Search - Dick Curless :: A Tombstone Every Mile

Wonderful Memories

docs409@hotmail.com | A Misplaced MAINIAC | 04/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first met Dick while he was a reuglar entertainer at the Thorndike Hotel, in Rockland, ME in 1963. I had been a fan ever since I first saw him on WMTV in the late 50's, before the Godfrey Show. I own eight of his LP's and was disappointed with the quality when I tried to tape them. I couldn't resist the box set, and I'm happy I didn't!!! I listened to the full set the night I got them; I laughed and I got misty. His covers of Tex Ritter's songs are great. "Coast of Maine" and "You Never Miss The Water" were the songs that he opened and closed his shows with. Goosebumps! His cover of Roger Miller's "King of the Road" is better that the original, and not only because Dick could pronounce Bangor correctly! Dick truly was as good, if not better, than any of the big stars out there today. Just think what he could have done with a Mel Tellis or Willie Nelson original. Ironiclly, I ordered the set on his birthday, St. Patrick's Day, and I didn't realize it until I read the discography!"

Lotta Lotta Good Tunes from an Unlucky Guy

hypnovision | Long Beach, CA | 08/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a typical top-notch retrospective from German label Bear Family Records. It boasts great guitar-driven, late-50's and early-60's honky-tonk sides from Gordon Terry.



Terry won an Alabama state fiddling contest when he was only fifteen and became a much-prized fiddle player in Nahsville for the likes of Bill Monroe and Faron Young. He also held a steady gig as a sideman on the Grand Ole Opry.



After hearing Terry's voice on a demo, Grand Ole Opry manager Jim Denny convinced the somewhat reluctant signer to pursue a solo career in the mid-50's. Faron Young was especially discouraging because he was afraid of losing his band's ace fiddle player.



Faron was right to worry. Blessed with a lusty baritone and matinee-idol good looks, Gordon Terry should have been a huge star.



Alas, all of Terry's talent as a solo performer came with not an ounce of luck. Every time a single looked poised to become a huge hit, his record company had problems pressing enough copies or simply neglected to promote it properly. Some of the mistakes were Terry's. He was signed to Cadence Records around the same time as the Everly Brothers and was given first pass at a song called "Bye Bye Love". He declined the song, thinking it sounded like a children's song.



After playing to enthusiastic regional audiences and seeing a handful of singles begin to climb the charts only to fall off for one snakebit reason or another, Terry finally abandoned his solo singing career in the early 60's to return to more steady work as a sideman. You can't help listening to a song like "It Ain't Right" or "Then I Heard the Bad News" and really shake your head for the guy.



What you get with this disc are all the near-misses and should've-been smash hits in nicely-mastered CD sound. About a third of the 30 tracks in this collection could easily have been top-ten singles. Some of my favorites are "Lonely Road", "Lotta Lotta Women" and "Wild Desire". And hey, did I mention that some of the backing musicians include the likes of Merle Travis, Johnny Cash, Luther Perkins and The Jordanaires?



Curiously, although Terry was known in Nashville as a killer fiddle player, the songs in this collection display the more modern guitar-driven honky-tonk sound. This may be due to the time Terry spent playing in clubs on the West Coast, where the Bakersfield sound pioneered by Buck Owens held sway. It's nothing but a plus. These songs don't sound the least bit dated as compared to the more "classic" honky tonk sound of, say, a song like "Crazy Arms" by Ray Price.



The one notable omission in this collection is "Wild Honey". Terry cut the record for Cadence in 1957. Just as the song began to climb the charts (Terry even performed it on American Bandstand) it's momentum was derailed by the burgeoning career of the the Everly Brothers. Cadence couldn't press enough copies of both artists, so the Everly's "Bye Bye Love" meant bye bye hit for Terry. Presumably Bear Family had trouble securing the rights to "Wild Honey" for this release.



Don't let that discourage you from buying this disc though. Besides, it's the only place you can get Gordon Terry on CD right now. It's a true set of gems from a great singer. And believe me, it's worth every penny."

At last Dick curless got his box.

S. A. Vikesdal | Vikesaa, Bjerkreim Norway | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cdbox is incredible,a stunner.

And an whole cd with unreleased/rare recordings from mid 50`s Korean war to rare radio programs from USA.An incredible soundquality that only Bear Family Records can do.

Buy this box and the other Dick Curless box."