Rockabilly
Birth name, Thomas M. Spurlin
always klick on pic’s.
Elba, Alabama, USA
Born Jan. 12, 1928, Died July 27, 2005 (aged 77), Gulfport, Mississippi
Discography & Info
TOMMY SPURLIN
Born Thomas M. Spurlin, 12 January 1928, Elba, Alabama
Died 27 July 2005, Gulfport, Mississippi
Tommy Spurlin's "Hang Loose" (1956) became hugely popular during the British rockabilly revival of the late 1970s, when it was reissued in the UK on the specialist RM label. Spurlin had a half-brother called George 'Benny' Dumas, who was born to a different father in Allan, Alabama in 1931. They spent their early childhood in Jackson, Alabama before moving to Glenmora, Louisiana in their early teens. Spurlin's grandfather retired to Miami in 1948 and the remainig members of the family followed suit a year later. By this time Dumas and Spurlin had started making music together. In 1952 they formed a semi-pro hillbilly band, Tommy Spurlin & the Southern Boys, comprising Spurlin on vocals and rhythm guitar, Dumas on bass, Virgil Powell on violin, Jimmy Slade on lead guitar and Bill Johnson on steel. In 1954 they made their first record, "Been Livin' Wrong"/"My Address Is the Same", released on Jiffy 205. Jiffy Records was a tiny label based in West Monroe, Louisiana, near Shreveport, where the band had picked up some work.
first release PERFECT 45-109 (US) 08/1956
Original release, (No drums version) ART 45-C-109 (US) 09/1956 ; This release, re-issue on RM RMA 1007 [1975]
Hang loose (I’ve got to rock) b/w One-eyed Sam
Hang Loose - 1956
Tommy Spurlin (born January 12, 1928 in Elba, Alabama as Thomas M. Spurlin, † July 27, 2005 in Gulfport, Mississippi) was an American country and rockabilly musician, who is best known for his title Hang Loose ,
Life Childhood and youth
Tommy Spurlin grew up in Jackson, Alabama along with his half-brother George "Benny" Dumas before moving to Glenmore, Louisiana in the 1940s. Shortly after the Second World War, Spurlin was drafted into the Air Force, where he worked with Charlie Louvin, a later member of the Louvin Brothers. In 1948 his family moved to Miami, where Spurlin's grandfather had settled.
Career
There he founded with George (double bass) 1952 the band Tommy Spurlin and his Southern Boys, which continued to consist of Virgil Powell (Fiddle), Jimmy Slade (guitar) and Bill Johnson (Steel Guitar). At first they played country music, in 1954 they even made their first recordings for Jiffy Records. In 1955 they were signed by Harold Doane for his newly founded label Perfect Records and released in late 1955 her second country single Danger! / Is not Had No Lovin '. In 1956, Spurlin and the Southern Boys dropped Fiddle and Steel Guitar and also incorporated rockabilly songs into their repertoire. The band now consisted of Spurlin (guitar / vocals), Jimmy Slade (electric guitar) and George Dumas (bass). After a Another country single in the spring of 1956, Spurlin and the group were members of the Gold Coast Jamborees, a new live show from Miami. In August, the first rockabilly single released Hang Loose / One Eyed Sam, which was released shortly afterwards with mixed drums again on Art Records, another Doane label. This version was released in the 1970s at RM Records in the United Kingdom. The original version can be heard on the compilation CD Miami Rockabilly. Billboard wrote about Spurlin's Hang Loose in August 1956: "Spurlin essays a semi-Presley style here (with echo chamber, however), and brings this rhythmic material very well. One Eyed Sam also received a good rating: "This is country blues, too, but it does not quite match that of the flip , Another good job by Spurlin. "At that time, however, the single did not reach beyond regional success. At the same time, the Southern Boys also accompanied another Perfect artist named Wesley Hardin on his session. After another single at Art Spurlin moved back in 1957 from the music business and went to a regulated work. His piece Heart Throb was passed on by Bill Lowery to Jerry Reed, who slightly changed the text. This edition was used in the movie Porky's. Meanwhile, his friend George Dumas was until 1963 continue under the band name on the stage. He then became head of a paper mill in Jackson, Alabama. Spurlin died completely unnoticed in 2005 in Mississippi.