Jimmy Donley born 17 August 1929

Jimmy Donley (August 17, 1929 – March 20, 1963) was an American singer-songwriter.

James K. Donley was, to quote one of his own songs, born to be a loser. It wasn’t that this natural singer and songwriter tried to mess up his life on every conceivable level — he was born into it and that was that. His upbringing was a mixed affair. Whilst his mother Myrthe lavished attention on him and encouraged his musical escapades, his father, Tag was an abusive alcoholic and Donley had his own mean-spirited demons that surfaced as early as three years old when he attempted to shoot his cousin for refusing to get off Donley’s tricycle. At age 14 his father forced Jimmy to leave school, to work in the Gulfport docks, unloading the banana boats. It was hard physical work for a young teenager, but through it all Jimmy kept his music hopes alive. 

But things only got worse. His world turned upside down in 1948 when he was called into the Army. A spell abroad left him depressed, longing for the comfort of home and the loving arms of his mother. He turned to drugs for solace and was starting to show the early signs of schizophrenia, leading to an undesirable discharge in 1949 as unmanageable and unfit for duty  Married four times, Donley (who could be charming when it suited him) abused all of his wives, and his constant fighting and uncontrollable anger landed him in jail numerous times. 

                                    

Ah, but he could sing, and he could write songs, and his recorded legacy from the 1950s and very early '60s for Decca Records, Johnny Vincent's Ace Records, and Huey Meaux’s Tear Drop Records is a priceless treasure trove of swamp pop country rockabilly. Donley had very real talent as a singer and writer, and his Decca recordings in particular (tracked between 1957 and 1961) were smoothly and professionally done — Owen Bradley produced them and used the best session musicians, including saxophonist Boots Randolph and guitarist Hank Garland, as well as the seemingly omnipresent Anita Kerr Singers. Donley songs like “Kickin’ My Hound Around,” the prescient “Born to Be a Loser,” the beautiful ballad “What Must I Do,” and Donley’s haunting signature tune, “The Shape You Left Me,” show an artist of uncommon clarity and vision. 

1959 had been a curious year for Donley. In spite of two brilliant singles he'd still failed to garner any chart action, but his love life took a turn for the better when he married Lillie Mae Urgas on January 30th. She was better equipped than the previous wives to deal with Donley's violent fits, and suffered more than she should. She frequently left for short spells, giving JD great inspiration for his songwriting, with classics like Think It Over, Please Mr Sandman and Forever Lillie Mae resulting from these periods of despair. Donley sang with a sometimes untranslatable diction, but the sheer pain and loneliness in his voice, particularly on his frequent and poignant love ballads, seemed to provide him with his only real shot at personal redemption. 

By 1961 Decca had ran out of patience with Jimmy, when his latest single Our Love and My Baby's Gone again failed to register. Jimmy demanded a release from his contract with Decca at gunpoint. But Donley was as bad at the financial end of the business as he was at controlling his temper, and although his songs were covered and became hits by the likes of Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis, Donley had long since sold the rights to the songs for up-front pocket change. He eventually signed over the rights to all of his songs — past, present, and future — to a con man calling himself Reverend J. Charles Jessup (later convicted of mail fraud) for what was probably no more than a weekend’s worth of beer money. 

Jimmy with Lillie Mae

Donley's 34 years of pain, anger, and misery finally ended in March 20, 1963, when he committed suicide by running a hose from the exhaust pipe through the rear window of his car. When police arrived, the car motor was still running. His Bible and a photo of his estranged wife, Lillie Mae, were found on the seat next to him. Lillie Mae, who has since died was laid to rest next to Jimmy in Saucier, Mississippi. 

The story could just end there, but none of that clarity and vision trickled out into Donley’s personal life, however, and his story would be a cautionary tale if it hadn’t simply started out bad and then just went downhill from there. There wasn't much of an arc to it, really. It would appear that the only decision Donley ever made that made sense was to play and make music. He did that well. It was his only redemption. 

(Edited from Rockabilly Hall Of Fame & Rocky 52)