Johnny Preston
Encyclopedia
Johnny Preston was an American
pop music
singer
, who was best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear
".
, Texas
, of Cajun
ancestry, Preston sang in high school
choral contests throughout the state of Texas. He formed a rock and roll
band
called "The Shades", who were seen performing at a local club by J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson
.
Richardson offered Preston the chance to record
a teenage tragedy song
he had written
, "Running Bear
", which they did in Houston, Texas
, in 1958. The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed by Richardson and George Jones
. The record was released after the Big Bopper's death in the same plane crash
that killed Buddy Holly
and Ritchie Valens
.
It entered the U.S.
Hot 100 in October 1959, reaching number one in January 1960 and remaining there for three weeks. It was a transatlantic chart-topper, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom
in March 1960. The sales of the record
exceeded one million copies, earning Preston his first gold disc
.
Preston quickly followed up with another hit called "Cradle of Love," (Billboard #7, UK
# 2) and made several other records
during the early 1960s that met with modest success. "Cradle of Love" was a hit in both the UK Singles Chart
and in Athens
, Greece
.
Preston's "I'm Starting to Go Steady", a song on the flip side
of "Feel So Fine", (Billboard #14), was released in June 1960. Preston made appearances on American Bandstand
(ABC-TV
) and The Milt Grant Show
and also The Buddy Deane Show (East Coast
, United States
).
Preston's pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
. He also performed at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson
, Missouri
. In 2009 and 2010, Preston performed with the Lamar State College (LSCPA)Touring Band at Lamar State College- Port Arthur, in his hometown.
Preston had coronary artery bypass surgery
in 2010. He died of heart failure in Beaumont, Texas
on Friday 4 March 2011, at the age of 71, after years of heart-related illnesses. A tribute concert was performed on November 5, 2011, and featured guest artists Gene Bourgeois, Johnny Tillotson, Dickey Lee and Chris Montez along with LSCPS's Touring Band, under the direction of Aaron Horne.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, who was best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear
Running Bear
"Running Bear" is a song written by J. P. Richardson sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959. Preston first sang the song in 1959 with background vocals by Richardson and George Jones, who do the Indian chanting of "UGO UGO" during the three verses, as well as the Indian war cries...
".
Life and career
Born as John Preston Courville in Port ArthurPort Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, of Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
ancestry, Preston sang in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
choral contests throughout the state of Texas. He formed a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
called "The Shades", who were seen performing at a local club by J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J. P." Richardson, Jr. also commonly known as The Big Bopper, was an American disc jockey, singer, and songwriter whose big voice and exuberant personality made him an early rock and roll star...
.
Richardson offered Preston the chance to record
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a teenage tragedy song
Teenage tragedy song
The "teenage tragedy song", also known as death rock, "tear jerker" or a "splatter platter", is a style of ballad that was most popular between the late 1950s and early 1960s...
he had written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, "Running Bear
Running Bear
"Running Bear" is a song written by J. P. Richardson sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959. Preston first sang the song in 1959 with background vocals by Richardson and George Jones, who do the Indian chanting of "UGO UGO" during the three verses, as well as the Indian war cries...
", which they did in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, in 1958. The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed by Richardson and 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....
. The record was released after the Big Bopper's death in the same plane crash
The Day the Music Died
On February 3, 1959, a small-plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, killed three American rock and roll pioneers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson. The day was later called The Day the Music Died by Don McLean, in his song...
that killed Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
and Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....
.
It entered the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hot 100 in October 1959, reaching number one in January 1960 and remaining there for three weeks. It was a transatlantic chart-topper, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in March 1960. The sales of the record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
exceeded one million copies, earning Preston his first gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
Preston quickly followed up with another hit called "Cradle of Love," (Billboard #7, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
# 2) and made several other records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
during the early 1960s that met with modest success. "Cradle of Love" was a hit in both the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Preston's "I'm Starting to Go Steady", a song on the flip side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of "Feel So Fine", (Billboard #14), was released in June 1960. Preston made appearances on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
(ABC-TV
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
) and The Milt Grant Show
The Milt Grant Show
The Milt Grant Show was a Washington, D.C. teen dance party program aired on WTTG from 1956 to 1961. It was hosted by a former radio deejay, who recognized the untapped potential of the teen rock and roll music market, and convinced the management to let him host a dance party show - but only if he...
and also The Buddy Deane Show (East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
).
Preston's pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the internet on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....
. He also performed at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. In 2009 and 2010, Preston performed with the Lamar State College (LSCPA)Touring Band at Lamar State College- Port Arthur, in his hometown.
Preston had coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in 2010. He died of heart failure in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
on Friday 4 March 2011, at the age of 71, after years of heart-related illnesses. A tribute concert was performed on November 5, 2011, and featured guest artists Gene Bourgeois, Johnny Tillotson, Dickey Lee and Chris Montez along with LSCPS's Touring Band, under the direction of Aaron Horne.
Chart singles
| Year | Title | U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "Running Bear Running Bear "Running Bear" is a song written by J. P. Richardson sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959. Preston first sang the song in 1959 with background vocals by Richardson and George Jones, who do the Indian chanting of "UGO UGO" during the three verses, as well as the Indian war cries... " |
1 | 1 |
| 1960 | "Cradle of Love" | 7 | 2 |
| "Feel So Fine" | 14 | 18 | |
| "I'm Starting to Go Steady" | - | 49 | |
| "Charming Billy" | - | 34 | |
| 1961 | "Leave My Kitten Alone Leave My Kitten Alone "Leave My Kitten Alone" is a 1959 R&B hit, written by Little Willie John, James McDougal and Titus Turner, first recorded by Little Willie John, and covered in 1960 by Johnny Preston. The song is also the 22nd song on the second disc to The Beatles' Anthology 1... " |
73 | - |
| "Free Me" | 97 | - | |
See also
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
- List of stage names
- List of Mercury Records artists