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In 1903, Roy Acuff (“The King of Country Music”) was born in Maynardsville, Tennessee. As a boy, he played in the church choir and played baseball, hoping to someday become a professional baseball player for the New York Yankees. Those dreams were dashed when he was left physically debilitated by a severe case of sunburn while on vacation, during the year he spent recovering he learned to play the fiddle. After a brief stint in 1962, with a traveling medicine show, he began singing on a Knoxville radio with a band known as Crazy Tennesseans. His rendition of “The Great Speckled Bird” led to a recording contract with American Recording Company.
In 1938 he joined the Grand Ole Opry and quickly became it's most popular member, he rose to national prominance in the 1940s with his singles such as “The Precious Jewel,” “Wabash Cannonball,” “The Wreck on the Highway,” and “Beneath That Lonely Mound of Clay.”
Roy formed the Acuff-Rose music-publishing business with songwriter Fred Rose, many famous singers and songwriters got their start at Acuff-Rose including Hank Williams, The Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbinson.
Awards and Achievements:
Roy Acuff
passed away Nov. 23, 1992
Rest In Peace
Roy Acuff Discography:
- 2002
- Oh Boy Classics Presents Roy Acuff
- Songs Of The Smokey Mountain
- The Voice Of Country Music
-
- The Great Roy Acuff
- 2001
- The Good News According To Roy Acuff
- 20 Greatest Songs
- Night Train To Memphis
- The Crazy Tennessean
- Hear The Mighty Rush Of Engine
- 2000
-
- R.C. Cola Radio Shows Vol. 4
- R.C. Cola Radio Shows Vol. 3
- 1999
- Country Music Hall Of Fame 1962
- R.C. Cola Radio Shows Vol. 2
- R.C. Cola Radio Shows Vol. 1
- The King Of Country Music 1936-1947
- 1998
- The King Of Country Music 1936-1947
- 1996
- The King Of Country Music
- 1995
- Greatest Hits
- So Many Times
- Wabash Cannonball
- 1993
- King Of Country Music
- 1992
- The Essential Roy Acuff (1936-1949)
- 1991
- Best Of Roy Acuff
- Columbia Historic Edition
- 1990
- Fly Birdie Fly: 1939-41
- Greatest Hits
- Steamboat Whistle Blues
- 1974
- Back In The Country
- 1970
- Roy Acuff Time
- I Saw The Light
- Night Train To Memphis
- 1969
- Treasury Of Country Hits
- 1968
- Living Legend
- 1967
- Famous Opry Favorites
- 1966
- Roy Acuff Sings Hank Williams
- 1965
- Waiting For My Call To Glory
- Roy Acuff
- Great Roy Acuff
- Great Train Songs
- The Voice Of Country Music
- 1963
- Hand-Clapping Songs
- Roy Acuff Sings American Folk Songs
- The World Is His Stage
- Star Of The Grand Ol' Opry
- 1962
- Hymn Time
- 1961
- Once More
- That Glory Bound Train
- 1958
- Favorite Hymns
- Great Speckled Bird
- 1955
- Songs Of The Smokey Mountains
- 1949
- Songs Of The Saddle
Sources:
http://www.halloffame.org/hall/mem/roy-acuff.html
http://www.iomusic.com/Employment/Human_Resources/
http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/
http://www.musica.co.uk/musica/screen__ARTISTDB/shop__MUS/artist__Acuff,~Roy.htm