John Allan Seay, Jr. (July 15, 1940 – May 14, 2016) 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, professionally known as Johnny Sea or Johnny Seay. His first hits came in the late 1950s, and his career saw a resurgence in the mid-1960s, particularly with the release of his

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

single "Day For Decision".

Biography

Seay was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up 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 ...

, and had his first major break in 1957 by winning a state talent show (whose runner-up was Bill Anderson). As a result of this he was offered a recording contract as well as the opportunity to appear on ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of th ...

'' and ''

The Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM (AM), WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment ...

''. In 1959, he scored a hit on the country charts with "Frankie's Man Johnny", and had a second in 1960 with "Nobody's Darling but Mine".

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

Allmusic.com Both his early hits were on NRC Records. After these hits he moved westward to become a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

. In 1964 he began recording again and his songs, "My Baby Walks All Over Me" and "My Old Faded Rose", became country chart successes. Signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in 1966, he released the song "Day For Decision" which featured a background chorus singing "

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

". The recording was a country success and also peaked at No. 35 on the US pop charts; it was nominated for a

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 ...

but lost to a collection of recordings by

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe f ...

.The Envelope
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. Accessed October 19, 2007. Its accompanying album, which was a minor chart success, featured renditions of several popular

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

tunes. After 1967, he began recording under his given name Johnny Seay again, and had two more country hits for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, "Goin' to Tulsa" and "Three Six Packs, Two Arms and a Juke Box". His 1968 (released in 1970) song "Willie's Drunk and Nellie's Dyin'" were about his real-life neighbors Willie and Nellie York; after the song's release, the family was profiled in ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' (July 17, 1970). Following his second rise to stardom, Seay returned to the life of a cowboy, moving to Justiceburg, Texas. He died May 14, 2016, when his single-engine plane clipped a cell telephone tower wire and crashed near

West, Texas West is a city in McLennan County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,531. It is named after Thomas West, the first postmaster of the city. The city is located in the north-central part of Texas, approximate ...

. He was 75.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Johnny 1940 births 2016 deaths American country singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Country musicians from Mississippi National Recording Corporation artists Philips Records artists Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Warner Records artists