DICK CURLESS, THE BARON OF COUNTRY MUSIC

Dick Curless should have been more popular than he was. He had a great baritone voice and a slightly piratical appearance because of his eye patch. But he never recorded the memorable songs that would have bumped him up to the next level of stardom. Curless was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, in 1932 and began singing on the local radio station
in the late '40s. He was drafted in 1952 and shipped off to Korea, where he worked as a disc jockey on the Armed Forces Radio Network. His habit of playing lots of country music earned him the nickname "The Rice Paddy Ranger." He returned to the States in 1955 and began performing in clubs in the Northeast. In 1957, Curless won the "Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts" competition with his rendition of "Nine Pound Hammer." He headed west to California to try his luck as a full-time singer and began to record for small labels. In 1965, his trucker's song "A Tombstone Every Mile" made it to number five on the country charts. In 1966, he recorded "The Baron," the song that gave Curless his nickname. Over the next few years, his records routinely made it to the upper reaches of the charts, but they never again cracked the top five. During the '60s, Curless toured as part of the Buck Owens All-American Show. By the '70s, his career had pretty much stalled, but he became something of a cult figure. Dick Curless died in 1995, soon after he had recorded his last album, Traveling Through.

[This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 03 November 2000 at 11:47 AM.]

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CJC

He was a super nice guy and I spent many hours talking with him at his office made from a railroad car, and listening to tapes with his manager/guitar player, Sleepy LaBeefe. (I think that was his name.)

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Jim Smith jimsmith94@home.com
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden Ext. E9/U-12 8&5=-

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CJC

[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 04 November 2000 at 12:11 PM.]

There is a really great Bear Family Records set out on Dick. Covers everything from his first demos through about 1970. If you are fan, it is a must.

http://www.broadcast.com/jukebox/albums/t/thedragemofftheinterstateand_2205.html

You'll need the realaudio player to listen.

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Lem Smith
Emmons Legrande II 8 & 4
The Christian Steel Message Board

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CJC