Durwood Haddock achieved his widest recognition through songwriting, most notably by co-authoring the country standard “There She Goes” alongside Eddie Miller; the number later found its way onto discs by Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb, Carl Smith, k.d. lang, and numerous additional artists. Across five decades in the industry he simultaneously carved out roles as a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, broadcaster, talent booker, and music publisher.
Born in Lamasco, TX, in 1934, Haddock cultivated an early love for music and, by his teenage years, had mastered guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. Following high-school graduation he attended Tyler Commercial College in Tyler, TX, where he trained in broadcasting; his first radio post came in 1953 at KSEY in Seymour, TX. Shortly after leaving that station he assembled his initial band and, in 1954, secured steady employment playing fiddle for West Texas honky-tonk performer Tiny Colbert. During this period he encountered Miller, and the pair briefly hosted a radio program while beginning to compose together; their song “Release Me” became a country & western Top Ten entry once Jimmy Heap recorded it.
Haddock entered the studio for the first time in 1955, cutting “There She Goes” for Four Star Records under the pseudonym Durwood Daily. Although that release failed to gain traction, Carl Smith’s subsequent version climbed the charts and established the tune as a lasting country favorite. After several years of relocating, Haddock put down roots in Kermit, TX, in 1957, taking positions at KERB as a DJ, advertising salesman, and assistant manager. He continued performing in nightclubs and issued sides on assorted Texas imprints as Durwood Daily until 1962, when United Artists Records signed him; under his legal name he promptly scored a Top 20 country single with “Big Night at My House.”
The United Artists contract covered only one record, prompting Haddock to launch his own Eagle Records imprint, whose inaugural release was the follow-up “Our Big House.” A string of regional successes followed, yet in 1966 he again sought major-label exposure, cutting singles for Monument and relocating to Phoenix, AZ, to support West Coast engagements. Two years later he shifted once more, this time to Nashville, where he signed with Metromedia Records and opened a publishing firm. Steady publishing revenue gradually eclipsed his performing activities, leading him to abandon the road.
In 1970 Haddock founded a booking agency that later broadened into record distribution and radio promotion. He returned his operations to Texas in 1992 and revived his recording career three years afterward with the album The Texas Honky-Tonk Blues. A tribute to the noted country songwriter, I Remember Jenny Lou Carson, appeared in 2005, followed in 2007 by Honky Tonk Crazy (And Other Love Songs).
