Tommie Lee Guthrie (December 27, 1937 – June 14, 2013), known professionally as Tom Tall, was an American

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 Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

singer popular in the 1950s.

Biography

He was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

and discovered at a talent show by record label owner Fabor Robison. He often sang duets with

Ginny Wright Ginny Wright was an American country music singer. She was born in Twin City, Georgia during the 1930s, first sang in glee clubs, and studied opera. She began performing country music in the early 1950s. Her first single was on the Triple A lab ...

, and later recorded for Crest and

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

where he met

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...

, a session musician for the label. In the 1960s, he was on the Chart label and had a comeback hit with Wright. While he was with Chart, Tall made a series of singles including a song called "Walk Tall" which was tailor-made because of his professional name. It was picked up in the United Kingdom by Irish singer

Val Doonican Michael Valentine Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening, and novelty songs, who was noted for his warm and relaxed style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in the ...

, who made the top five with the song. Tall retired in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he was rediscovered by the German label

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...

, which issued albums in the 1980s by Tall and Wright. A recent CD by Bear Family was shared equally between both artists. Tom Tall died on June 14, 2013, at age 75 in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Singles

References

External links

Tom Tall biography
1937 births 2013 deaths Musicians from Amarillo, Texas Abbott Records artists Crest Records artists Decca Records artists American country singer-songwriters American rockabilly musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Country musicians from Texas {{US-singer-stub