Dale Houston
Dale & Grace | |
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Dale Houston (April 23, 1940 – September 27, 2007)
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
The two met and practiced on Montel's home piano for four hours.
Montel's prophecy was vindicated when "I'm Leaving It Up to You" reached No. 1 on the U.S.
Houston appeared on
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
In 2007, newly elected Louisiana Secretary of State
Dale & Grace discography
Albums
- 1964 I'm Leaving It Up to You and 11 Other Hit Songs - U.S. Billboard No. 109[12]
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
- ^ a b c d e "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2007 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ a b Obituary in The Times (UK), October 18, 2007, timesonline.co.uk
- ^ a b "Dale & Grace Page". Tsimon.com. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ a b John Broven, South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Pelican Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 265-266.
- ^ a b Fred Bronson, The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books, 2003, p. 140.
- ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-1999, (Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2000), p. 923.
- ISBN 0-8230-8298-9.
- ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
- ISBN 9781455607839.
- ISBN 978-0-89820-226-7.
- ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
Sources
- Shane K. Bernard, Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues (Jackson: ISBN 978-0878058754