Biography
Even following his passing from cancer in 1999, David Ackles has continued shaping modern singer/songwriters through his blend of stark, bleak lyrics, intensely affecting compositions, and understated, resonant vocal style. Performers such as Elvis Costello have cited an artistic debt to the songwriter, while his recordings, above all American Gothic, have attained cult status.
Ackles entered the world on February 20, 1937. By age four he was already appearing in vaudeville, and during the mid-1940s he portrayed the character Tucky Worden in Columbia’s Rusty the Dog film series alongside Dwayne Hickman, later known for the television role of Dobie Gillis. He studied at the University of Southern California and spent a year at school in Edinburgh focusing on literature before completing a degree in film studies; along the way he gained command of theater, ballet, and choreography. After graduation he took a series of miscellaneous positions until Elektra hired him as a songwriter. That role soon expanded into a multi-album contract, yielding his self-titled debut in 1968. Although the record earned strong critical notice, it achieved little commercial traction.
The next release, Subway to the Country, featured one of his most haunting tracks, “Candy Man,” depicting a war veteran who seeks retribution by peddling pornography to children. Bernie Taupin, lyricist for Elton John, collaborated on production of what became Ackles’s strongest work, American Gothic, issued in 1972. Once more the album drew abundant praise from reviewers and fellow musicians, yet Elektra abandoned further efforts to promote him and released him from the label. Columbia then signed him, resulting in Five & Dime in 1973, but inadequate marketing led to poor chart performance and another dismissal. Ackles thereafter abandoned solo recording to concentrate on film and theater projects, ultimately composing the musical Sister Aimee, staged in Los Angeles in 1995. He relocated to Tujunga, California, where he instructed students in songwriting and theater studies until his death on March 2, 1999.
Ackles entered the world on February 20, 1937. By age four he was already appearing in vaudeville, and during the mid-1940s he portrayed the character Tucky Worden in Columbia’s Rusty the Dog film series alongside Dwayne Hickman, later known for the television role of Dobie Gillis. He studied at the University of Southern California and spent a year at school in Edinburgh focusing on literature before completing a degree in film studies; along the way he gained command of theater, ballet, and choreography. After graduation he took a series of miscellaneous positions until Elektra hired him as a songwriter. That role soon expanded into a multi-album contract, yielding his self-titled debut in 1968. Although the record earned strong critical notice, it achieved little commercial traction.
The next release, Subway to the Country, featured one of his most haunting tracks, “Candy Man,” depicting a war veteran who seeks retribution by peddling pornography to children. Bernie Taupin, lyricist for Elton John, collaborated on production of what became Ackles’s strongest work, American Gothic, issued in 1972. Once more the album drew abundant praise from reviewers and fellow musicians, yet Elektra abandoned further efforts to promote him and released him from the label. Columbia then signed him, resulting in Five & Dime in 1973, but inadequate marketing led to poor chart performance and another dismissal. Ackles thereafter abandoned solo recording to concentrate on film and theater projects, ultimately composing the musical Sister Aimee, staged in Los Angeles in 1995. He relocated to Tujunga, California, where he instructed students in songwriting and theater studies until his death on March 2, 1999.
Albums
