Woodrow Wilson Sovine (July 17, 1918 – April 4, 1980), better known as
Red Sovine, was an American
country musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. The most famous example was his 1976 number one
hitA hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined by sales and/or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936...
"
Teddy Bear"Teddy Bear" is a song made famous by country music singer Red Sovine. Released in 1976, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.-Story of Red Sovine's song Teddy Bear:...
".
Early years
Born in 1918 in
Charleston, West VirginiaCharleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, Sovine (whose last name was pronounced So VINE) was taught to play guitar by his mother. His first venture into music was with his childhood friend Johnnie Bailes, with whom he performed as "Smiley and Red, the Singing Sailors" in the country music revue Jim Pike's Carolina Tar Heels on
WWVA-AMWWVA is an AM radio station that broadcasts on a frequency of 1170 kHz with studios in Wheeling, West Virginia, USA, and towers formerly located in St. Clairsville, Ohio, before they were destroyed in an August 2010 storm...
in
Wheeling, West VirginiaWheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Faced with limited success, Bailes left to perform as part of The Bailes Brothers. Sovine got married, and continued to sing on Charleston radio, while holding down a job as a supervisor of a hosiery factory. With the encouragement of Bailes, Sovine formed The Echo Valley Boys.
After a year of performing in
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Sovine moved to
Shreveport, LouisianaShreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, where the Bailes Brothers were performing on
KWKH-AMKWKH is a classic country music 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....
. Sovine's own early morning show wasn't very popular, but he gained greater exposure performing on the famed KWKH radio program,
Louisiana HayrideLouisiana 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 greatest names in American music...
. One of his co-stars was Hank Williams, who steered Sovine toward a better time slot at
WSFAWSFA is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Alabama's Black Belt region licensed to Montgomery. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Grady along the Montgomery and Pike County line. The station can also be seen on Knology and Charter...
in
Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, and toward a
contractA recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with
MGM RecordsMGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
in 1949. That same year, Sovine replaced Williams on
Louisiana Hayride when Williams jumped to the
Grand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. Over the next four years he recorded 28 singles, mostly following in Williams' honky tonk footsteps, that didn't make much of a dent on the charts but did establish him as a solid performer.
Fame
Another
Louisiana Hayride co-star who helped Sovine was country music legend
Webb PierceWebb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
. Pierce convinced Sovine to lead his Wondering Boys band and helped him toward a contract with
DeccaDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in 1954. The following year Sovine cut a duet with
Goldie HillGoldie Hill , born Argolda Voncile Hill, was an American country music singer. She was one of the first women in country music, and became one of the first women to reach the top of the country music charts with her No. 1 1953 hit, "I Let the Stars Get In My Eyes"...
, "Are You Mine?" which peaked in the Top 15, and in 1956 he had his first number one hit when he duetted with Pierce on a cover of
George JonesGeorge Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
' "
Why Baby Why"Why Baby Why" is the title of a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records, and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at #4 on the Billboard country charts that year...
". Sovine had two other Top Five singles that year and joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry. After recording close to 50 sides with Decca by 1959, Sovine signed to Starday Records and began touring the club circuit as a solo act.
1960s
In 1963, Sovine passed on the helping hand given him by older performers when he heard the singing of
minor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
player
Charley PrideCharley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
and suggested that he move to
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. Sovine opened doors for Pride at Pierce's Cedarwood Publishing, but his own career had stalled: "Dream House For Sale", which reached number 22 in 1964, came nearly eight years after his last hit.
Trucker songs and sentimental tunes
In 1965 Sovine found his niche when he recorded "
Giddyup Go"Giddyup Go" is a country music song made famous by Red Sovine. Released in 1965, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.A recitation paying homage to the American truck driver, "Giddyup Go" became Sovine's second No...
", which, like most of his other trucker hits, he co-wrote with Tommy Hill. It is spoken, rather than sung, as the words of an older long-distance truck driver who rediscovers his long-lost son driving another truck on the same highway.
Minnie PearlSarah Ophelia Colley Cannon , known professionally as Minnie Pearl, was an American country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.-Early life:Sarah Colley was born in Centerville, in Hickman County, Tennessee,...
released an answer song titled "Giddy-Up Go Answer". Sovine's version of the song spent six weeks atop the country charts and crossed over to the pop charts. Other truck-driving hits followed, including:
- "Phantom 309
Phantom 309 is a song written by Tommy Faile and released as a single by Red Sovine in 1967.The song tells of a hitchhiker trying to return home from the West Coast after being unable to make a living there...
", a tale of a hitchhiker who hops a ride from a trucker who turns out to be the ghost of a man who died years ago giving his life to save a school bus full of children from a horrible collision with his rig. This story was later adapted by singer-songwriter Tom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, who performed "Big Joe And Phantom 309" during his Nighthawks At The Diner recordings. Waits' version of this song was covered by Archers of LoafArchers of Loaf is an American indie-rock band originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formed in 1990. The group toured extensively and released a total of four studio albums, a collection album, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was released after the band broke up in...
on the 1995 tribute album, Step Right Up: The Songs of Tom WaitsStep Right Up: The Songs of Tom Waits is the title of a tribute album to Tom Waits, released in 1995 by Manifesto Records. The songs are performed by various artists.-Track listing:All songs written by Tom Waits.#"Old Shoes" – [06:29] Drugstore...
. Musician Steve FlettSteve Flett is a singer, songwriter and musician best known for his work with the band Ooberman. He is also a member of Ooberon, and has released solo material under the name Phantom 309. He is Ooberman guitarist Andy Flett's brother.-Ooberman:...
named a recording project after the song. The song was originally written and recorded by Tommy FaileTommy Faile was an American songwriter and singer best known for composing "Phantom 309" and singing "The Legend of the Brown Mountain Lights"...
.
- "Teddy Bear
"Teddy Bear" is a song made famous by country music singer Red Sovine. Released in 1976, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.-Story of Red Sovine's song Teddy Bear:...
", the tale of a disabled boy who lost his truck driver father in a highway accident and keeps his CB radio base as his only companion.
- "Little Joe", a tale of a trucker and his devoted canine friend which became his last big hit.
Sovine was also remembered for his Christmas tear-jerkers, which included "Here It Is Christmas" (a divorcee's holiday lament), "Faith In Santa" (a dialog between a poor, runaway boy and a sidewalk Santa), and "What Does Christmas Look Like?" (a little blind girl asks her father to describe the Christmas she cannot see). He scored another sentimental hit with "Little Rosa" in which an Italian-American railroad employee tells a stranger, in broken English, about getting a bouquet to place on the grave of his small daughter who was killed by a train while he was away.
Death
On April 4, 1980, Sovine suffered a
heart attackMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while driving his Ford van in Nashville, which caused him to crash. The injuries and his heart attack were fatal. He was buried next to his wife Norma, who died in 1976.
For many years after his death, his greatest hits collection (
The Best Of Red Sovine) was advertised on television, exposing his music to a new generation of fans.
Covers
Sovine performed covers of many truck driving songs made popular by fellow country stars, such as
Del ReevesFranklin Delano Reeves , better known as Del Reeves, was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell"...
and
Dave DudleyDave Dudley , born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best-known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin'...
, as well as "Why Baby Why", a duet with Webb Pierce originally recorded by George Jones. Other covers include "
A Dear John Letter"A Dear John Letter", or "Dear John" is the name of a popular country music song. It was popularized by Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard, and was a crossover country-pop hit in 1953....
" (
Jean ShepardOllie Imogene Shepard , better known as Jean Shepard, is an American honky tonk singer-songwriter who was a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the #1 spot...
and
Ferlin HuskyFerlin Eugene Husky was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes...
), "
Old RiversOld Rivers is a country music song written by Cliff Crofford which tells the story of a man recalling a childhood friendship with an elderly farmer...
" (
Walter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
), "Bringing Mary Home" (
The Country GentlemenThe Country Gentlemen were a bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, DC, United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller, one of the group's founders who in its later years served as the group's "focal point...
), and "
Roses for Mama"Roses for Mama" is a song recorded and by both country music artists Red Sovine and C.W. McCall, and was a top 5 hit for McCall in 1977. The song was also covered in German language by Austrian singer Johnny Hill....
" (C.W. McCall), among many more.
Many of Sovine's biggest truck driving hits were
coveredCovered is a term used in popular music in general to refer to a song recorded by different performer from its original or most popular recorded version, and by some disc jockeys in particular to describe a musical recording presented under the guise of a false title and artist name...
by artists such as,
Del ReevesFranklin Delano Reeves , better known as Del Reeves, was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell"...
,
Dave DudleyDave Dudley , born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best-known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin'...
, Ferlin
Husky,
Boxcar WillieBoxcar Willie, born as Lecil Travis Martin was an American country music singer, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat...
,
Tex WilliamsSollie Paul Williams , known professionally as Tex Williams, was an American Western swing musician from Ramsey, Illinois....
and Australian country singer Nev Nicholls.
Mike JudgeMichael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
covered "Teddy Bear" as
Hank HillHenry Rutherford "Hank" Hill Age 50 animated series King of the Hill. Hank lives in Arlen, Texas and works at the fictional Strickland Propane selling propane and propane accessories. Hank's voice is provided by series creator Mike Judge. The Economist named Hank Hill as one of the wisest people...
for the
King of the HillKing of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
soundtrack.
Some of Sovine's songs were covered by Dutch artists and became big hits in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(Teddy Bear, Giddy Up Go and Deck of Cards by Gerard de Vries, Phantom 309 (Stille Willie) by the B B Band, Little Joe (Kleine Waker) by
Henk WijngaardHenk Wijngaard is a Dutch country singer.Wijngaard's mother was a refugee from France and his father a Canadian allied soldier. He was initially employed as a truck driver. In 1978 he had his breakthrough hit with the self-penned song, "Met de vlam in de pijp"...
). Tom Waits released Big Joe and Phantom 309 on his 1975 "Nighthawks at the Diner".
Studio albums
| Year |
Album |
Chart Positions |
Label |
| US Country |
CAN |
| 1956 |
Red Sovine |
— |
— |
MGM |
| 1961 |
The One and Only |
— |
— |
Starday |
| 1962 |
The Golden Country Ballads of the '60s |
— |
— |
| 1963 |
Red Sovine |
— |
— |
Decca |
| 1965 |
The Heart Rending Little Rosa |
— |
— |
Starday |
| 1966 |
Country Music Time |
— |
— |
Decca |
| Giddy Up Go |
4 |
— |
Starday |
| The Sensational Red |
— |
— |
| The Nashville Sound |
— |
— |
| 1967 |
I Didn't Jump the Fence |
— |
— |
| Dear John Letter |
— |
— |
| 1968 |
The Country Way |
— |
— |
Vocalion |
| Phantom 309 |
18 |
— |
Starday |
| Tell Maude I Slipped |
— |
— |
| Sunday with Sovine |
— |
— |
| Anytime |
— |
— |
| 1969 |
Classic Narrations |
— |
— |
| Closing Time Till Dawn |
— |
— |
| Who Am I |
— |
— |
| Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town |
— |
— |
| 1970 |
I Know You're Married |
— |
— |
| 1973 |
Greatest Grand Ole Opry |
— |
— |
Chart |
| 1974 |
It'll Come Back |
48 |
— |
| 1976 |
Teddy Bear |
1 |
67 |
Starday |
| 1977 |
Woodrow Wilson Sovine |
50 |
— |
| 1978 |
Christmas with Red Sovine |
— |
— |
| 16 New Gospel Songs |
— |
— |
Gusto |
Compilation albums
| Year |
Album |
US Country |
Label |
| 1975 |
The Best |
— |
Starday |
| Little Rosa |
— |
Hit |
| 1977 |
16 All-Time Favorites |
— |
Starday |
| 16 Greatest Hits |
47 |
| 1980 |
Teddy Bear |
— |
Gusto |
| Phantom 309 |
— |
| Giddy Up Go |
— |
| Gone But Not Forgotten |
— |
Castle |
| 1986 |
Sings Hank Williams |
— |
Deluxe |
| 1989 |
Crying in the Chapel |
— |
Hollywood |
| Famous Duets |
— |
| 1991 |
Best of the Best |
— |
Federal |
| 2001 |
Phantom 309 |
— |
Prism Leisure |
| 2002 |
Pledge of Allegiance |
— |
King |
| 20 All-Time Greatest Hits |
— |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart Positions |
Label |
| US Country 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 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
| 1955 |
"Why Baby Why "Why Baby Why" is the title of a country music song co-written and originally recorded by George Jones. Released in late 1955 on Starday Records, and produced by Starday co-founder and Jones manager Pappy Daily, it peaked at #4 on the Billboard country charts that year...
" (w/ Webb PierceWebb Michael Pierce was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was "In The Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one...
) |
1 |
— |
Decca |
| 1956 |
"If Jesus Come to Your House" |
15 |
— |
| "Hold Everything (Till I Get Home)" |
5 |
— |
| 1965 |
"Giddyup Go "Giddyup Go" is a country music song made famous by Red Sovine. Released in 1965, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.A recitation paying homage to the American truck driver, "Giddyup Go" became Sovine's second No...
" |
1 |
82 |
Starday |
| 1966 |
"Long Night" |
47 |
— |
| 1967 |
"I Didn't Jump the Fence" |
17 |
— |
| "Phantom 309" |
9 |
— |
| 1974 |
"It'll Come Back" |
16 |
— |
Chart |
| 1975 |
"Daddy's Girl" |
91 |
— |
| "Phantom 309" |
47 |
— |
Starday |
| 1976 |
"Teddy Bear "Teddy Bear" is a song made famous by country music singer Red Sovine. Released in 1976, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.-Story of Red Sovine's song Teddy Bear:...
"A |
1 |
40 |
| "Little Joe" |
45 |
102 |
| "Last Goodbye" |
96 |
— |
| 1977 |
"Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel" |
92 |
— |
| 1978 |
"Lay Down Sally" |
70 |
— |
| 1980 |
"It'll Come Back" |
89 |
— |
- A"Teddy Bear" also peaked at #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart and #49 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada. His song "Teddy Bear" was also made slightly famous by Mike Judge, better known by the alias Hank Hill, as "Hank" released a CD of covers with himself singing other songs. One of the songs on this CD was "Teddy Bear."