Johnny Rodriguez

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Johnny Rodriguez

Johnny Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951 in Sabinal, Texas

Sabinal, Texas

Sabinal is a city in Uvalde County, Texas, Texas, United States. The population was 1,586 at the 2000 United States Census....
) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
country music

Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
singer. He was the first famous Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of country music's most successful male artists, recording a string of hit songs, such as "You Always Come Back (To Hurtin' Me)," "Desperado

Desperado (song)

"Desperado" is a song by the rock band Eagles, written by Glenn Frey and Don Henley. It first appeared on the 1973 album Desperado , and has later appeared on numerous compilation albums....
," "Down on the Rio Grande," and "Foolin'." He has recorded six No.

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Encyclopedia

Johnny Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951 in Sabinal, Texas

Sabinal, Texas

Sabinal is a city in Uvalde County, Texas, Texas, United States. The population was 1,586 at the 2000 United States Census....
) is an American

United States

Country music

Spanish language

Desperado (song)

Early life & rise to fame

He was born Juan Raoul Davis Rodriguez in Sabinal, Texas, the second youngest in a family of ten children living in a four-room house in this small town situated ninety miles from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
.

Growing up in Sabinal, Rodriguez was a good student in school and an altar boy for his church. He was also the captain of his junior high school football

American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
team. When Rodriguez was sixteen, his father died of cancer and his older brother Andres died in an automobile accident the following year. The two incidents soon had an effect on Rodriguez and he became a troubled teen. In 1969, he and some friends were caught by law enforcement officers after stealing and barbecuing a goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep: both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae....
. This unfortunate incident and subsequent jail sentence led to his ultimate break in the music business. He often would sing in his cell and was overheard by Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson

Joaquin Jackson

H. Joaquin Jackson is a retired Texas Ranger Division most notable for his appearance on the February 1994 cover of Texas Monthly magazine, after which he became the icon of the modern Texas Rangers....
, who was very impressed and told promoter "Happy" Shahan about him.

Shahan then hired Johnny to perform at his local tourist attraction called the Alamo Village
Alamo Village

Alamo Village is an active Film set and tourist attraction north of Brackettville, Texas, United States. Alamo Village, the first movie location built in Texas, was constructed as the setting for The Alamo , directed by John Wayne and starring Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey and Frankie Avalon....
. While singing at this venue

Music venue

A music venue is any location regularly used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand to an indoor sports stadium....
, he came to the attention of country singers Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall is an United States country music, songwriter, and country singer. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100....
and Bobby Bare

Bobby Bare

Bobby Bare is an United States country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician....
, who encouraged the young singer to fly up to the country music

Country music

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
in 1971.

The 21-year old singer arrived in Nashville with nothing more than a guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
in his hand and $14 in his pocket. Fortunately, Hall soon found work for Rodriguez fronting his band, as well as writing songs.

Less then one year later, Hall personally took Rodriguez to the heads of Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group....
' Nashville division to land him an audition with the record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
. After performing the songs "I Can't Stop Loving You

I Can't Stop Loving You

"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records....
" and "If I Left It Up to You," he was then offered a contract with Mercury. Upon signing as a Mercury artist, Rodriguez then recorded in their Nashville studio.

The height of his career in the 1970s

After signing with Mercury, Rodriguez was soon on the way to becoming famous. His first single to be released for Mercury was 1972s "Pass Me By." This recording was a big success, going to #9 on the Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales....
list that year, and making him a country star overnight. Rodriguez officially became the first Latin American country singer (Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas, Texas, USA, was an United States, Tejano, country music, and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados....
came a couple years later).

That year, Rodriguez was voted the Most Promising Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music

Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association founded in 1958 was based in Nashville, Tennessee, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states....
. The next year, he achieved his first No. 1 hit song, "You Always Come Back (To Hurtin' Me)." Another song that year, "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico," was also a No. 1 hit. Both his #1 hits charted on the Pop charts, but only moderately. Rodriguez wrote some of his own material such as the song "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico." In 1973, his debut album was released, which rose to #1 on the "Top Country Albums" chart. He was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year by the CMA Awards. In addition to his success in Country music, he also had a role on the television show Adam-12
Adam-12

Adam-12 is an United States television drama which originally aired from September 21, 1968 to August 30, 1975 on NBC for 175 episodes. The show was produced by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited, which also produced Dragnet and Emergency!....
and also made a guest appearance on The Dating Game
The Dating Game

The Dating Game is an American Broadcasting Company television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s in television through the 1980s in television....
in 1974. Since then, he has often appeared on talk shows and other television shows.

The year 1975 was probably his biggest year, in terms of chart success. That year all the singles he released (3 in all) soared to No. 1 on the country charts. These songs were, "I Just Can't Get Her Out of My Mind" "Just Get Up and Close the Door," and "Love Put a Song In My Heart."

Success on the country charts continued throughout much of the '70s. He recorded songs not only written by himself around this time, but also covers of others' songs such as Linda Hargrove's "Just Get Up and Close the Door," Mickey Newbury

Mickey Newbury

Mickey Newbury was an United States songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, a critically acclaimed recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame....
's "Poison Red Berries," and Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe Shaver is an United States of America country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre....
's "Texas Up Here Tennessee." These songwriters were also country music singers themselves. By 1975, Rodriguez was considered an "outlaw," representing the Outlaw Country

Outlaw country

Outlaw country was a significant trend in country music during the late 1960s and the 1970s , commonly referred to as The Outlaw Movement or simply Outlaw music....
market in country music, like fellow musicians, Bobby Bare

Bobby Bare

Bobby Bare is an United States country music singer and songwriter. He is the father of Bobby Bare, Jr., also a musician....
and Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall

Decline in the 1980s & into the 1990s

Despite the outlaw movement fading from view in the late 1970s, Rodriguez was determined to stay on top of his game. In 1979, he switched to Epic Records

Epic Records

Epic Records is an United States record label. It is owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment. The label was founded in 1953 as a jazz label, and was eventually expanded to several genres of music....
. Under Epic, he worked with the legendary producer Billy Sherrill

Billy Sherrill

Billy Sherrill was a record producer and arranger who is most famous for his association with a number of country artists, most notably Tammy Wynette....
, who produced some of the biggest names in the business at the time. His first hit from Epic came that year with the #6 country hit, "Down on the Rio Grande." His debut album from the record company was entitled Rodriguez. All the songs from the album were cover versions.

Although Rodriguez did not make the Top 10 continuously as in the past, he managed to stay in the Top 20, with hits like "Fools For Each Other" and "What'll I Tell Virginia." At the same time, Rodriguez continued to be a popular concert attraction wherever he went. However, Rodriguez was also having personal problems. In 1983, he went into the Top 5 with the hit song "Foolin'," followed by the Top 10 hit "How Could I Love Her So Much." However, by the mid-80s, he was becoming less successful. In 1982, he did a duet with Zella Lehr

Zella Lehr

Zella Lehr is an United States singer and entertainer. She had hit records on RCA Records and Columbia Records, most notably Two Doors Down, a song written by Dolly Parton....
on the song "Most Beautiful Girl (La Chica Mas Linda)." The single was released by Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders....
. In 1986, he left Epic Records

Epic Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood, California and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group....
for a brief period of time. He had his last major hit in 1988 with "I Didn't (Every Chance I Had)," which reached #12 on the country charts. By 1989, he left Capitol Records.

Overall in the course of his career, Rodriguez released 26 albums and 45 charted singles. He has also had six No. 1 hits on the country charts. In 1993, he recorded an album for Intersound Records called Run For the Border. In the mid-1990s, the Indie label "High-Tone" released an album called You Can Say That Again. He also continued to tour around the country during this time. In 1996, he turned to another label, Paula Records, which issued a single called "One Bar At at a Time", but it was unsuccessful. By this time his musical presence was fading from the public view, as more neo-traditional country singers were making hits on the country charts, like Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989; it peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart....
, Randy Travis

Randy Travis

Randy Travis is a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance- and Dove Award-winning United States country music singer. Active since 1985, he has recorded more than a dozen studio albums to date, in addition to charting more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which sixteen have reached Number On...
, and Dwight Yoakam

Dwight Yoakam

Dwight David Yoakam is an United States singer-songwriter and actor, most famous for his country music. Active since the early 1980s, he has recorded more than twenty albums and compilations, and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts....
.

In 1998, Rodriguez was arrested at his home after accidentally shooting and killing a man named Israel "Bosco" Borrego, whom he mistook for a burglar. He was charged with murder but was acquitted by a jury a year later on grounds of self-defense, under Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
law.

Life after 1998 to present

Since 1998, Rodriguez has toured the United States

United States

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
, England

England

South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
, Canada

Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. He has performed concerts at the famed Ryman Auditorium

Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue located at 116 Fifth Avenue North in Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, and is best-known as the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry....
and Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue , occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street , two blocks south of Central Park....
. He has been honored by two U.S. presidents: Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize....
, and George Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1989 to 1993. Bush held a variety of political positions prior to his presidency, including Vice President of the United States in the administration of Ronald Reagan and Director of Central Intelligence under Gerald R....
. He played at the latter's inaugural ball.

On June 20, 2007, Rodriguez was stopped for speeding in McClain County, Oklahoma

McClain County, Oklahoma

McClain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 27,740 at the United States Census, 2000.. Its county seat, business and employment center is Purcell, Oklahoma....
. He was arrested and charged with felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the United States and previously other common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors....
counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine

Methamphetamine

is a stimulant and sympathomimetics psychoactive drug. It is a member of the family of phenylethylamines. The levorotary levomethamphetamine is an over-the-counter drug and used in Vicks Inhalers for nasal decongestion and does not possess the Central nervous system activity of dextro or racemic methamphetamine....
), possession of marijuana and driving under the influence of drugs. He was also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems, is a "lesser" crime act. Misdemeanors are generally punishment much less severely than felony, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions ....
.

He is now living in Texas. Johnny has achieved a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

On August 18, 2007, Rodriguez was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame

Texas Country Music Hall of Fame

The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame/Tex Ritter Museum, located in Carthage, Texas in Panola County, Texas, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to country music and were born in the state of Texas....
, located in Carthage, Texas

Carthage, Texas

Carthage is a city in Panola County, Texas, Texas, United States. The population was 6,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Panola County, Texas, and is situated in East Texas near the Louisiana state line....
.

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions		Label
Year	Album	US Country	US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....	Label
1973	Introducing	1	156	Mercury
1973	All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing	2	174
1974	My Third Album	5
1974	Songs About Ladies and Love	7
1975	Just Get up and Close the Door	5
1976	Love Put a Song in My Heart	3
	Greatest Hits	2
	Reflecting	11
1977	Practice Makes Perfect	18
1977	Just for You	35
1978	Love Me with All Your Heart	19
1978	Rodriguez Was Here
1979	Sketches
1979	Rodriguez	45		Epic
1980	Through My Eyes
1980	Gypsy
1981	After the Rain
1982	Biggest Hits
1983	For Every Rose	30
1984	Foolin' with Fire	35
1986	Full Circle
1988	Gracias			Capitol
1993	Run for the Border			Intersound
1995	Super Hits			Epic
1996	You Can Say That Again			Hightone
1996	Funny Things Happen to Fun Lovin' People			Paula
1997	Hits			Mercury
1998	Johnny Rodriguez			K-Tel
2001	Back to Back			Intercontinental
2002	Desperado: His First Twenty Hits			Mercury
2004	Desperado: A Decade of Hits			Compendia
2004	Greatest Hits			K-Tel
2005	Greatest Hits			Intersound
2006	Country Chart-Toppers: Johnny Rodriguez			Sterling
	20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Johnny Rodriguez			Mercury
	Lone Star Desperado			American Legends
2007	Desperado			KRB
2008	20 Greatest Hits			TeeVee

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions		Album
Year	Single	US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales....	US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....	Album
1973	"Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)"	9		Introducing Johnny Rodriguez
	"You Always Come Back (To Hurtin' Me)"	1	86	Introducing Johnny Rodriguez
	"Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico"	1	70	All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing
1974	"That's the Way Love Goes"	1		All I Ever Meant to Do Was Sing
	"Something"	6	85	My Third Album
	"Dance With Me (Just One More Time)"	2		My Third Album
	"We're Over"	3		Songs About Ladies and Love
1975	"I Just Can't Get Her Out of My Mind"	1		Songs About Ladies and Love
	"Just Get Up and Close the Door"	1		Just Get Up and Close the Door
	"Love Put a Song In My Heart"	1		Love Put a Song In My Heart
1976	"I Couldn't Be Me Without You"	3		Love Put a Song In My Heart
	"I Wonder If I Ever Said Goodbye"	2		Reflecting
	"Hillbilly Heart"	5
1977	"Desperado"	5
	"If Practice Makes Perfect"	5		If Practice Makes Perfect
	"Eres Tu"	25		If Practice Makes Perfect
	"Savin' This Love Song for You"	14		Just for You
1978	"We Believe in Happy Endings"	7		Just for You
1978	"Cuando Caliente El Sol (Love Me with All Your Heart)"	7		Love Me with All Your Heart
1979	"Alibis"	16		Rodriguez Was Here
	"Down on the Rio Grande"	6		Rodriguez
	"Fools for Each Other"	17		Rodriguez
1980	"What'll I Tell Virginia"	19		Through My Eyes
	"Love Look at Us Now"	29		Through My Eyes
	"North of the Border"	17		Gypsy
1981	"Trying Not to Love You"	30		After the Rain
1983	"Foolin'"	4		For Every Rose
1983	"How Could I Love Her So Much"	6
1984	"Back on Her Mind Again"	35
	"Let's Leave the Lights on Tonight"	30		Foolin' with Fire
	"Too Late to Go Home"	15		Foolin' with Fire
1987	"Our Last Night" (with Donna Fargo Donna Fargo Donna Fargo is an United States, who is best-known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970s. This includes "The Happiest Girl In the Whole USA" and "Funny Face," which both became major crossover Pop music hits in 1972 in country music.... )			single only
1988	"I Didn't (Every Chance I Had)"	12		Gracias

Guest singles

Year	Single	Artist	US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales....	Album
1979	"I Hate the Way I Love It"	Charly McClain Charly McClain Charly McClain is an United States, best-known for series of Country hits during the 1980s.McClain's biggest hits include "Who's Cheatin' Who," "Sleeping With the Radio On," and "Radio Heart."...	16	Women Get Lonely
1990	"Tomorrow's World"	Various artists	74	single only

External links

at Allmusic
at CMT
Country Music Television

Country Music Television, or CMT as it is usually called, is an United States country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, Films, biography of country music stars, and reality television....
at AOL
AOL

AOL LLC is an United States global Internet services and media company operated by Time Warner and was headquartered in Loudoun County, Virginia until late April 2008 when it was moved to new offices at 770 Broadway in New York City....