Terry Fell (May 13, 1921 – April 4, 2007) was an American

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musician.

Biography

Childhood and adolescence

Fell was born in Dora, Alabama on May 13, 1921, and got his first guitar at the age of nine. Later, he learned

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and took singing lessons. When he was 13 years old, his father died; three years later, he moved alone to California, where he spent some time in a camp of the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

. After he briefly lived in Alabama again, Fell and his mother moved to the US West Coast. There, he began playing in 1943 as bassist for

Merl Lindsay Merle Lindsay Salathiel (1916 – October 12, 1965), better known as Merl Lindsay, was one of the premier American Western swing musicians from the 1930s to the mid-1960s and founder of Merl Lindsay and His Oklahoma Night Riders. Life and care ...

Musical career

Fell started his record career in 1945 as a member of Billy Hughes' band, Pals of The Pecos. His first record was with Hughes on the Fargo label. He began his solo career with Memo, then Courtney, 4 Star, and Gilt-Edge Records, although none of his releases became hits there. During his first session for RCA in Hollywood (1954), he recorded a song that would become a hit. Although the A-side, "Don't Drop It", was underplayed, the B-side, " Truck Drivin Man", became a classic, especially in the trucker country-music scene. In 1955, he made a guest appearance on ABC-TV's ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ' ...

''. Fell remained with RCA for the following two years; however, he never produced a single with the same success. RCA extended his contract in 1956. In 1958, he recorded some sides for Lode records. One of them, released under the name "Johnny Valentine," was a song he wrote called " Sandy" which became a No. 15 pop hit for Larry Hall in 1960. In 1959, he began military service in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and was stationed in

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. Along with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, who was at the same time a G.I. stationed in West Germany, he wrote the song "Mississippi River". The single was never released, but the rights were later sold for $30,000 in 1996. Due to the lack of success and health problems, his career fell short. Later, for a short time, he managed country star

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

and wrote a song in 1961 with Bobby Edwards titled "You're The Reason". In 1962, Fell moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee, where he was a songwriter for various publishing companies until he retired. Published in 1993 with Bear Family Records, the album ''Truck Drivin Man'' was released with his collected RCA works. Terry Gordon noted that it was discontinued in 1998, but revised/reissued again. Because of his achievements in country music, he was inducted into the

Alabama Music Hall of Fame The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility ...

. Fell died on April 4, 2007, in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Tennessee.

Discography

He wrote and recorded a novelty record on the Lode label under the name Brother George Underbrush, called "Green Garden Hose". It was divided into two parts, one on each side.Terry Fell, "Green Garden Hose," parts 1 and 2, performed by "Brother George Underbrush," Lode Records LO 2002, 45 rpm 7" single, date unknown
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Retrieved September 26, 2014. He later released a cassette on Lode that contained several more of his strange musings.

Singles

All of the Memo, 4 Star, Gilt-Edge, and "X"/RCA singles were published under the name 'Terry Fell & The Fellers'.

Albums/CDs

* ''Truck Driving Man'' (Bear Family BCD 15762, 1993) all RCA material * ''Get Aboard My Wagon'' (B.A.C.M. CDD 191, 2007) Memo/Gilt-Edge/RCA material * ''Ramblin' Oakie'' (B.A.C.M. CDD 333, 2011) Fargo/Courtney/4 Star material