Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 "

Primrose Lane "Primrose Lane" is a song made famous by country music singer Jerry Wallace. Originally released in 1959, the song rose to number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was ranked #47 on '' Billboard'' magazine's '' Top Hot 100'' songs of 195 ...

" that was later used as the theme song for the television series '' The Smith Family''. He made his debut on the country music charts in 1965, entering it thirty-five times between then and 1980. In that timespan, Wallace charted within the country Top Ten four times. His only number one song was " If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry," a song which gained popularity after it was used in an episode of the 1970s TV series ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, ''The Twilight Zone'', ...

''.

Biography

Wallace was born in

Guilford, Missouri Guilford is a village in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States, near the Platte River. The population was 85 at the 2010 census. History Guilford was founded about 1856. The community was named in commemoration of the Battle of Guilford Court ...

, United States. Wallace performed for the eighth

Cavalcade of Jazz The Cavalcade of Jazz was the first large outdoor jazz entertainment event of its kind produced by an African American, Leon Hefflin, Sr. The event was held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, Lane Field in San Diego and the last one at the Shrine Aud ...

concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

in Los Angeles which was produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr. Leon Norman Hefflin, Sr. (August 17, 1898 – November 20, 1975) was a pioneering African-American producer, director, business owner, furniture manufacturer, and entrepreneur. After losing his large and successful manufacturing business in the ...

on June 1, 1952. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and His Mighty Men,

Anna Mae Winburn Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...

and Her Sweethearts, Toni Harper,

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

and

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

.“Largest Jazz Cavalcade in History To Feature Nation’s Top Entertainers” article, ''

The California Eagle The ''California Eagle'' (1879–1964) was an African-American newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded as ''The Owl'' in 1879 by John J. Neimore. Charlotta Bass became owner of the paper after Neimore's death in 1912. She owned and o ...

'', May 29, 1952. His better-known songs include "How the Time Flies" (1958), "Primrose Lane" (1959, written by

Wayne Shanklin Wayne Shanklin (June 6, 1917 – June 16, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and producer. His best known compositions were "Jezebel", " Chanson D'Amour (Song of Love)", and " The Big Hurt". Personal life Shanklin was born June 6, 1916, i ...

and George Callender), "Shutters and Boards" (1963, written by American film actor

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

and Canadian song producer Scott Turner), "

In the Misty Moonlight "In the Misty Moonlight" is a song written by Cindy Walker. One of the first singers to record the song in 1964 was Jim Reeves: it is included on his posthumous album ''The Jim Reeves Way''. There also have been many other artists who have covere ...

" (1964), and (1970), his biggest selling

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

that was released in Japan only. "Primrose Lane" was his biggest hit, reaching No. 8 pop and No. 12 R&B in the US, selling over one million copies and awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. After his song " If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry" was featured in the 1972 ''

'' episode "The Tune in Dan's Cafe," the song became a No. 1 hit on 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 ...

'' magazine

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart that August, spending two weeks at the top of the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, crossing to No. 38 pop. "How The Time Flies" was Wallace's first big hit, reaching No. 11 pop and No. 11 R&B. In 1972, he gained nomination for the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

Award as Male Vocalist of the Year, and his song "To Get To You" gained nomination for Single of the Year. Wallace died on May 5, 2008 in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...

, after suffering

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. A United States Navy veteran of World War II, Wallace was buried at

Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers , making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration ...

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 ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

*^A"In the Misty Moonlight" also peaked at No. 2 on the Pop-Standard Singles chart.

References

External links

Biography at Oldies.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Jerry 1928 births 2008 deaths Apex Records artists American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Burials at Riverside National Cemetery Challenge Records artists Class Records artists People from Corona, California People from Nodaway County, Missouri 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Missouri Country musicians from California Country musicians from Missouri 20th-century American male singers