John D. Loudermilk 1934 – 2016
You may not know his name but you’ve certainly heard his songs.
Loudermilk was one of the most prolific songwriters of the 60s, penning country and pop hits for the Nashville Teens, Everly Brothers, Johnny Tillotson, Chet Atkins, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Johnny Cash, Marianne Faithfull, Stonewall Jackson, Sue Thompson and others.
He made records under his own name, but perhaps because he looked like an extra from Sgt. Bilko, most of his hits came from other artists.
Perhaps the most famous Loudermilk song is Tobacco Road. Originally written and recorded by John D. himself in 1960, it became a big hit for the Nashville Teens in 1964 and went on to become a massive blues rock standard.
http://i.imgur.com/6IgZEjo.jpg
A recent update of the most popular John D. Loudermilk songs played on Spotify
1. Turn Me On – Norah Jones
2. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye – Bettye Swann
3. Tobacco Road – David Lee Roth
4. Turn Me On – Nina Simone
5. Tobacco Road – Eric Burdon & War
6. Road Hog (O Calhambeque) – Roberto Carlos
7. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye – Joss Stone
8. Tobacco Road – Nashville Teens
9. Sunglasses – Tracey Ullman
10. Indian Reservation – Paul Revere & Raiders
11. Bad News – Johnny Cash
12. Abilene – George Hamilton IV
13. Ebony Eyes – Everly Brothers
14. Sad Movies – Sue Thompson
15. Tobacco Road – Jack McDuff
16. Windy and Warm – Doc (& Merle) Watson
17. Tobacco Road – Lou Rawls
18. Break My Mind – Carter Family (Johnny Cash)
19. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye – Perry Como
20. Norman – Sue Thompson
Cliched as it may sound, I didn’t know he was still alive – his songs were so old, as it were, that I presumed he’d shuffled off this mortal coil years ago.
Add to that list “Sitting On The Balcony” which helped Eddie Cochran break through.
Eric and war doing Tobacco Road is my favourite followed by ahem Junior Wells’s version
Here’s Alejandro Escovedo and Dave Alvin plus Jon Langford & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with their version of “Bad News”.
Surprised there’s no version of ‘Google Eye’ in that Spotify list. It was the Nashville Teens second hit, after Tobacco Road. Here’s the Big Pete Deuchar version – I believe the first British recording of the song. Big Pete & His Country Blues had a Marquee residency for 6 months in early 1963, at the beginning of the British R&B explosion – but he was a trad jazz chancer, really. Still, there’s something compelling about this single from that period (sadly, his three other solo singles of the 60s are pretty mediocre).
The Nashville Teens had a bit of a revival in the early 80s. I bought their fabulous live mini-album ‘Live At The Red House’ and a V/A comp ‘Heroes & Villains’ with another live track on it (Tobacco Road – not on the Red House LP) at the time, and saw them on this C4 oldies show. I suggested to a reissue label that they seek a license for these 80s recordings, and a couple of others, from Ray Phillips, but sadly all they got was a very legalistic ‘no’ reply. I suppose Ray must have had one bad label experience too many.
PS. Featuring a rare appearance from Tom Jones on bass guitar.
Sue Thompson recorded more John D. songs than probably anyone else (at least 5). From 1962 here she is with James (Hold The Ladder Steady)
I’ve never heard of her. Was she popular? Did her Loudermilk recordings sell?
She had two very minor top 50 hits in the UK, both with JDL songs, but she was big in the US and Australia.
From 1965 it’s Marianne Faithfull with This Little Bird. Also recorded the same year by the Nashville Teens
JDL had two big songs under his own name. one was Callin’ Dr. Casey and the other was this, Language of Love from 1961. They weren’t big chart hits, but became staples of oldies radio.
JDL wrote instrumentals too. From 1961 here’s Chet Atkins with Windy and Warm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhdbIDgJdyk
I well remember buying the budget double retrospective of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Close Up the Honky Tonks, side 3 being the hardest for my then 15 year old ears, as it seemed so utterly country. It soon became my favourite side, featuring a slew of standards not included on the normal releases perhaps for the same reason as my initial trepidation. However the love with which the songs were invested, Grams voice never more fragile, won through, and it was only my schoolmates who thought them (and me) odd. Why do I say this? Hell, cos it included this Loudermilk corker, Break My Mind:
Edgar Winter did a stonking version of “Tobacco Road”. Here it is with the White Trash – it was a whole side of the live album, incorporating scat singing duels with the lead guitar, Edgar scatting with the piano, Rick Derringer playing sweeeet blues and lots of screaming. Oh and a solo lead guitar widdle out which makes Jimmy on “Heartbreaker” look a right weed. Too rich for the blood of pretty much everyone here I suspect. But I absolutely love it. Too big for YouTube, it requires two clips to capture its magnificence. First alto solo is Edgar too. Worrraguy.
I’m just waiting for @mikethep to turn up, from the Bobby Vee thread . . .
And here he is…when you search on a name the result doesn’t show any comments. As it turns out there was no need for me to rush to JC’s aid, but anyway.
I’m a big fan of JDL’s recordings of his own songs. I’ve got a couple of terrific albums, Sittin’ in the Balcony and The Rocking Styles of John D Loudermilk, which contain a lot of unfamiliar songs that weren’t hits for anybody else. Here are three.
https://youtu.be/ztLjNtyD78s
https://youtu.be/QBv6uMH1vHQ
Crikey. I’ve just discovered that his cousins were the Louvin Brothers.
He recorded as Johnny Dee as well. Here’s a track covered by Eddie Cochran: https://youtu.be/YPPVOUO9bXk
He looked like a 50s square but his songs were from one of “the cool kids”!
Indian Reservation has a backstory (Google it if interested):
Don Fardon spiced it up a bit but with a muddy production:
https://youtu.be/fs9d_W_ikLU
It’s a shame @h-p-saucecraft isn’t around as he could probably tell us some tales about Fardon’s Coventry / Warwickshire band The Sorrows:
https://youtu.be/K0BdPYH-jqo
Don Fardon’s third and final single was the strangest of the lot – Belfast Boy a 1970 tribute to George Best.
(not a John D. Loudermilk song I must add)
‘Normie’ in Australia, ‘Norm’ in North America and ‘Norrie’ in Scotland, but a name falling into sad disuse – apparently not a singe child in Glasgow was named ‘Norman’ in 2015.
Nevertheless, it’s a John D song:
As mentioned above, Sue Thompson recorded at least five JDL songs. Four of them are on this Aussie EP
http://i.imgur.com/mwqBHSz.jpg
And Norman in Wollongong
That’s a Gunston reference