Rusty Wellington born 10 April 1925

Rusty Wellington (10 Apr 1925 - 7 Jan 1987) was an American Country singer whose story has been difficult to document and details are patchy, to say the least, but he made his mark in various forms and released a string of traditional Country, Honky Tonk and Rockabilly records between 1948 and 1968.

Rusty was born Douglas Bramwell Wellington in New Brunswick, Canada. Rusty fell in love with Country Music the first time he heard a guitar, and hoped to be a Country and Western singer someday. He wasted no time in fulfilling his ambition, as he was singing professionally on Radio CKAC in Montreal, Canada at the tender age of 10. In 1936 he moved with his parents to Manchester, New Hampshire. 

                                    

One day in the little town of Groveton he met one of the great singing stars Tex Ritter, who was making a personal appearance. Tex heard Rusty singing and was so enchanted by his voice that he encouraged Rusty to continue pursuing a career in the music business and took the youngster on tour when he was just 13 years old. Later, tours with Hank Williams and Hank Snow followed, as well as a radio show on a local station in Manchester. It came as no surprise to discover that William's distinctive voice and vocal style influenced Rusty's own singing on a number of recordings. 

After fighting in World War II between 1943 and 1946, Wellington tried his hand at the music business. He was now active in and around Philadelphia, where he played with other local musicians such as Dave O'Dell, Jesse Rogers, the Down Homers or the then unknown Bill Haley.  As a vocalist he developed a highly pleasing style and frequently injected a catchy yodel in his songs. It was evident that he was enthusiastic about traditional country music styles and at times veered towards bluegrass with recordings. 

In the early 1950s, Wellington got a record deal with Arcade Records, a Philadelphia label owned by Jack Howard and partly Bill Haley. His first single was released there in 1953 with Doggone It Baby, I'm in Love / Every Precious Memory; the A-side was a cover of a Carl Smith hit. More singles followed on Arcade and some of these records were also taken over by MGM Records nationally, but none of the singles proved to be a big hit.

The backing musicians on many of his recordings were often The Blue Rangers who displayed a variety of catchy steel guitar, piano and mandolin licks to enhance his confident vocals. Other groups were The Travelaires and Shorty Long Santa Fe Rangers. He also duetted with his wife Ginger. From 1955 onwards, Wellington began to include rockabilly in his repertoire, which was popularized by artists of Sun Records, especially in the southern states of the USA. Nevertheless, it was clear that Wellington continued to be influenced by country musicians such as Hank Williams. 

In 1955, a first rockabilly song, Jump Jump Honey, was written during a session, which was released in the same year. In 1957, a second session with rockabilly followed, in which cover versions of Rudy Grayzell's Ducktail and Warren Smith's Rock'n'Roll Ruby were recorded, among others, but they disappeared into Arcade's archives. Rocking Chair on the Moon, later a hit for Bill Haley, was released by MGM in November 1957.

Despite the lack of a hit, Wellington continued to perform throughout New England and joined Bill Haley's backing band, the Comets, for some time in the 1960s. He then returned to New England and subsequently had two top ten hits on the country charts. He wrote a few songs for Bill Haley, was a member of the band Duke and the Swingbillies, and made a guest appearance on Ernest Tubbs' Midnight Jamboree. Wellington spent the 1970s mainly with television appearances. For several years in the 1970's he had his own TV show, appeared on Arthur Godfrey's talent show and made an appearance on Perry Como's show and appeared regularly on the CBS show "Action in the Afternoon" out of Philadelphia. He was a great singer, songwriter, comedian, he could do it all, acquiring the nickname of "Mr. Versatile" from his many talents. 

After Wellington's daughter narrowly escaped death and the Swingbillies broke up, Wellington devoted himself to God. Even to the point of becoming an Ordained Evangelist Minister. For a time he had his own gospel show on WMTW-TV in Auburn, Maine and wrote and performed his Gospel Music at Churches throughout New England. Rusty Wellington died 7 Jan 1987, aged 61 after a few years with heart problems. He was nominated for the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame Award that same year and was inducted into the Maine CMA Hall of Fame in 1989. In 2005, he was also included in Maine's Hillbilly Heaven. A fitting tribute to a fine artist, who never lost sight of his roots.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Bryan Chalker's liner notes)