singles charted from 1949-1971.
Born in McLellan in the Florida Panhandle, Locklin grew
up working in the cotton fields to supplement his family’s low income. He began
playing the guitar at the age of nine after being seriously injured by a school
bus. He was picking guitar for amateur contests in Milton, Florida, by age 10.
In his teens he was a featured performer on Pensacola radio station WCOA. For the next several years, he played with a
variety of groups through the South and worked at various jobs in Florida,
including farmer, ribbon mill hanker, and shipyard worker.
After World War II ended, his career started taking off.
He was one of country music's early honky tonk singers and appeared on
Shreveport’s Louisiana Hayride and the Big D Jamboree in Dallas, Texas. He
recorded briefly for Decca, and after meeting producer Bill McCall, Hank
recorded for McCall’s Four Star Records for five years. Hank scored his first Top 10 song in 1949
with “The Same Sweet Girls.” Four years later, he had a No. 1 with “Let Me Be
the One,” and a recording contract with RCA Victor followed.
The next year started a string of hit singles, with “Send
Me the Pillow You Dream On,” which he wrote, “It’s a Little More Like
Heaven," "Geisha Girl," "Fraulein," "Why, Baby
Why," and “Blue Grass Skirt.”
In
1960, the remarkable success of “Please Help Me, I’m Falling”—the song not only
dominated the country chart that year, but crossed over into the Top 10 pop
charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom—earned him membership
in the Grand Ole Opry. It also
introduced the slip-note piano style to country music through legendary pianist
Floyd Cramer and was a major factor in creating the “Nashville Sound.” The
slip-note piano style was synonymous with Hank's recordings from that point
forward and considered his signature sound.
In the 1960s, Locklin built a ranch house called The Singing
L in the field in McClellan where he had picked cotton as a boy. He was later
made the honorary mayor of the town.
Many hits followed throughout the ’60s, including “We're
Gonna Go Fishin'," "Happy Birthday To Me," "Happy
Journey," "Followed Closely by My Teardrops,” “The Country Hall of
Fame,” and "Where The Blue Of The Night, Meets The Gold Of The
Day." During this time, Hank pioneered
the creation of concept albums in country music with releases such as Foreign
Love and Irish Songs, Country Style. Hank is also credited with taking country
music to unprecedented heights of popularity with International audiences
throughout the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. In
all, Hank has sold more than 15 million albums and received numerous industry
awards from The Grand Ole Opry, BMI, ASCAP, Cashbox, Billboard and NARAS.
His first marriage to
Willa Jean Murphy ended in divorce. In 1970 he married Anita Crooks of Brewton,
Alabama. He had a son and four daughters, 12 grandchildren, eight
great-grandchildren and a few close great nieces and nephews.
Long a favorite with Opry audiences, Hank returned to the
studio in 2001 to record Generations in Song. Featuring long-time colleagues
such as Dolly Parton and Jeannie Seely, newer friends and admirers like Vince
Gill (who cites Hank as an influence) and Jett Williams.In 2006, Locklin
appeared on the PBS special, Country Pop Legends in which he performed
"Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On," and "Please Help Me I'm
Falling". Until his death at the age of 91 in 2009, he was the oldest
living member of the Grand Ole Opry. Hank had recently released his 65th album,
By the Grace of God, a collection of gospel songs.
He moved to Brewton, where he remained throughout his
later years, and died there at home in the early morning on March 8, 2009. (Info edited from hanklocklin.com & Wikipedia)
5 comments:
For “Hank Locklin - Please Help Me I'm Falling & Happy Journey (2016) go here:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/whw2mx
1. PLEASE HELP ME I'M FALLING
2. MY OLD HOME TOWN
3. (I'm So Tired Of) GOIN' HOME ALL BY MYSELF
4. IT'S A LITTLE MORE LIKE HEAVEN
5. LIVIN' ALONE
6. SEVEN DAYS (The Humming Song)
7. SEND ME THE PILLOW YOU DREAM ON
8. BLUES IN ADVANCE
9. WHY DON'T YOU HAUL OFF AND LOVE ME
10. WHEN THE BAND PLAYS THE BLUES
11. HIDING IN MY HEART
12. FOREIGN CAR
13. HAPPY JOURNEY
14. OH HOW I MISS YOU (Since You Went Away)
15. I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU
16. YOU'RE THE REASON
17. LET ME BE THE ONE
18. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
19. I NEED YOU NOW
20. I CAN SEE AN ANGEL WALKING
21. JEALOUS HEART
22. THE KEEPER OF THE KEY
23. ONE HAS MY NAME (The Other Has My Heart)
24. JOHNNY MY LOVE (Grandma's Diary)
An international country singer and songwriter with a huge following, Hank Locklin had one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in country music. He could sing so high when he chose and reportedly one writer described his as 'Singing two tones higher than the clouds'.
Includes Hank's first big hit, the self-penned 'Send Me the Pillow You Dream On' and 'Please Help Me I'm Falling' with its highly distinctive piano introduction by Floyd Cramer.
Hank loved a sentimental ballad and his melancholy tenor could wring every ounce of emotion from the lyrics he sang followed by those soaring vocals and you knew you were listening to a song stylist, not just a good singer. No more is this evident than on the Eddie Dean classic 'One Had My Name', it could almost be someone else singing after the first few lines when his voice summons full power.
Here are two early and now deleted LPs presented on one CD. (Jasmine notes)
Great songs, great info. Thank you.
The link is dead. Can you kindly repost it?
Many thanks!
Hello codeg It's On it's way
New link for 30days or more
http://www34.zippyshare.com/v/xH5vQx2V/file.html
Regards, Bob
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