Sonny James-A Little Bit South Of Saskatoon
Sonny James, the
Southern Gentleman, used the popular
Nashville sound of the '60s to countrify pop hits of the past into a form accessible to many, broadening country music's appeal across the nation.
Sonny James even moved over to the pop charts for a time in the late '50s, but he found the secret of his success by the time he returned to the country. During the late '60s, he scored an incredible five - year run of number - one
singles which locked up the top spot for a combined 45 weeks during the late '60s.
Born James Loden on May 1, 1929, he began performing with his show - business family at the age of three and played with his four sisters as the
Loden Family while in his teens. The group appeared around the
South and on radio shows like the
Louisiana Hayride and
Saturday Night Shindig. After spending time overseas during the
Korean War, Loden took Sonny James as his stage name - after his teenage nickname - and joined the local bar circuit. He met and played with
Chet Atkins, who later got him a tryout with
Capitol Records. The label liked what it heard and offered him a contract.
His first single, "
That's Me Without You" hit the
Country Top Ten in early
1953, but it was three years before "For
Rent (One
Empty Heart)" became his second big hit.
James, who played guitar on virtually all of his records, followed up with two
1956 Top Ten near - misses "Twenty Feet of
Muddy Water" and "
The Cat Came Back." His next single became his biggest hit: "
Young Love" spent nine weeks at number one during 1956 - 57, and crossed over to top the pop charts also.
Beginning in
1957, Sonny James began to focus his attention on the popular charts. "
First Date,
First Kiss,
First Love" made the Top 25, but no follow - up placed as high. Several of his failures had still managed to go Top Ten on the Country charts, so he returned to country with a vengeance in 1964. "You're the Only
World I Know" hit number one Country late that year, and spent four weeks atop the chart. That began one of the greatest tears country music has ever known: 21 of his next 25 singles hit number one (and the other four were near - misses either two or three).
Sonny James completely dominated the chart from 1964 to
1972, though only several singles crossed over for modest placements on the popular charts. That fact is somewhat surprising, since three - quarters of James' number ones had previously been pop hits, including "
Take Good Care of Her" for
Adam Wade, "
I'll Never
Find Another You" and "
A World of Our Own" for the
Seekers, "
Born to Be with You" for the
Chordettes and
Roy Orbison's "
Only the Lonely."
Backed by his Southern
Gentlemen band, Sonny James toured the country and overseas, appeared on
The Ed Sullivan Show,
Hee Haw and
The Bob Hope Show, and made several movies, including
Las Vegas Hillbillies (1966),
Second Fiddle to a
Steel Guitar (1967) and
Nashville Rebel (1967).
Billboard named him the
Number One Artist of
1969.
Even after Sonny James' number one streak ended in
January 1972, he continued to place high on the charts. The number - two "
Only Love Can
Break a Heart" (a pop hit for
Gene Pitney ten years earlier) was followed by the number ones "
That's Why I Love You like
I Do" and - - after moving to
Columbia in mid - 1972 - - "When the
Snow Is on the
Roses." James' next chart - topping single, "
Is It Wrong (
For Loving You).) was released in
March 1974, and it began his last major run. He followed with four consecutive Top Ten hits, "A Mi Esposa con
Amor (To
My Wife with Love)," "
A Little Bit South of
Saskatoon," "
Little Band of Gold" and "
What in the World's Come over You."
By the early '70s, Sonny James had moved into producing and music publishing also; he oversaw three of
Marie Osmond's albums, and still managed occasional Top
Tens himself. He picked up the prestigious award of
Country Music's
Male Artist of the
Decade from
Record World in
1977, and moved to the
Monument label in
1979, then to
Dimension two years later. He retired in
1983, and now raises cattle in
Alabama.
The Country Music
Hall Of Fame includes a guitar
that Sonny James' father made for him when he was three years old. In total, Sonny James has had 72 records in the US country charts including 23 number 1s, which makes him one of the most successful country artists in history.