Biography
Born on October 27, 1939, in Spiro, Oklahoma, Dallas Frazier grew up to rank among country music’s most durable songwriters. After his family relocated to Bakersfield, California, he had mastered several instruments by age twelve. While still a teenager he joined Ferlin Husky’s touring band and, in 1954, issued his debut solo single, “Space Command.” During the same period he became a regular cast member on the Hometown Jamboree, frequently appearing alongside fellow teenager Molly Bee.
Frazier composed “Alley Oop” in 1957; three years later the studio group the Hollywood Argyles took the song to number one. When the Jamboree ended at the close of the decade, he relocated to Nashville and began writing full-time, supplying Husky with the 1964 hit “Timber I’m Falling.” His profile rose sharply in 1966: he issued his first long-playing record, Elvira, and placed three major singles with other artists—“There Goes My Everything” for Jack Greene, “Ain’t Had No Lovin’” for Connie Smith, and “I’m a People” for George Jones. The following year he released Tell It Like It Is, yet achieved his greatest pop-chart success when Engelbert Humperdinck recorded “There Goes My Everything.”
Throughout the final years of the 1960s, Frazier’s catalog continued to supply hits for Jones, Greene, and Smith while also reaching Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, Charley Pride, and Merle Haggard, the last of whom featured three Frazier compositions on the 1968 album The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde. The 1970s brought still greater demand; he issued two further solo albums—Singing My Songs in 1970 and My Baby Packed Up My Mind and Left Me in 1971—and wrote chart records for Elvis Presley, Moe Bandy, Roy Head, Rodney Crowell, Ronnie Hawkins, and his longtime associates Husky, Pride, and Greene. In 1972 he collaborated with Smith on three tracks for her album If It Ain’t Love (& Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs).
Frazier’s material remained on the charts into the 1980s. The Oak Ridge Boys scored a major crossover hit with “Elvira,” while Emmylou Harris reached number one with “Beneath Still Waters.” Younger performers George Strait, Randy Travis, and Patty Loveless likewise found success with his songs. In 1988 he withdrew from songwriting, left Nashville, and entered the ministry, serving from 1999 to 2006 as pastor of Grace Community Fellowship in White House, Tennessee. After stepping down in 2006 he resumed recording and, in 2011, issued the album Writing & Singing Again. Dallas Frazier died in Gallatin, Tennessee, on January 14, 2022, at age eighty-two, from complications following a stroke.
Frazier composed “Alley Oop” in 1957; three years later the studio group the Hollywood Argyles took the song to number one. When the Jamboree ended at the close of the decade, he relocated to Nashville and began writing full-time, supplying Husky with the 1964 hit “Timber I’m Falling.” His profile rose sharply in 1966: he issued his first long-playing record, Elvira, and placed three major singles with other artists—“There Goes My Everything” for Jack Greene, “Ain’t Had No Lovin’” for Connie Smith, and “I’m a People” for George Jones. The following year he released Tell It Like It Is, yet achieved his greatest pop-chart success when Engelbert Humperdinck recorded “There Goes My Everything.”
Throughout the final years of the 1960s, Frazier’s catalog continued to supply hits for Jones, Greene, and Smith while also reaching Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, Charley Pride, and Merle Haggard, the last of whom featured three Frazier compositions on the 1968 album The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde. The 1970s brought still greater demand; he issued two further solo albums—Singing My Songs in 1970 and My Baby Packed Up My Mind and Left Me in 1971—and wrote chart records for Elvis Presley, Moe Bandy, Roy Head, Rodney Crowell, Ronnie Hawkins, and his longtime associates Husky, Pride, and Greene. In 1972 he collaborated with Smith on three tracks for her album If It Ain’t Love (& Other Great Dallas Frazier Songs).
Frazier’s material remained on the charts into the 1980s. The Oak Ridge Boys scored a major crossover hit with “Elvira,” while Emmylou Harris reached number one with “Beneath Still Waters.” Younger performers George Strait, Randy Travis, and Patty Loveless likewise found success with his songs. In 1988 he withdrew from songwriting, left Nashville, and entered the ministry, serving from 1999 to 2006 as pastor of Grace Community Fellowship in White House, Tennessee. After stepping down in 2006 he resumed recording and, in 2011, issued the album Writing & Singing Again. Dallas Frazier died in Gallatin, Tennessee, on January 14, 2022, at age eighty-two, from complications following a stroke.
Albums
Singles
