Roy Acuff was so big in the 1940s that it is said when the Japanese attacked American positions on Okinawa they cursed the three things "most American" - 'To hell with Roosevelt, to hell with Babe Ruth, to hell with Roy Acuff!" Sure, some folks don't like country music, but that's going a little far.
Most folks will remember this song sung by Willie Nelson in 1975, which was his first #1 hit as a singer. But he was only the latest of a long line of artists to cover the song; both Conway Twitty and Slim Whitman had recorded it, but Roy Acuff was the first. He recorded it in 1947 so the Imperial Japanese Army presumably were more appreciative in their assessment.
Fred Rose wrote this song. He and Acuff formed Acuff-Rose Music in 1942. Initially this was to record Acuff's music but they soon signed Hank Williams who said of Acuff's drawing power in the south that it was Acuff first, then God.
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain (Songwriter:Fred Rose)
In the twilight glow I see her
Blue eyes cryin' in the rain
When we kissed goodbye and parted
I knew we'd never meet again
Love is like a dyin' ember
Only memories remain
Through the ages I'll remember
Blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Some day when we meet up yonder
We'll stroll hand in hand again
In a land that knows no partin'
Blue eyes cryin' in the rain
Bootnote: A lot of people have recorded this song, including Jim Neighbors, Elvis, Olivia Newton-John, and UB40 (!). Most interesting to me was a never published recording by George Jones discovered after his death. There were other songs, too which were included on the 2017 posthumous album George Jones & the Smoky Mountain Boys - he recorded the songs with Acuff's old band.
That's back when a country song was a country song, not pop or southern rock.
ReplyDeletePure country...
ReplyDeleteHave to believe that was sung by many aboard UK-bound ships back then. And a country guy or not, the lyrics meant the same thing to many of them.
ReplyDeleteRoy Acuff was the first in a long line of East Tennesseans to do well in country music. My parents saw him preform at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville as part of WNOX's Midday Merry Go Round show, which they broadcast live. I was honored to shake his hand once.
ReplyDeleteI would guess that the most recent recording that won popular acclaim was by Crystal Gayle.
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