Danny Williams born 7 January 1938

Danny Williams (7 January 1942 – 6 December 2005) was a South African-born British pop singer who earned the nickname "Britain's Johnny Mathis", for his smooth and stylish way with a ballad. He is best known for his 1961 UK number one version of "Moon River" and his 1964 U.S. top ten hit, "White on White". 

Born in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, he sang his first solo with a church choir at the age of six. His father, a professional soldier, died in the Korean war, and Williams was brought up by his grandmother. At 14, he won a talent contest and joined a touring show called Golden City Dixies that played throughout South Africa. Its members included jazz saxophonist Harold Jephtah and, in later years, the singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler. 

The musical King Kong and the Golden City Dixies were among several black South African shows to come to Europe; and, in London in 1959, Williams impressed Norman Newell, the recording manager of EMI's HMV label. Newell was a composer and arranger of the Tin Pan Alley old school, and was unhappy at being the British executive responsible for issuing Elvis Presley's early hits. In Williams' good looks and mellifluous high tenor, he saw the makings of a new Johnny Mathis, and signed him to a recording contract. The first single was Tall a Tree, but it was not until 1961 and his fifth record, We will Never Be as Young as this Again, that Williams achieved a minor hit. 

                                   

That was also the year of the Blake Edwards film Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Audrey Hepburn. The film's catchy theme tune, Moon River, composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, won an oscar. The American hit record of Moon River was by another tenor, the soul singer Jerry Butler, and, at first, Williams was unwilling to record the song - mainly, he later explained, because he did not understand the lyric reference to "my huckleberry friend". 

After seeing the film, however, he relented, and his Moon River outsold the instrumental version by Mancini himself and replaced Frankie Vaughan's Tower of Strength at No 1 in the charts at the end of December. Williams was fond of telling the story that his boyhood hero Nat "King" Cole had declined to record the song because he regarded Danny's version as unsurpassable. The following year brought some Top 20 hits for Williams: Jeannie (based on a Russ Conway instrumental), the Wonderful World of the Young .(by Sid Tepper and Roy Bennett, composers of several Cliff Richard hits) and Tears.

These led to his appearance in the film Play It Cool (1962), directed by Michael Winner and starring Billy Fury as pop singer Billy Universe. Then, in February 1963, he joined a 20-city package tour headed by a new star, Helen Shapiro. Also on the bill was a guitar group, the Beatles. By the end of the tour, Please Please Me was No 1 and the beat group era was born. Also in 1963 Williams appeared in the Tommy Steele film It's All Happening. 

It was an uncongenial era for ballad singers, and Williams had no more British hits, although White on White reached the US Top 10 in 1964. He continued to record for HMV until 1967 and worked steadily in nightclubs. In 1968, he had a nervous breakdown followed, two years later, by bankruptcy, a consequence of a profligate lifestyle that centred for several years on the Playboy Club in Park Lane. 

Williams resumed his singing career in the early 1970s but did not come to national attention again until 1977, when his record Dancin' Easy, based on a jingle from a well-known Martini commercial, reached the Top 30. After the collapse of apartheid in 1990, Williams returned to South Africa on several occasions, but continued to live in Britain.  In the early 1990s, he recorded for the Prestige label and, in 1994, starred in a Nat "King" Cole tribute show. Scripted and narrated by Elliot Brooks, this was taken by Williams on several more British tours, the last being in 2004. 

He died in December 2005 of lung cancer, at the age of 63 in London after a short hospitalization. Williams was married three times, and is survived by his two daughters (Natali and Melody Williams) and two sons, the actor Anthony Barclay and Michael Stewart.

(Edited from Dave Laing obit @ The Guardian  & Wikipedia) 

 

Bob King born 6 January 1934

Bob King (January 6, 1934 - January 20, 1989) was a country singer, guitarist and songwriter, who was one of Canada's first country stars to earn recognition beyond national borders. 

Robert George King was born in Ottawa, Canada on January 6, 1934. His mother, Katie Brown King emigrated from the United Kingdom to Canada during the First World War. Bob's father, a native Canadian named Roy King, abandoned his wife and son and moved to the U.S. when Bob was only three years old. Bob's mother soon remarried and they moved to a farm in the Joyceville area, outside Kingston, Ontario where Bob spent most of his childhood years. The family later moved north to nearby Ottawa after a fire destroyed their home. 

He got his first guitar from his mother when he was seven years old and quickly developed a love of country music, most notably the work of Hank Williams. His other idols included Canadian country stars Hank Snow and Wilf Carter (aka Montana Slim). With the support of his stepfather, Bob mastered the guitar during his teenage years and formed a trio with two friends—soon dubbed the “Country Cousins.” The group quickly made a name for themselves by winning a series of amateur contests throughout the Ottawa Valley. At just 16, King decided to pursue a full-time career in country music. His solo talent quickly shone through, and in one memorable competition, he bested a young Paul Anka for first place. 

                                   

Ottawa DJ “Long John” Corrigan helped arrange Bob's first big break—a guest spot with Mac Beattie and the legendary Ottawa Valley Melodiers. Then, in 1954, King released his debut single “Laurel Lee,” which sold over 40,000 copies—an extraordinary feat for a Canadian country artist at the time. 

The single’s success caught the attention of American country stars Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, who invited him to join their Clinch Mountain Clan. Bob became a featured performer on their daily West Virginia radio broadcasts, where he also toured with artists like Doc Williams and Hawkshaw Hawkins. A highlight of this period was sharing the stage with Elvis Presley during a show in Norfolk, Virginia. 

Upon returning to Canada, Bob toured briefly with Canadian country pioneer Wilf Carter before settling back in Ottawa. At the invitation of Ken Reynolds, he became a founding member of the CFRA Happy Wanderers, alongside “Papa” Joe Brown and virtuoso fiddler Ward Allen. From 1957 to 1965, the Happy Wanderers became a fixture of Ottawa radio and television, performing on thousands of live radio shows and 59 nationally broadcast television episodes. Bob’s warmth and charisma earned him the affectionate nickname “Mr. Sunshine.” 

Bob and Marie

Bob King’s recording career blossomed in the 1960s and 1970s. Moving from RCA Victor to Rodeo Records, he released over 40 singles and 13 full-length albums. His 1965 single “Texas Leather and Mexican Lace” reached No. 1 on the Canadian charts and remains one of his best-known recordings. Germany’s Bear Family Records later recognized King’s importance with a series of retrospective compilations, including Rockin' the Jukebox (2013), which celebrated his contributions to early Canadian rockabilly and country music. 

Beyond his own career, Bob King was instrumental in launching and nurturing the musical career of his wife, Marie King (née Farley). As her manager and producer, he oversaw the recording and promotion of her breakout single “The French Song,” which sold over 50,000 copies. He produced Marie’s first ten albums, including the gold-certified Allo Mon P’tit Bobby, and was central to the development of her career in both English and French-language markets. 

Bob also encouraged the musical paths of his children, supporting them in their creative endeavors. In the later years of his career, he toured extensively as road manager and featured singer with the Marie King Road Show, bringing country music to communities across Canada. . He was inducted into the Ottawa Valley Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984, in recognition of a lifetime of contributions to the country music landscape. 

Bob King passed away on January 20, 1989, in Ottawa, following a short battle with lung cancer A gifted performer, compassionate mentor, and true pioneer of Canadian country, Bob King’s legacy endures in the music he left behind and in the generations of artists he inspired. 

(Edited from Citizen Freak & Bear Family notes)

Ben Wiley Payton born 5 January 1948

Ben Wiley Payton (5 January 1948 - 4 December 2020) was a Mississippi bluesman who became an important guitar player and singer on the acoustic blues scene.    

Ben Wiley Payton was born in Coila (pronounced co-why-la), Mississippi, a small community in the hill country of Carroll County, just east of the Mississippi Delta.  The middle of five children, Payton worked in cotton fields when he was not in school. His father was a gravel truck driver and was killed in a truck explosion in 1954, just before Payton’s 6th birthday. Following his father’s death, the family settled in the Delta town of Itta Bena, where his mother worked as a cook in both local restaurants and private homes. 

Payton’s early musical influences include his pianist grandmother, Mabel Johnson, and his uncle Wiley, who played guitar and sang in gospel quartets. Payton’s mother and father also played guitar casually at family gatherings, and he credits the narrative style of his performance style to his mother’s storytelling skills. Payton was given a toy guitar as a young boy living in the Delta, but it was not until his family moved to Chicago in April 1964 that he became immersed in music. 

At 17 he began working as a bassist and backup vocalist in a soul band, which practiced on the porches of their homes in the south side of Chicago, in the neighborhood of 45th and Michigan. After the band was fired from a gig, Payton committed himself to learning to play guitar in a skillful manner. He began taking private guitar lessons with retired DuSable High School music instructor John House, and later continued to school himself through instructional books and practice. 

             Here’s “Back With My Baby Again” from above album.

                                     

Payton was in a variety bands throughout the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, playing contemporary soul music in small clubs and at private parties.  He worked regularly with groups including Bobby Rush and Joe Evans and the Supersonics, and as a member of house bands backed many prominent artists at clubs including Peyton Place.  During this time Payton began to seriously study sounds and chords, and ultimately found his musical direction during a seven-month long stay in Tangier, Morocco in 1970, where he performed in a review featuring famed jazz pianist Randy Weston. 

Payton recalls that when he returned to the Chicago deejays were taking over he club scene, but he nevertheless found work playing with groups including the Wolf Gang, the late Howlin’ Wolf’s backing band, replacing an ill Hubert Sumlin. In 1977 Payton became interested in acoustic blues music after hearing Robert Johnson recordings for the first time. 

Around this time he married and started a family, and although he stopped performing in clubs he continued to play guitar and sing at home and served as Minister of Music at the New Mount Vernon MB Church.  Through listening to public radio programs Payton explored various musical genres, including blues, and continued to study the sounds and styles he had been exposed to in Morocco. 

In 2002 Payton returned to music and his home state of Mississippi. Over the past decade, he had developed a distinctive guitar style that nods to pre-War War II blues style while displaying an innovative and artistic technique all his own. His 2006 debut album, “Diggin’ Up Old Country Blues,” exhibited his varied musical interests. In 2009 Payton played at the Chicago Blues Festival, but was diagnosed with colon cancer. Surgery soon followed and the respect he had gained among fellow musicians and blues fans was reflected in generous fund raisers to help cover his medical bills. He recovered successfully and in 2010 taught blues vocals at Centrum in Port Townsend, Washington and served as an artist in residence at the Berklee School of Music. He also toured England, performing at London’s blues festivals. 

Payton released another album, Caught Up In The Blues, in 2018 that updated his blues even more, incorporating some of the African influences that he picked up in Morocco on a couple of tracks. To find more gigs, Ben moved two more times, returning to Greenwood around 2015 and where he also resumed church preaching, and early 2020 to Clarksdale, Mississippi appearing as a speaker and panelist at several blues events.  But due to the Covid lockdowns and despite streaming videos, this project to be able to play more again could not succeed because he died there eleven months later on 4 December 2020.He was buried in Forest Park-Chicago, IL. 

(Edited from Mississippi Folklife, Living Blues Magazine, Jazz Hot & Blues Bytes)

 

Precious Bryant born 4 January 1942

Precious Bryant (née Bussey; January 4, 1942 – January 12, 2013) was an American country blues, gospel, and folk singer and guitarist. Bryant is described as one of Georgia's great blueswomen. She played Piedmont fingerstyle guitar. 

Bryant was born in Talbot County, Georgia, United States. She was the third child of nine and first became interested in singing by performing at her local Baptist church with her seven sisters. They initially dubbed themselves the Blue Moon Gospel Singers but later changed the group name to the Bussey Sisters. Bryant learned to play guitar from her father and uncle, blues musician George Henry Bussey, before dropping out of high school in eleventh grade. She began to perform wherever she could. 

At age 20 she wrote her first of many compositions, a song titled “Baby Tell Me Don’t You Want to Jump”. Her music was a blend of Piedmont finger-picking blues, blues from the Lower Chattahoochee Valley, urban blues, gospel, and folk. She also absorbed contemporary influences, including Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, and Elmore James.However, she was particularly “drawn to the blues,” because, in her words, “the blues tells the truth.” 

She got married in 1965, and moved to Juniper, Georgia with her then husband. She stayed there for about 11 years before returning home with her son Tony after her husband’s death. During her time in Juniper, Bryant met the blues researcher George Mitchell, who recorded a few of her songs in 1969. He described her as "Georgia musical treasure," but it was a combination of this chance encounter and the death of her husband that made her career possible. 

                                    

A decade after her first recording, Mitchell recorded Precious Bryant again for folklorist Fred Fussell’s In Celebration of a Legacy project for the Columbus Museum. By this point, she was back home in Talbot County living in a four-room trailer with her son Tony. In 1983, Mitchell persuaded Bryant to play at the Chattahoochee Folk Festival in Columbus and soon began playing at local, regional, and international venues to a growing fanbase. Bryant played the 1984 National Down Home Blues Festival in Atlanta, the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, the Newport Folk Festival. In 1995, Bryant met Tim Duffy and became involved with the Music Maker Relief Foundation, who assisted her in booking global tours and shows and increasing her following through events like Blues to Bop in Lugano, Switzerland, Port Townsend Blues Festival, and Chicken Raid in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Precious Bryant released her first commercial album, Fool Me Good, in 2002 through Terminus Records, more than 30 years after George Mitchell first recorded her in Juniper. She was 60 years old. Fool Me Good was an instant success. The album was nominated for two W.C. Handy Awards, including Acoustic Blues Album of the Year and Best New Artist Debut, and won three Living Blues Awards. In 2004, she released The Truth, featuring her son Tony on bass, followed by My Name is Precious Bryant in 2005 through the Music Maker Relief Foundation label. She was once again nominated for two W.C. Handy Blues Awards for best Traditional Blues Female Artist in 2004 and 2006. 

Her song "Morning Train" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film Black Snake Moan. While Bryant loved playing music, she disliked the travel that came with her career. Ultimately, she preferred performing at local gatherings and talent shows “within a six hour radius of her home.” Although Bryant’s Fool Me Good album helped to generate a loyal fan base and the recognition she deserved, she remained grounded, describing her music as an extension of her life.

“I will always be playing the blues, as long as I live. The blues tells the truth. Sometimes it is sad, sometimes it be happy – it works all kind of ways,” she said. She continued to perform for friends while making an occasional appearance at a local club or festival. 

Precious Bryant died at the age of 71 years on January 12, 2013, in Columbus, Georgia, from complications of diabetes and congestive heart failure. She left behind a legacy as a bridge between traditional and modern blues. Blues researcher Barry Lee Pearson called her “a woman who played the blues like folks want to hear it” Her recordings and performances have ensured her place in blues history as “Georgia’s Daughter of the Blues.” 

(Edited from Lady Plays The Blues Project, Wikipedia & AllMusic)

 

Maxene Andrews born 3 January 1916

Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January 3, 1916 – October 21, 1995) was a celebrated American singer best known as a member of the Andrews Sisters, a groundbreaking vocal group that gained fame during the swing and boogie-woogie era of the 1930s and 1940s. 

Alongside her sisters Patty and LaVerne, Maxene formed one of the most popular female singing trios in history. The Andrews Sisters sold over 75 million records and were known for their close harmonies and upbeat songs like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," and "Rum and Coca-Cola." Their music became a symbol of American resilience and entertainment during World War II, as they frequently performed for troops in USO shows. 

Maxene, often seen as the "heart" of the group, was known for her clear mezzo-soprano voice and professional discipline. She was often referred to as 'the pretty one' or 'the one on the left. Tall red-headed LaVerne was the one on the right with peppy blonde Patty in the middle. LaVerne was a year older and Patty 4 years younger. Born of a Greek father and a Norwegian mother in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the three sisters showed early musical promise. LaVerne taught herself to play the piano, Patty won tap dancing prizes and Maxine was singing on local radio at the age of 4. At 5 she was performing at luncheons and for veterans at local hospitals. 

The decision to form a sister act was prompted by the swinging close harmony of the Boswell Sisters. Maxine said that they got so good at copying them that they developed a Southen accent. They sang together at school dances and won a talent competition at a local cinema. In 1932 they were hired by band leader Larry Rich who took them on a coast to coast tour. The sisters developed their own distinctive style and sang with various bands and were heard by a recording executive who offered them a recording contract with Decca. 

                                    

Their first record Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen brought them worldwide fame and between 1937 and 1941 they had numerous hits including Apple Blossom Time, Beer Barrel Polka and Eight to the Bar. When America entered the war the Andrew Sisters were born and made frequent overseas tours, recorded such hits as Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree, Don't Fence Me in and starred in 14 films. Maxene married Lou Levy in 1941, and adopted a son and daughter due to having an earlier hysterectomy. The marriage was dissolved in 1950. 

Patty & Maxene 1974

In 1953 various disputes caused the trio to break up for three years then disbanded permanently in 1967 when Laverne tragically died of cancer. Maxine joined the Lake Tahoe Paradise College of Fine Arts as Dean of Women and eventually rose to vice President. In 1973 Bette Middler recorded the sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy which recreated interest in the Andrew Sisters causing their early records to be re released and Maxine and Patty to co star in the musical Over Here on Broadway for nearly a year. Following this Maxene blossomed into a terrific solo performer as she aged with grace and beauty and made many appearances as a solo performer. 

In 1982 after a series of concerts Maxene had a heart attack but after a heart bypass operation she was singing again and made a solo album “Maxene: An Andrews Sister” on which Bette Middler wrote the sleeve notes. This studio album contains recordings from her solo concert material that she recorded in 1985. In her later years she worked as a goodwill ambassador for various causes. Her last performance was on Sunday, October 8th, 1995, in the show 'Swing Time Canteen', at New York City's Blue Angel Theater. Sadly twelve days later Maxene died of a heart attack while vacationing in Cape Cod on 21, October 1995. The day before, she had signed autographs for fans a quarter her age at a local bagel shop, where a rare piece of Andrews Sisters sheet music-”Shoo Shoo Baby”-decorates the wood-paneled walls. 

Maxene & Lynda

Maxene Andrews had a lifelong and close relationship with her manager and companion, Lynda Wells who was a significant part in her later life, offering support after the group’s end and Maxene’s estrangement from her sister Patty. Maxene adopted Lynda as her as a daughter in 1995 to legally protect their partnership since same-sex marriage wasn't recognized, making Wells her sole heir and fulfilling their status as life partners before Maxene's passing. The Andrews Sisters, Laverne, Maxene, and Patty, were none biological mothers. Maxene adopted two children, a daughter, Aleta Ann, and a son, Peter. Patty also adopted one daughter, Pam DuBois.

Maxene remains an enduring icon of American music, celebrated for her contributions to both entertainment and the morale of a generation. 

(Edited from IMDb, Great Entertainers Archives & LA Times) 

Here's a clip of Laverne and Maxene Andrews of the Andrews Sisters make fun of their famous feud with sister Patty in this rare TV comedy duet from 1954. 

Bobby Hachey born 2 January 1932

Bobby Hachey (January 2, 1932 - October 18, 2006) was a singer, musician and television host, considered one of the pioneers of western music in Quebec and an exceptional country guitarist. Initially a member of Kid Baker's orchestra, he played with his two brothers, in addition to being the travelling companion of another legend of the genre, Willie Lamothe. Bobby Hachey began his solo career in 1979. 

Albert Hachey was born in Atholville, New Brunswick, Canada and was introduced to music at a very young age. He learned music by replicating what he heard on the 78s he listened to. He never knew how to read music but could play the guitar, mandolin, and violin and appeared on his first radio show at the age of six. At the age of fourteen, he left school to join the orchestra of Kid Baker, a well-known western artist at the time. With his brothers Terry and Curly, whom he met again a little later in Montreal, they then formed their own musical group. 

Bobby and Terry recorded with Hal Willis in 1951 under the name Hillbilly Ramblers. Subsequently, with their brother Curly in a group called The Sunset Playboys which also included, paradoxically, Mary Lou, a female musician, on double bass and violin. They participated in the weekly show of Willie Lamothe and his Cavaliers des Plaines, on CKVL, the popular station in Verdun. On the heels of this popular show, which was broadcast for most of the fifties Bobby and his brother Curly can also be found on some Lamothes recordings. 

Bobby with Willie Lamothe

In the 1960s, the three brothers, now Hachey Brothers, travelled across Canada and the United States with artists such as Tex Ritter, Carl Smith, Porter Wagoner and Canadian Hank Snow. Back in Quebec, Bobby teamed up again with Willie Lamothe in 1967. The two musicians then became inseparable and the tandem can be found on stage, on the radio and of course on television. Télé-Métropole's weekly show from the Ranch to Willie was one of the most popular music shows of the decade and ran for six years, from 1970 to 1976. . It was a great success for six seasons with a million and a half viewers. 

                     Here’s “Fingers On Fire” from above album

                                   

In its first season, the fame of the show led Bobby Hachey to record his own albums. His first for the London label, featured the biggest names in French-language country and western: Paul Brunelle, Marcel Martel, Lévis Bouliane, Larry Robichaud, Ti-Blanc Richard and of course Willie Lamothe, which testified to Bobby's taste for the music of Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. His masterful interpretation of the "Buckaroo" theme made it a landmark record for Quebec country music fans. The guitarist covered some classics of the American country repertoire such as "Yakety Axe", adapted for guitar by Chet Atkins, "Battle Of New Orleans" and "Buck's Polka", but also the theme from the film Doctor Zhivago "Lara" by Maurice Jarre and the song "Caravan" by Duke Ellington. This record was soon followed by a vocal album where he performed a selection of songs by one of his lifelong idols: "Bobby Hachey sings Johnny Cash". 

In 1975, Bobby Hachey and Willie Lamothe toured Louisiana, and in 1976 they returned to Nashville where they recorded together "30 Years and Then Nashville" and performed at the Grand Ole Opry. The collaboration between Hachey and Lamothe continued until 1976. Lamothe's health began to decline, following heart problems that handicapped him, so in 1979 Bobby chose to continue his career as a soloist. Sometimes nicknamed as “Mr. Smile,” he gave shows until the 2000s. 

While continuing to perform at festivals and in the network of country concert halls during the eighties, Quebec's most famous guitarist also joined a section of the youth who recognized him as one of the pioneers of this instrument on the local scene. This is the case of the singer Mitsou who used his services for the recording of her song "Lettre à un cowboy" on her album "Terre des hommes" in 1990. 

Having slowed down his activities on stage due to health problems, Bobby nevertheless continued to display a passion for music and offered a bilingual double album in 2002 - a CD in each language - to mark his 50 years of career, then a new recording entitled "On se souviens du Rock'N'Roll" in April 2005. The Mérite record company released several albums, in the series Les Étoiles du Country, at the turn of 2006, including an "Instrumental Album" and the compilation "Hommage à Elvis & Johnny Cash". 

Bobby Hachey passed away on October 18, 2006 in Saint-Hyacinthe, following lung and throat cancer. He was 74 years old. A few hours after his death, the Government of Quebec reacted to the news in a press release, regretting the death of the guitarist. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Quebec Info Musique) 

 

Earl Sinks born 1 January 1940

Henry Earl Sinks (January 1, 1940 – May 13, 2017), known professionally as Earl Sinks, was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter and actor. Sinks' career in music and acting spanned the 1950s to the 1990s. He is best known for his brief tenure as a member and occasional lead singer of The Crickets from 1958 to 1960, and for his acting roles in numerous low-budget movies and TV shows in the 1960s. 

He recorded under the names Earl Sinks, Sinx Mitchell, Earl Richards, and Earl "Snake" Richards. He wrote songs for various other artists, including Sue Thompson, The Everly Brothers, The Newbeats, Ernie Ashworth, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, Mel Tillis, and Buddy Holly. He also played guitar and sang harmony for sessions with artists such as Mel Tillis, Del Reeves, Mel Street, and Charlie Pride. 

He was born on New Year's Day in Whitharrel, Texas, near Littlefield, and not in Amarillo, as is alleged by some sources, although Earl did move there later in his youth. Sinks performed with Bob Wills at the age of twelve; he created his first recordings as a solo artist in 1958 (aged eighteen) at Norman Petty Studios. Under the alias of "Earl Henry", he recorded 2 singles: "I Am The Man/Whatcha Gonna Do?" and "My Suzanne/Believe A Traveler" with Dot Records. 

After Buddy Holly split with The Crickets near the end of 1958, Sinks was brought in as his replacement by manager Norman Petty. He recorded and performed with The Crickets after Holly's death in 1959, contributing to the album In Style With the Crickets, singing on songs such as "I Fought the Law," "Love's Made a Fool of You", "Deborah", and "When You Ask About Love". Sinks' association with The Crickets ended in February 1960, citing a personal disagreement. David Box was later brought in to finish recording and fulfil the band's contract with Coral Records. 

                                   

Sinks later moved to Nashville, where he continued to release records. He recorded for Decca Records, in addition to Hickory, Capitol, Coral, Brunswick, United Artist, Warner Brothers, and Ace of Hearts Records. He and Norro Wilson, along with Bill Fernez, recorded as the country band The Omegas. In October 1958, Tommy Allsup rejoined The Crickets for the "Biggest Show of Stars: Autumn Edition” after Buddy split from Jerry Allison and Joe Mauldin. The Roses, a vocal backup group, also performed on the tour. 

To form a new band for the planned “Winter Dance Party Tour”, Buddy asked his friend Waylon Jennings to play bass, with Tommy Allsup on guitar and Allsup's friend Carl Bunch to play drums. Tommy and Sinks remained in New York following the end of the “Winter Dance Party Tour” for promotional pictures with J.I. and Joe B. as The Crickets. Sinks had recorded earlier with the Crickets, along with Sonny Curtis, and sang lead on their version of "I Fought the Law,” “Someone Someone,” and “Love's Made A Fool of You." In 1959, he came to Nashville with Bob Montgomery, where they worked together as songwriters with Acuff-Rose. 

In the mid-1960s, Nashville filmmaker Ron Ormond sought a leading actor for his low-budget films. He consulted Smiley Wilson, an artist and booking agent, who recommended his son-in-law, Earl Sinks. At this time, Earl was recording for the Warner Brothers record label as well as appearing in some of the Warner Brothers' television shows, such as Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and Surfside Six. In his debut film with Ron Ormond, The Girl From Tobacco Row, Earl Sinks acquired a new nickname, "Snake Richards". During an interview with Ken Beck of the Tennessean newspaper, Sinks revealed: “Ron gave me that name.” From then on, deejays began referring to him as Snake Richards. Along with The Girl From Tobacco Row, Ormond's film White Lightnin' Road also included Earl as "Snake" and also later in the 20th Century Fox film by Richard Ball That Tennessee Beat. 

In 1972 he was appointed manager of the Ace of Hearts label (not to be confused with the UK label of the same name) and bought the label with Gene Kennedy the following year. On Ace of Hearts Earl had four more entries in the country charts between 1973 and 1978, the most successful being "Margie, Who's Watching the Baby". In 1976 Sinks launched the short-lived RPA label, for which he rerecorded "House Of Blue Lights" and an LP with that title. Over the years he produced for artists such as John Anderson, Faron Young, Joyce Cobb, Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Mark Dinning, The Remingtons, Bobby Lewis, Mel Street, and many more. 

According to the Nashville Tennessean, Sinks lived with his wife, who was once known as Little Rita Faye on the Grand Ole Opry and was the daughter of country stars Smiley and Kitty Wilson. They had a son Brandon Earl Sinks, who also became a musician, and were married for over 50 years .They lived in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, where Earl Sinks died at his home on May 13, 2017. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & This Is My Story)