Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff ( born September 15, 1903 in Maynardville, Tennessee; † 23 November 1992), was an American country music singer and music publishers. He was one of the biggest and most influential stars of country music in the period between the death of Jimmie Rodgers in 1933 and the rise of Hank Williams late forties. He sold more than thirty million records and was awarded the highest honors of his genre.
Life
Roy Acuff was at the beginning of a promising career as a professional baseball player when he was tied up by a fishing suffered sunstroke for several months in bed. He was forced to abandoned his sporting ambitions and tried as a musician. First, he joined one of the typical for these years Medicine shows that tingelten from year to year market market, bringing health care products through music and show acts at the man.
In 1933 he joined the Tennessee Crackerjacks, which appeared regularly on the radio. Three years later he recorded several records. Among these were the songs that should make him a little later famous: The Great Speckled Bird and Wabash Cannonball. Two years later he was given the opportunity to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. His performance was so successful that he was taken for further concerts under contract.
Opry star and music publishers
Roy Acuff quickly became the most popular star of the Grand Ole Opry. Even today, his name is almost inseparable from that institution. Even outside the country scene, its popularity grew steadily. After the U.S. entry into the Second World War, he became a national icon figure. From 1944, he applied several times to the post of governor of Tennessee.
In 1942 he founded with songwriter Fred Rose in Nashville to Acuff Rose Music Publishing, which was to take such stars as Hank Williams, The Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison under contract.
Subsiding success
In 1948, Acuff his last Top 20 hit in the C & W charts, his record sales dropped noticeably, and he focused on his performances at the Grand Ole Opry. In 1958 he again managed only a hit with Once More, in 1959 he recorded for the last time in the C & W charts. With several concerts in Vietnam, he supported the fighting there GIs. As a sensation, it was perceived as the conservative Acuff in 1972 took part in the recording of the album Will the Circle Be Unbroken the unconventional Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, reached platinum status.
Honors and death
Roy Acuff was awarded for his contribution to the recording industry a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was incorporated in 1962 as first in his lifetime in the Country Music Hall of Fame. ( Was in the Grand Ole Opry is home to 1974 ) in the foyer of the Ryman Auditorium is a bronze sculpture that shows Roy Acuff and his colleague and good friend Minnie Pearl sitting on a bench.
Roy Acuff died in 1992 at the age of 89 years.