Werly Fairburn (November 27, 1924 – January 18, 1985) 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 ...

musician. Fairburn was born near

Folsom, Louisiana Folsom is a village in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 716 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the wife of Grover Cleveland, Frances Folsom. It is part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner Met ...

. In his youth, he listened to the ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

'' and

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...

("hillbilly music") on the radio. He learned to play guitar from an old, local blues musician. When World War II began, he took a job at a

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

shipyard before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. When he returned to New Orleans, he considered a singing career, but to make a living he learned how to cut hair. In 1948 he became known as the "Singing Barber" when he broadcast on WJBW from his barber shop. In March 1955, Werly joined the cast of the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, where he performed alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Bob Luman, David Houston and other early rockabilly stylists. Werly remained with the Hayride through the end of 1957. His first album appeared on

Trumpet Records Trumpet Records was an American record company founded by Lillian McMurry in Jackson, Mississippi in 1951. Although it existed for only four years, it was influential. History The goal of Trumpet Records was to record musicians from the Mississip ...

in the 1950s. Over the years he recorded for Columbia,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, and

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

. Fairburn also owned a label called

Milestone Records Milestone Records is an American jazz record company and label founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz in New York City. The company was bought by Fantasy Records in 1972. Since then, it has produced LP reissues (including items from Ke ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Fairburn's music blended country, blues, and New Orleans rhythm and blues ( R&B). He was popular in New Orleans and in Dallas, where he performed on the

Big D Jamboree ''Big D Jamboree'' was a radio program broadcast by KRLD-AM in Dallas, Texas. The show consisted of appearances by famous country musicians, and sketch comedy and jokes. It was also carried by KRLD-TV during the 1950s. History ''Big D Jamboree ...

. His song "I Guess I'm Crazy" was covered by

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

. His 1956 single "Everybody's Rockin'" is considered a rockabilly classic. Fairburn moved to California in the 1960s and performed until his death in 1985.

Discography

Notes

All singles before Milestone 2013 were issued as 78 rpm and 45 rpm records with the same issue numbers. Milestone 2013 and on are 45 rpm only issues. UK record collector Matthew Duncan provided information for this article, having referred to Barry John's Rockabilly Price Guide for 45 rpm records and vintage recordings from his collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairburn, Werly American rockabilly musicians American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Deaths from lung cancer People from St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Barbers 1924 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Louisiana Trumpet Records artists