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Roy Drusky’s mom, a
church organist for 20 years, couldn’t get him interested in
musical training, and she tried. He was too interested in
baseball.
“I ate, slept and
breathed baseball,” he said. But while his mother couldn’t get
him interested in piano practice singing was different.
Besides The Young People’s Choir at the Moreland Baptist
Church allowed him time to play baseball.
He bought his first guitar
while he was in the Navy. After an unsuccessful try out for
the Cleveland Indians, he formed a band. He performed
regularly over WEAS in Decatur, Georgia and became a deejay.
Soon he added two weekly television shows in Atlanta and was
doing live shows in the area when Minneapolis Radio Station
KEVE made an offer.
”My time in Minneapolis proved
to be both pleasant and invaluable,” Roy said, “I didn't
realize what devoted country fans those people were in the
upper Midwest. I got a boost to my career and my ego during my
eighteen-month stay.”
He made several trips to
Nashville during his Minneapolis stint and when Faron Young
had a smash hit with his “Alone With You,” Roy knew he had to
take advantage of his success and move to Music City. He
became a member of the Opry on June 13, 1958.
The sixties were good to Roy.
He released “Another,” “Alone With You,” and a duet with Kitty
Wells, “I Can’t Tell My Heart That.” In 1965 he teamed up with
Priscilla Mitchell to record “Yes, Mr. Peters” which became
his first No 1 hit.
Numerous top 10 hits followed,
“I’d Rather Loan You Out,” “I Went Out of My Way,” “Three
Hearts in a Tangle,” “Second Hand Rose,” “Peel Me A Nanner,”
“(From Now On All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers,” “Such A
Fool,” “All My Hard Times,” and “White Lightning Express,”
from the movie of the same name. Roy sang the title song and
appeared in the movie. He also made two other country and
western films, “Forty Acre Feud” and “Golden Guitar.”
When he wasn’t acting or
singing, he was producing other artists and directing the
office of SESAC, a music-licensing firm he helped establish.
Roy’s new focus centered on recording country/southern gospel
albums. He had five to his credit on the Chapel/Bridge label
and he became popular, performing gospel concert nationwide
with Evangelist Kenneth Cox.
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