Robert Glynn Luman (April 15, 1937 – December 27, 1978) 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 ...

and

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 South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

singer-songwriter.

Early life and career

Luman was born in Blackjack, Texas, United States, though was raised in

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

, Texas. His early interest in music was influenced by his father, an amateur fiddle,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and harmonica player. Bob Luman received his first guitar when he was thirteen years of age. Luman attended high school in

Kilgore Kilgore may refer to: Fictional characters * Kilgore Trout, a recurring character in the novels of Kurt Vonnegut * Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore, a character in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ''Apocalypse Now'' * Teddybear Kilgore (AKA Kilgour), a cha ...

, where the family had moved after young Bob's birth and started his first band while in high school. Luman had been a baseball star at his high school and tried out with the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Pittsburgh Pirates, but when he did not make it in professional baseball, he decided to concentrate on his music. In 1956, he won a

talent contest A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather t ...

promoted by the

Future Farmers of America National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...

, which earned him an appearance on the ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...

''. For the ''Hayride'', Luman formed a

backup band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...

called the Shadows, including

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

on guitar, James Kirkland on bass and Butch White on drums. In 1957, the band signed with

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

, where they recorded "All Night Long" (b/w "Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache") and "Amarillo Blues." That same year, the band appeared on the ''

Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' was an American country music program, firstly broadcast on radio and then television The first radio broadcast was in Autumn 1951 by stations KXLA-AM in Pasadena, California and KFI-AM in Los Angeles, California The televis ...

'' in Los Angeles, and appeared in the movie '' Carnival Rock'', where they backed up David Houston. The following year, having been dropped by Imperial Records, Luman signed with Capitol Records, where he released "Try Me" and "I Know My Baby Cares." Capitol Records wanted Luman to change his name, which he refused to do, so he left the record label and signed with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, recording "Class of '59" and "Loretta." In 1960, Luman was inducted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. It was while still serving in the Army Warner Bros. Records released Luman's best-known crossover

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, "Let's Think About Living," a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

that hit No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 9 on the '' Billboard''

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

chart. It also reached the Top 10 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. After leaving the Army in 1962, Luman moved to Nashville. On August 12, 1964, he married Barbara in Yuma, Colorado. In 1965, he joined the Grand Ole Opry.

Later career

Luman toured frequently in the 1960s and 1970s, and became popular in

Las Vegas 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 ...

, with an act which combined country and rockabilly. He signed with Epic Records in 1968, and had several hits with them, including "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" and "Still Loving You." "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" became his biggest country hit, hitting No. 4 on the country chart. (

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late ...

, who had earlier been a member of Luman's band, later covered the song in 1984, and he, too, took it to No. 4 on the country charts.) Luman's other country hits included "Ain't Got Time To Be Unhappy" (1968), "Ballad of Two Brothers" (with

Autry Inman Robert Autry Inman (January 6, 1929 – September 6, 1988) was an American country and rockabilly musician. Biography Inman was born in Florence, Alabama, and was performing on local radio station WLAY by age 14. He used his middle name "Autr ...

, 1968), "When You Say Love" (1972), "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)" (1973), "Proud Of You Baby" (1975), and "The Pay Phone" (1977). Perhaps his most unusual song was a slow, soulful recitation of Johnny Cash's "

I Still Miss Someone "I Still Miss Someone" is a song co-written by Johnny Cash and his nephew Roy Cash, Jr. and originally recorded by American country music singer Johnny Cash. He first recorded it in 1958 as the B-side to " Don't Take Your Guns to Town". Histor ...

." Luman died of pneumonia in Nashville in late December 1978. He was 41 years old. After his death,

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 ...

released several compilations of his songs, including ''More of the Rocker'', ''Still Rockin and ''Carnival Rock''.

Legacy

Luman is a member of both the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

and the

Texas Country Music Hall of Fame The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, located in Carthage in Panola County in East Texas, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to country music and were born in the state of Texas. This includes singers, songwriters, disc jocke ...

. His song “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers” was featured in the 1988 drama film ''

Rain Man ''Rain Man'' is a 1988 American road drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass. It tells the story of abrasive, selfish young wheeler-dealer Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged ...

''.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Bob Luman's page at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luman, Bob 1937 births 1978 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Tennessee People from Tyler, Texas People from Kilgore, Texas American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Grand Ole Opry members Epic Records artists Hickory Records artists Imperial Records artists Polydor Records artists Sony Music Publishing artists Warner Records artists 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers