Velva Darnell (October 14, 1938 – August 12, 2014) was an American country and pop singer. She began her career appearing with bands in and around the

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

area.

Career

In 1966 Darnell signed with

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

. Her first and only release on Dot (45-16906)(MB-21109) was on June 29 of that year. The release contained two songs penned by songwriter

Hank Mills Hank Mills (April 9, 1936 – November 11, 2005) was the pen name taken by country songwriter Samuel Garrett. Mills authored a number of country and western hits of the 1960s and 1970s, including 3 BMI award winners: "Girl on the Billboard" (writ ...

and received great reviews in Record World Magazine and the "A" side "Not Me" was predicted to hit the "Hot Country Singles Chart" in the July 23, 1966 issue of

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

."Record World Magazine". July 9, 1966 On June 29, 1966, in the excitement and celebration of the event of the release of her first recording, her father, age 59, had a massive heart attack and died while listening to the record. It was several years before Darnell finally reconciled with her father's untimely death and returned to performing. In 1974, Darnell, along with her husband William, co-founded the short lived recording company, Archway records. Darnell continued touring and performing regularly until 2004. In 2010, Darnell's first book of poetry was published under the pen name Velva Darnell-Waldman. The book is titled "Poems of love and life". She died at her home in

Hudson, Florida Hudson is a census-designated place (CDP) located at the westernmost end of Pasco County, Florida, United States, and is included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, Hudson's po ...

on August 12, 2014.

Discography

* "It Keeps Slipping My Mind" Dot (1966) * Lived, Loved And Lost b/w Mama No Care O, Bullet 11011 1966 * "Not Me" Dot (1966) * "Are You Gambling More" Archway (1974) * "Seven-Eleven" Archway (1974) * "Lived, Loved and Lost"

Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

(1974) * "Seven-Eleven"

(1974)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, Velva 1938 births 2014 deaths Country musicians from Kentucky American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Dot Records artists Singer-songwriters from Kentucky People from Hudson, Florida Kentucky women musicians Singers from Kentucky Country musicians from Florida 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Florida