Malcolm Leon Rusk (August 14, 1921 – May 14, 1950) 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 ...

singer and songwriter. He was born in

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in, and the county seat of, Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of West Texas A&M University and ...

, United States, and died, aged 28, in a traffic accident near Tulia, Texas. He had been badly injured during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and began a musical career after the war recording for King Records. His recording, "Air Mail Special On The Fly", has been covered by

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

and Jim & Jesse. He wrote several songs with

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

including "Petal From A Faded Rose", which was variously recorded by Hank Snow,

Wilma Burgess Wilma Burgess (born Wilma Charlene Burgess; June 11, 1939 – August 26, 2003) was an American country music singer. She rose to fame in the mid-1960s and charted fifteen singles on the ''Billboard'' C&W charts between 1965 and 1975. Backgroun ...

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 ...

and George Morgan. Another collaboration, "Devil to Pay" was recorded by both

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

on his 1970 album ''

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash ''Hello, I'm Johnny Cash'' is the 33rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1970 (see 1970 in music). " If I Were a Carpenter", a famous duet with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, earned the couple a Grammy ...

'' and by Kris Kristofferson on the 1981 album '' To the Bone''. Rusk himself recorded the joint effort "Until Dawn" ( 78 rpm; b-side: "Dream Train Engineer"; King 546). In 1947, he was working at the Silver Spur in Los Angeles with Jack Rogers. They collaborated on a few tunes which Rusk intended to record on the King label

References

1921 births 1950 deaths American country singer-songwriters People from Canyon, Texas King Records artists 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Texas Road incident deaths in Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas {{US-singer-songwriter-stub