Dale Houston

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For the professional tennis player of the 1980s, see Dale Houston (tennis).
Dale & Grace
Dale & Grace, 1963
Dale & Grace, 1963

Dale Houston (April 23, 1940 – September 27, 2007)

gold record "I'm Leaving It Up to You" in 1963.[2]
"Stop and Think It Over" reached No. 8 in 1964. In his later years, Houston was reunited onstage with Broussard on several occasions. Their recordings are highly regarded examples of the Louisiana-Texas style known as "Swamp Pop".

Biography

Early years

Robert Dale Houston[1] was born to Claude and Essie (née Walters) Houston in Seminary, a small town in Covington County, Mississippi.[3] He was delivered by a midwife on the family's kitchen table. The Houstons thereafter moved to nearby Collins, the county seat, where Claude Houston entered the Christian ministry.[4] Young Dale began piano lessons in sixth grade, but family financial difficulties halted his training after three months and he was self-taught from then on, honing his skills by playing and singing in church.

At age 18, he recorded "Lonely Man", "(Big Bad) City Police" and "Big Time Operator" on Rocko Records, which became a regional hit. In 1960, while he was performing in Baton Rouge, record executive Sam Montel (Sam Montalbano) caught his act in a local bar.[2] Montel declared him "a pretty good writer" and signed him to compose exclusively for his label. Houston then wrote and recorded "Lonely Man", "Bird with a Broken Wing", and "That's What I Like About You."

Partnership with Grace Broussard

In 1963, Houston was working in a bar in

Baton Rouge. Both had been singing in area bistros for several years - Grace with her brother, Van Broussard (who later released an album on the Bayou Boogie label).[5][6]

The two met and practiced on Montel's home piano for four hours.

Huey Meaux.[6][7]

Montel's prophecy was vindicated when "I'm Leaving It Up to You" reached No. 1 on the U.S.

No. 1 during the week that Kennedy was assassinated and also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[9]

Houston appeared on

John B. Connally was seriously wounded. The stars had gone back to their hotel rooms after waving to Kennedy and did not hear about the assassination until several hours later.[7]

In 1964, the duo released their debut album I'm Leaving It Up to You and 11 Other Hit Songs.[10]

The popularity of The Beatles, combined with personal problems between the two performers, Broussard's homesickness, and a serious illness which landed Houston in the hospital, caused the duo to separate in 1965. Grace returned to singing with her brother.[11]

Death

Houston died on September 27, 2007, of heart failure at the Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the age of 67.[1] At his funeral, his friend, Troy Shondell gave a musical tribute, and interment was in Smyrna Cemetery in Collins, Mississippi.

Honors

In 1995, Dale and Grace, having been reunited, were honored in Mississippi through resolutions of the Covington County Board of Supervisors and the Town of Seminary. In 2000, Houston received the 'Louisiana Living Legends Award' from the

Public Broadcasting Service. Earlier, he was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame and the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame, both in 1998.[1]

In 2007, newly elected Louisiana Secretary of State

John Fred and the Playboys, were being named to the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame. To garner such an honor, one must have national or international recognition, said the museum director, Judith Bingham. Dale and Grace performed at the festival in Ferriday, where Houston had attended the ninth and tenth grades decades earlier at Ferriday High School. In October 2007, Dale and Grace were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.[1]

Dale & Grace discography

Albums

Singles

  • 1963 "I'm Leaving It Up to You" - U.S. Billboard No. 1 for two weeks[13]
  • 1964 "Stop and Think It Over" - U.S. Billboard No. 8
  • 1964 "The Loneliest Night" - U.S. Billboard No. 65
  • 1964 "Darling It's Wonderful" - U.S. Billboard No. 114
  • 1964 "What's Happening to Me" - U.S. Cash Box No. 91
  • 1965 "Cool Water" - U.S. Cash Box No. 123

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2007 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-214-20512-6
    .
  3. ^ a b Obituary in The Times (UK), October 18, 2007, timesonline.co.uk
  4. ^ a b "Dale & Grace Page". Tsimon.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  6. ^ a b John Broven, South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Pelican Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 265-266.
  7. ^ a b Fred Bronson, The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books, 2003, p. 140.
  8. ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999, (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), p. 923.
  9. ISBN 0-8230-8298-9
    .
  10. ISBN 0-7535-0149-X
    .
  11. ISBN 9781455607839
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-89820-226-7
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7
    .

Sources

External links
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