| Mel Tillis |
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215
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Mel Tillis
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Birth name: |
Lonnie Mel Tillis |
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Born: |
August 8, 1932 |
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Origin: |
Tampa, Florida, United States |
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Years active: |
1958-present |
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Labels: |
Columbia Records |
215
Phoots comi...
King Malachi Street (October 21, 1935 – October 21, 1978), commonly known as Mel Street, was an American country music singer.
Street was born in Grundy, Virginia to a coal mining family.[1] Publications cite his year of birth as 1933, although his family maintains that he was born in 1935.[2] He began performing on western Virginia and West Virginia radio shows at the age of sixteen. Street subsequently worked as a radio tower electrician in Ohio and as a nightclub performer in the Niagara Falls area. He moved back to West Virginia in 1963 to open up an auto body shop.[3]
From 1968 to 1972, Street hosted his own show on a Bluefield, West Virginia television station.[4] He recorded his first single, "Borrowed Angel," in 1970 for a small regional record label. A larger label, Royal American Records, picked it up in 1972, and it became a top-10 Billboard hit. He recorded the biggest hit of his career, "Lovin' on Back Streets", in 1973.
Street continued to flourish throughout the mid-1970s, recording several hits such as "You Make Me Feel More Like a Man," "Forbidden Angel," "I Met a Friend of Yours Today," "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart," and "Smokey Mountain Memories". He signed with Mercury Records in 1978. But, suffering from clinical depression and alcoholism, he committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, on October 21, 1978, his 45th birthday. Sadly he had a record debut on the country charts on October 21 as well, a prophetic song called "Just Hangin' On"Lonnie Melvin Tillis (born August 8, 1932), known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits.
Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.
Tillis was born in Dover, Florida in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout with malaria.[1] As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar. At age 16 he won a local talent show and soon joined the United States Air Force and worked for the railroad. When young Tillis was stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.[1] Tillis attended the University of Florida.
After leaving the military in 1955, Tillis worked a number of odd jobs and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the following year. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired", a #3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957.[1] Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail". Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis's material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose", followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill".
Street was born in Grundy, Virginia to a coal mining family.[1] Publications cite his year of birth as 1933, although his family maintains that he was born in 1935.[2] He began performing on western Virginia and West Virginia radio shows at the age of sixteen. Street subsequently worked as a radio tower electrician in Ohio and as a nightclub performer in the Niagara Falls area. He moved back to West Virginia in 1963 to open up an auto body shop.[3]
From 1968 to 1972, Street hosted his own show on a Bluefield, West Virginia television station.[4] He recorded his first single, "Borrowed Angel," in 1970 for a small regional record label. A larger label, Royal American Records, picked it up in 1972, and it became a top-10 Billboard hit. He recorded the biggest hit of his career, "Lovin' on Back Streets", in 1973.
Street continued to flourish throughout the mid-1970s, recording several hits such as "You Make Me Feel More Like a Man," "Forbidden Angel," "I Met a Friend of Yours Today," "If I Had a Cheatin' Heart," and "Smokey Mountain Memories". He signed with Mercury Records in 1978. But, suffering from clinical depression and alcoholism, he committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, on October 21, 1978, his 45th birthday. Sadly he had a record debut on the country charts on October 21 as well, a prophetic song called "Just Hangin' On"Lonnie Melvin Tillis (born August 8, 1932), known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits.
Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.
Tillis was born in Dover, Florida in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout with malaria.[1] As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar. At age 16 he won a local talent show and soon joined the United States Air Force and worked for the railroad. When young Tillis was stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.[1] Tillis attended the University of Florida.
After leaving the military in 1955, Tillis worked a number of odd jobs and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the following year. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired", a #3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957.[1] Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail". Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis's material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose", followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill".