Francis Craig (September 10, 1900 – November 19, 1966) was an American songwriter,

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

piano player, and leader of a Nashville dance band. His works included " Dynamite" and "

Near You "Near You" is a popular song written and originally recorded by Francis Craig and His Orchestra at Castle Studio in 1947, with lyrics by Kermit Goell, that has gone on to become a pop standard. Background The recording by Francis Craig (the ...

", the latter being the first Billboard #1 hit out of Nashville.

Early years

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister's son, Craig was born in

Dickson, Tennessee Dickson is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Located in Dickson County. it is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, Dickson's population was 16,058. History Dickson was named for Congressman William Dickson, as w ...

, United States. He studied mathematics and political science at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, Nashville. "Dynamite", now the official

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

of Vanderbilt University, was written by Craig in 1938 a week prior to a Vanderbilt/

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

football game. It is played mainly at football games, basketball games, and at other Commodore sports events. While he was at Vanderbilt, Craig formed an orchestra, the Vanderbilt Jazz Band. When the university's chancellor told Craig he would have to change the name of the group, disband it, or leave Vanderbilt, he dropped out and changed the orchestra's name.

Radio

Craig had three stints on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee. His Francis Craig Orchestra played on the station in 1926-1928 and again in 1935-1939. He returned to the station in 1947 to work as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

on the program ''Featured by Francis Craig''. He also worked on WGN in Chicago, Illinois, in 1940.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 166.

Recording

His own recording of "

", was released by

Bullet Records At least five record labels with the name Bullet Records have existed. Bullet Records, Nashville, 1946-1952 The earliest Bullet Records was a record label based in Nashville, United States, which was started in 1946 by Jim Bulleit and C.V. Hit ...

as catalog number 1001B (The "A" side, 1001A, was titled "Red Rose", also by Craig). "Near You" first reached the '' Billboard'' Best Seller chart on August 30, 1947, and lasted 21 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 1. It held the top spot for 12 straight weeks. (A 2004 article in Billboard says that the song "was No. 1 for 17 weeks in 1947.") It eventually sold over 2.5 million copies. "Craig's version of the song was the first pop hit record ever to come out of Nashville, Tennessee." Various recordings by other persons have followed. Other works included "

Beg Your Pardon "Beg Your Pardon" is a song written by Francis Craig and Beasley Smith and published in 1947 by the Robbins Music Corporation. It was recorded in 1947 by Frankie Carle and His Orchestra for Columbia Records. Another recording of the song was made ...

" with

Beasley Smith John Beasley Smith (September 27, 1901 – May 14, 1968)William F. Lee, ''American Big Bands'' (Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005) p50 was an American composer and big band musician. "That Lucky Old Sun" (1949) one of his better known works, was cove ...

Death

Craig died aged 66 in November 1966, in

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

References

1900 births 1966 deaths American male songwriters 20th-century American musicians Vanderbilt University alumni People from Dickson, Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians {{US-music-bio-stub