Nathan Wright Stuckey (December 17, 1933 – August 24, 1988) was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with " Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Thang and Cisco" and "Take Time to Love Her"

Biography

Reared in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in Cass County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, Stuckey attended

Arlington State College The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

, now the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

, from which he earned a radio and television degree. Stuckey established himself as a radio announcer, first at KALT in Atlanta, Texas, and then at

KWKH KWKH (1130 AM) is a sports radio station serving Shreveport, Louisiana. The 50-kilowatt station broadcasts at 1130 kHz. Formerly owned by Clear Channel Communications and Gap Central Broadcasting, it is now owned by Townsquare Media. Its studi ...

in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he worked alongside Frank Page and Louise Alley, a pioneer woman broadcaster and owner of an advertising agency. Along with

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 ...

, Stuckey became a member of the former KWKH Country music show known as 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 ...

''. In 1965, Stuckey co-wrote

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 Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

' number-one single " Waitin' in Your Welfare Line". He then wrote and recorded " Sweet Thang" on Paula Records. Another of Stuckey's compositions, "

Pop a Top "Pop a Top" is a country song written and originally recorded by Nat Stuckey in 1966. The first hit version was released by Jim Ed Brown in May 1967 as the third and final single from his album ''Just Jim''. The song was a number 3 Billboard coun ...

", was recorded by

Jim Ed Brown James Edward Brown (April 1, 1934 – June 11, 2015) was an American country singer-songwriter who achieved fame in the 1950s with his two sisters as a member of the Browns. He later had a successful solo career from 1965 to 1974, followed by ...

on RCA Records in 1967 and by

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many ...

in 1999. A year later, Stuckey signed with RCA himself. Among his hits for RCA were "Plastic Saddle" and "Sweet Thing and Cisco". Stuckey teamed with

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

on the duet of "Young Love", followed by another single and two albums. The duo was in the final nominations for a Grammy for their version of "Whispering Hope". After seven years with RCA, Stuckey signed with MCA Records. With Conway Twitty and David Barnes producing, his single "Sun Comin' Up" made the top 20, but none of his other MCA releases did. He last charted in 1978 with the number 26 single " The Days of Sand and Shovels". Stuckey also went on to direct in producing sessions, along with announcing and singing jingles on hundreds of regional and national commercials. He wrote two jingles for

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

in the 1970s, recorded twenty-two spots of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

, and was the singing voice on the last Spuds MacKenzie commercial for

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...

. He continued recording jingles into the 1980s. Another project was the ownership of Music Row Talent, Inc., a booking agency in Nashville, Tennessee, which was in business for twelve years. Through his Texas Promise Land Development Company, Stuckey began acquiring land in both Tennessee and Texas. Shortly before Stuckey's death, Randy Travis released "

Diggin' Up Bones "Diggin' Up Bones" is a song written by Paul Overstreet, Al Gore, and Nat Stuckey, and recorded by American country music artist Randy Travis. It was released in August 1986 as the third single from his album '' Storms of Life''. It peaked at num ...

", which Stuckey co-wrote. On August 24, 1988, Stuckey died of lung cancer in a Nashville, Tennessee hospital.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Nat Stuckey Nathan Wright Stuckey (December 17, 1933 – August 24, 1988) was an American country singer. He recorded for various labels between 1966 and 1978, charting in the top 10 of Hot Country Songs with " Sweet Thang", "Plastic Saddle", "Sweet Than ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuckey, Nat American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas 1933 births 1988 deaths People from Atlanta, Texas 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Texas