Biography
In the opening years of the 1950s Rusty Draper ranked among the leading artists who bridged pop and country listeners, moving well over a million discs before rock & roll interrupted his momentum. Farrell Draper came into the world in Kirksville, MO, on January 25, 1920, and obtained his initial guitar at age ten; two years later he made his first broadcast appearance on Tulsa station WTUL's Cy Perkins Show. He subsequently fronted a program on Des Moines outlet WWHO and stood in on occasion for sports announcer Ronald "Dutch" Reagan, while also recording a demo for RCA Bluebird that brought no contract offer. The Draper family moved to San Bernardino, CA, in 1938; unable to revive his music ambitions, Rusty took work as a Western Union messenger before selling his guitar to finance travel to San Francisco in pursuit of stage work. He secured steady employment at the Bay Area nightclub the Barn, then accepted a planned fortnight at the neighboring Rumpus Room that stretched into eight years; during that residency he met Macia Willsey, who soon assumed management of his professional affairs. Willsey arranged bookings on The Ed Sullivan Show and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts plus a local San Francisco television program, leading in mid-1952 to a Mercury contract and the debut single "How Could You (Blue Eyes)."
Mercury's first releases, among them "Devil of a Woman" and "Sing Baby Sing," attracted scant airplay, and even the 1952 duet "Release Me" with Patti Page produced no immediate breakthrough. Early in 1953 Draper launched a national club tour whose publicity boosted his sixth Mercury side, a version of the Carlisles' country hit "No Help Wanted." June brought "Gambler's Guitar," which surpassed the million mark, entered the country Top Ten, and crossed into the pop listings. Its successor "Bummin' Around" fell short, yet "Lighthouse" and "Native Dancer" each climbed to number 23. A string of 1954 singles including "I Love to Jump," "The Workshop of the Lord," and "Shame on You" drew limited notice, but 1955 yielded the Top 20 pop entry "Seventeen," the number-three follow-up "The Shifting, Whispering Sands," and "Are You Satisfied?," which approached the Top Ten. Radio exposure continued through 1956 with "Held for Questioning" and "House of Cards," while "In the Middle of the House" returned him to the Top 20 despite Vaughn Monroe's competing version that reached number 11.
Chart traction proved modest at the start of 1957 with "Let's Go Calypso" and "Tiger Lily," yet a reading of Chas McDevitt's U.K. skiffle hit "Freight Train" restored Top Ten status by year's end. Middle-of-the-road country-pop subsequently lost favor, and later Mercury sides such as "June, July and August," "With This Ring," and "Can You Depend on Me?" moved slowly. In 1960 "Muleskinner Blues" unexpectedly reached the British Top 40, while its B-side, a cover of Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," peaked at number 54 on the U.S. pop charts. The 1961 treatment of Cowboy Copas' "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" became Draper's last Mercury hit; after "Beggar to a King" the following summer he departed for Monument, where Willie Nelson's "Night Life" climbed to number 57 on the pop lists in fall 1963. Further Monument releases "It Should Be Easier" and "I'm Worried About Me" failed to register, and the label ended the arrangement after 1966's "Mystery Train," though scattered lower-chart country entries such as "My Elusive Dreams," "California Sunshine," and "Buffalo Nickel" appeared through the rest of the decade. Concert appearances, stage musicals, and television work sustained his profile, and in 1980 "Harbor Lights" returned him briefly to the country listings. Rusty Draper succumbed to pneumonia in Bellevue, WA, on March 29, 2003.
Mercury's first releases, among them "Devil of a Woman" and "Sing Baby Sing," attracted scant airplay, and even the 1952 duet "Release Me" with Patti Page produced no immediate breakthrough. Early in 1953 Draper launched a national club tour whose publicity boosted his sixth Mercury side, a version of the Carlisles' country hit "No Help Wanted." June brought "Gambler's Guitar," which surpassed the million mark, entered the country Top Ten, and crossed into the pop listings. Its successor "Bummin' Around" fell short, yet "Lighthouse" and "Native Dancer" each climbed to number 23. A string of 1954 singles including "I Love to Jump," "The Workshop of the Lord," and "Shame on You" drew limited notice, but 1955 yielded the Top 20 pop entry "Seventeen," the number-three follow-up "The Shifting, Whispering Sands," and "Are You Satisfied?," which approached the Top Ten. Radio exposure continued through 1956 with "Held for Questioning" and "House of Cards," while "In the Middle of the House" returned him to the Top 20 despite Vaughn Monroe's competing version that reached number 11.
Chart traction proved modest at the start of 1957 with "Let's Go Calypso" and "Tiger Lily," yet a reading of Chas McDevitt's U.K. skiffle hit "Freight Train" restored Top Ten status by year's end. Middle-of-the-road country-pop subsequently lost favor, and later Mercury sides such as "June, July and August," "With This Ring," and "Can You Depend on Me?" moved slowly. In 1960 "Muleskinner Blues" unexpectedly reached the British Top 40, while its B-side, a cover of Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling," peaked at number 54 on the U.S. pop charts. The 1961 treatment of Cowboy Copas' "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" became Draper's last Mercury hit; after "Beggar to a King" the following summer he departed for Monument, where Willie Nelson's "Night Life" climbed to number 57 on the pop lists in fall 1963. Further Monument releases "It Should Be Easier" and "I'm Worried About Me" failed to register, and the label ended the arrangement after 1966's "Mystery Train," though scattered lower-chart country entries such as "My Elusive Dreams," "California Sunshine," and "Buffalo Nickel" appeared through the rest of the decade. Concert appearances, stage musicals, and television work sustained his profile, and in 1980 "Harbor Lights" returned him briefly to the country listings. Rusty Draper succumbed to pneumonia in Bellevue, WA, on March 29, 2003.
Albums
