Gene Louis O'Quin (or Oquin) (September 9, 1932 – November 27, 1978) was an American country and western and

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) ...

singer born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

on September 9, 1932 He established himself professionally at Dallas' Big "D" Jamboree, a Grand Ole Opry-like radio showcase, becoming one of its most popular entertainers. O'Quin recorded his first song at the age of 15 and was signed by Capitol Records. He later relocated to California. His recording career reached its peak between 1950 and 1955. O'Quin's voice was high and nasally and had a twang evocative of

Little Jimmy Dickens James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'11" 50 cm, and h ...

. He cut many

novelty songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

and boogie-woogie records. The persona in his records was happy-go-lucky and well suited to

hillbilly music Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in southern Appalachia and the Ozarks. The term was later used to refer to people from other rural and mountainous areas we ...

. Though he did not record any

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

songs in his career, rockabilly enthusiasts have embraced him. Ironically, his career was eclipsed with the advent of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

but did not successfully make the transition as rockabilly artists did. O'Quin died when his car was hit by a bus in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

on November 27, 1978.

Discography

*"Boogie Woogie Fever" *"It's No Use Talkin' Baby (I'm Through)" Capitol 1821Southern Folklife Collection-SFC Recordings Admin Interface - Display Physical Item Search Results
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References

External links

Gene O'Quin

YouTube Gene O'Quin performing "I'm Gonna Live the Life."
* American country singer-songwriters Capitol Records artists Country musicians from Texas Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Texas Musicians from Dallas 1932 births 1978 deaths 20th-century American singers Country musicians from California Road incident deaths in California {{US-singer-songwriter-stub