Charles David Houston (December 9, 1935 – November 30, 1993) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s. His biggest success came in 1966, when his recording of " Almost Persuaded", topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's'' Hot Country Singles chart for nine weeks, and garnered Houston a pair of

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Biography

David Houston home in Minden, LA IMG 0842

Houston was born in

Bossier City Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...

in northwestern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, United States. He was a descendant of

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, the first president of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

General Robert E. Lee. His godfather was 1920s pop singer

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

. Like Austin, Houston lived briefly as a youth in a house at the intersection of Marshall and Goodwill streets in

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

, the seat of

Webster Parish Webster Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. As of the 2010 census, the Webster Parish population was 41,207. In 2018, the p ...

in northwestern Louisiana. Another musician from Minden, Tommy Tomlinson, collaborated with Houston in the single "Mountain of Love". Houston was one of the earliest artists with National Recording Corporation in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In 1963, he rose to national stardom with "Mountain of Love"; the song, which was different from the tune made famous by composer Harold Dorman,

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

, and

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Reco ...

, rose to number two on ''

's'' Hot Country Singles chart, as did "Livin' in a House Full of Love" (1965). In 1966, Houston recorded " Almost Persuaded." This song, which is unrelated to the

Philip Paul Bliss Philip Paul Bliss (9 July 1838 – 29 December 1876) was an American composer, conductor, writer of hymns and a bass-baritone Gospel singer. He wrote many well-known hymns, including "Hold the Fort" (1870), "Almost Persuaded" (1871); "Hallelujah, ...

hymn of the same title, is the tale of a married man managing to resist a temptress he meets in a tavern. Houston's recording of it quickly reached number one that August, eventually spending nine weeks atop ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Singles chart. For 46 years, no song did as well until

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

matched its nine-week record on December 15, 2012, with "

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). It was released for digital download and to U.S. pop radio as the lead single from ''Red'' on A ...

." (Swift's song went on to surpass the nine-week run of "Almost Persuaded," spending a 10th week at No. 1 in early 2013.) Houston was awarded two

s for Best Country & Western Recording and Best Country & Western Performance, Male in 1967 for "Almost Persuaded". He entertained troops at Fort Polk, Louisiana in 1968. "Almost Persuaded" began a string of top five Houston singles through 1973, including six more number ones: " With One Exception" and " You Mean the World to Me" (1967); " Have a Little Faith" and "

Already It's Heaven "Already it's Heaven" is a song written by Billy Sherrill and Glenn Sutton, and recorded by American country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United ...

" (1968); " Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)" (1970); and 1967's "

My Elusive Dreams "My Elusive Dreams" is a country music song written by Billy Sherrill and Curly Putman. Putman recorded his song in March 1967 and released it on ABC Records in June 1967, peaking at #41 on the Hot Country Singles charts and #34 on the Bubbling ...

" duet with

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

. In later years, Houston sang duets with

Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...

on several of her early hits, most notably 1970's "After Closing Time" and 1972's "I Love You, I Love You". Houston's last Top 10 country hit came in 1974 with "Can't You Feel It", though he continued making records until 1989. Houston died of a brain

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...

on November 30, 1993, in Bossier City, one week before his 58th birthday. He had been residing in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

suburb of

Kenner Kenner Products, known simply as Kenner, was an American toy company founded in 1946. Throughout its history, the Kenner brand produced several highly recognizable toys and merchandise lines including action figures like the original series of ' ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^A"Almost Persuaded" also peaked at No. 45 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart in Canada.

Singles from collaboration albums

Notes

Missing from David Houston's 45 Discography are "We Got Love" (1964) and "My Little Lady" (1965).

References

Bibliography

*Roy, Don. (1998). "David Houston". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. p. 249.

External links

David Houston at Discogs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, David 1935 births 1993 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Minden, Louisiana People from Bossier City, Louisiana Grammy Award winners Grand Ole Opry members National Recording Corporation artists RCA Victor artists Epic Records artists 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Country musicians from Louisiana Deaths from intracranial aneurysm 20th-century American male singers