Jimmy Swan
Jimmy Swan ( born November 18, 1912 in Sand Mountain, Alabama, † October 29, 1994; actually James Edgar Schwann ) was an American country musician.
Life
Childhood and youth
Born in Sand Mountain, Jimmy Swan and his family moved to Birmingham, as Swan was 10 years old when his father died. Swan earned some extra money by working as a shoeshine boy and newspaper delivery. His former idol was the Country musician Jimmie Rodgers. 1928 Swan won a talent competition, which was organized by the radio station WKBC. His mother died when he was 17. In the same year he married and moved with his wife now to Hattiesburg.
Career
After Swan was declared as unfit for the army, he continued to live with his wife and child. Swan founded a band by the way, in the later two country stars were members, namely Hank Williams and Hank Locklin. With his band Swan denied first appearances at the radio station WALA and in bars. Bored with the occurrence in the rough Honky Tonks, he took a job as a disc jockey in the late 1940 's. This profession he should pursue to 1991. 1949 Swan worked for some time at WTOK in Meridian, Mississippi. In 1952 he had the chance to create his first records for the Trumpet Records. One of his first appearance there was a song that was dedicated to his friend Hank Williams. It was written by MGM Manager Frank Walker and was called The Last Letter. 1954 Swan played the lead role in the B- Western Jesse James' Women.
Swans radio and television career began in the early and mid -1950s to become successful. He was now represented on various TV stations with their own shows and often went live on the radio on. In addition, he also recorded transcriptions for the radio. The success of its title I Had a Dream built to a large extent on Swans popularity on the radio. Even as a songwriter he worked. The Way That You're Living has been covered, among others, Jimmy C. Newman and Ernest Tubb.
1955 Swan moved to MGM Records, where he held a total of two sessions. From these sessions emerged among other Country Cattin '. In 1956 he worked at the radio station during which WBKH as moderator. In the course of his career Swan for Decca Records, JB Records and Big Howdy Records recorded.
1967 Swan rose in politics. He ran as a candidate of the gubernatorial post of the U.S. state of Mississippi, but lost. 1971 Swan ran again, but lost again against his Republican opponents. During this election campaign, there was an incident: after an event traveled from Swan with his chauffeur Pat Massengill. However, an oncoming motorist started to shoot; Swan narrowly escaped with death, as he had lain down on the back seat of the car to sleep.
In the following decades Swan focused on his career in radio and gave a few concerts. After his first wife died, he remarried and lived in Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi.
1993 was issued with his collected works from the Bear Family Records CD.
Jimmy Swan died in 1994 at the age of 82 years.