Darrell McCall
Encyclopedia
Darrell McCall is a country music
performer, known for his honky tonk
and traditional country musical style at the height of his career in the 1960s, and his return to popularity during the Outlaw country
era in the late 1970s.
. He was a boyhood friend of fellow future musician Johnny Paycheck
. At the age of 15, he landed a job as a disc jockey at a local Ohio radio show on Saturday mornings. During this time, he also performed as a musician at dances and other events. After graduating from high school, McCall joined the military and was stationed in Kentucky
.
, George Jones
and Ray Price
. Next, he began to tour with the bands of Young, Price and the newcomer Hank Williams Jr.
In 1959, McCall was contacted by Nashville producer Buddy Killen
, and asked to join a pop band he was forming called The Little Dippers. The band released the top ten pop hit "Forever" in 1960. The next year, McCall was signed by Capitol Records
as a solo singer. He released two singles for the label, but neither charted and the performer was subsequently released by Capitol. In 1962, McCall signed with Phillips Records as a country music singer. He released the hit "A Stranger Was Here," which peaked at #17. Later in the year he performed the theme for the film Hud
, which starred actor Paul Newman
.
McCall decided to begin an acting career in 1965. He appeared in numerous films including Nashville Rebel, Road to Nashville and What Am I Bid. During his acting career, McCall also traveled to the American Southwest to perform in rodeos as a cowboy. In 1968, he decided to return to recording.
In 1968, McCall signed with "Wayside Records" and released four singles. In 1970, he released his first album, Meet Darrell McCall for Mercury Records
. Hank Williams Jr. recorded a song penned by McCall in 1971 entitled "Eleven Roses
." It became a #1 hit for Williams and resulted in a songwriting contract offer from "Tree International" for McCall, who accepted. In 1974, he signed with Atlantic Records
, releasing the single "There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone." The following year he left Atlantic and signed with Columbia records
. During this period his popularity grew due to the Outlaw Country
sound being pushed into the mainstream. With Columbia he recorded the hit duet "Lily Dale" with Willie Nelson
, which became a top 40 hit and was awarded the "Best Duet of 1977" by Cash Box Magazine
. After a few more singles with the label, McCall signed with Hillside Records in 1980 and released a single, but then decided to sign with RCA Records
. With RCA, he released his final top 40 hit "Long Line of Empties." His final charting single "Memphis in May" was released for Indigo Records in 1984. In 1986, McCall recorded two albums, including one with Johnny Bush
. Following these releases, he stopped recorded but continued to tour. However, he did appear as the lead singer on a few tracks of the Ace in the Hole's 1995 debut album.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
performer, known for his honky tonk
Honky tonk
A honky-tonk is a type of bar that provides musical entertainment to its patrons...
and traditional country musical style at the height of his career in the 1960s, and his return to popularity during the Outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
era in the late 1970s.
Early life
McCall was born and raised in New Jasper Township, Greene County, OhioNew Jasper Township, Greene County, Ohio
New Jasper Township is one of the twelve townships of Greene County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,538 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the east central part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
. He was a boyhood friend of fellow future musician Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...
. At the age of 15, he landed a job as a disc jockey at a local Ohio radio show on Saturday mornings. During this time, he also performed as a musician at dances and other events. After graduating from high school, McCall joined the military and was stationed in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Career
In 1958, after finishing his duty in the army, McCall moved to Nashville with Paycheck to record as a duo. The duo failed but McCall soon found work as a background singer during recording sessions for various artists including Faron YoungFaron Young
Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Ray Price
Ray Price (musician)
Ray Price is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone has often been praised as among the best male voices of country music...
. Next, he began to tour with the bands of Young, Price and the newcomer Hank Williams Jr.
In 1959, McCall was contacted by Nashville producer Buddy Killen
Buddy Killen
William Doyce “Buddy” Killen was a record producer and music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network, and the largest country music publishing business, before he sold it in 1989...
, and asked to join a pop band he was forming called The Little Dippers. The band released the top ten pop hit "Forever" in 1960. The next year, McCall was signed by Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
as a solo singer. He released two singles for the label, but neither charted and the performer was subsequently released by Capitol. In 1962, McCall signed with Phillips Records as a country music singer. He released the hit "A Stranger Was Here," which peaked at #17. Later in the year he performed the theme for the film Hud
Hud (film)
Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and...
, which starred actor Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
.
McCall decided to begin an acting career in 1965. He appeared in numerous films including Nashville Rebel, Road to Nashville and What Am I Bid. During his acting career, McCall also traveled to the American Southwest to perform in rodeos as a cowboy. In 1968, he decided to return to recording.
In 1968, McCall signed with "Wayside Records" and released four singles. In 1970, he released his first album, Meet Darrell McCall for Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Hank Williams Jr. recorded a song penned by McCall in 1971 entitled "Eleven Roses
Eleven Roses
"Eleven Roses" is the title of a song written by Lamar Morris and Darrell McCall and recorded by American country music artist Hank Williams Jr.. It was released in March 1972 as the only single from the album of the same name. The song became Williams' second number one on the Billboard magazine...
." It became a #1 hit for Williams and resulted in a songwriting contract offer from "Tree International" for McCall, who accepted. In 1974, he signed with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, releasing the single "There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone." The following year he left Atlantic and signed with Columbia records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. During this period his popularity grew due to the Outlaw Country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
sound being pushed into the mainstream. With Columbia he recorded the hit duet "Lily Dale" with Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, which became a top 40 hit and was awarded the "Best Duet of 1977" by Cash Box Magazine
Cash Box magazine
Cashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...
. After a few more singles with the label, McCall signed with Hillside Records in 1980 and released a single, but then decided to sign with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. With RCA, he released his final top 40 hit "Long Line of Empties." His final charting single "Memphis in May" was released for Indigo Records in 1984. In 1986, McCall recorded two albums, including one with Johnny Bush
Johnny Bush
Johnny Bush, born February 17, 1935 as John Bush Shinn III in Houston, Texas, is a country music singer, songwriter, and drummer. Bush, nicknamed the "Country Caruso," is best-known for his distinctive voice and as the writer of "Whiskey River," a top-ten hit for himself and Willie Nelson's...
. Following these releases, he stopped recorded but continued to tour. However, he did appear as the lead singer on a few tracks of the Ace in the Hole's 1995 debut album.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Meet Darrell McCall | 35 | Wayside |
| 1977 | Lily Dale | — | Columbia |
| 1980 | Texas Dance Hall Music | — | Hillside |
| 1986 | Hot Texas Country | — | Step One |
| Reunion | — | BGM | |
| 1992 | All She Did Was Fall in Love | — | Artap |
| 1995 | A Way to Survive | — | |
| 1996 | Pictures Can't Talk Back | — | |
| 2005 | Old Memories and Wine | — | Heart of Texas |
| 2009 | "Keeping With Tradition" | — | |
| 2010 | "The Survivors" | — |
Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Real McCall | Bear Family |
| 2006 | The Essential Darrell McCall | Heart of Texas |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1961 | "My Kind of Lovin'" | — | — | singles only |
| "Call the Zoo" | — | — | ||
| 1962 | "Dear One" | — | — | |
| "I Can Take His Baby Away" | — | — | ||
| 1963 | "A Stranger Was Here" (with The Milestones) | 17 | — | |
| "Hud" | — | — | ||
| 1964 | "Keeping My Feet on the Ground" | — | — | |
| "Step by Step" | — | — | ||
| 1968 | "I'd Love to Live with You Again" | 67 | — | Meet Darrell McCall |
| "Wall of Pictures" | 60 | — | ||
| 1969 | "Hurry Up" | 53 | — | |
| "Hide and Go Cheat" | — | — | singles only | |
| 1970 | "The Arms of My Weakness" | 62 | — | |
| "Sally Bryson" | — | — | ||
| 1972 | "Jacue Pierre Bordeaux" | — | — | |
| "I'll Break Out Again" | — | — | ||
| 1973 | "Rainbow at Midnight" | — | — | |
| "Goodbye of the Year" | — | — | ||
| 1974 | "There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone" | 48 | — | |
| "Where Is That All" | — | — | ||
| 1975 | "Cold Beer Signs" | — | — | |
| "Helpless" | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "Pins and Needles (In My Heart)" | 52 | — | Lily Dale |
| "I Come Home to Face the Music" | — | — | ||
| 1977 | "Lily Dale" (with Willie Nelson Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized... ) |
32 | — | |
| "Dreams of a Dreamer" | 35 | — | ||
| 1978 | "Down the Roads of Daddy's Dreams" | 59 | — | singles only |
| "The Weeds Outlived the Roses" | 91 | 47 | ||
| 1979 | "Fraulein" (with Curtis Potter) | — | — | Texas Dance Hall Music |
| "Part Time Lover Full Time Heartache" (with Curtis Potter) | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "San Antonio Medley" (with Curtis Potter) | 89 | — | |
| "Long Line of Empties" | 43 | 56 | singles only | |
| 1982 | "There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone" | 64 | — | |
| 1984 | "Memphis in May" | 79 | — |