Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

February 22, 2016, 5:43 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/country-legend-sonny-james-dead-87-article-1.2540357

Country fans with an ear for history have reason to sing the blues: crooner Sonny James, a rare artist to notch 16 consecutive No. 1 singles, died Monday.
 
He was 87.
 
James died of natural causes at Alive Hospital in Nashville while surrounded by family and friends, according to his official site.
 
The “Young Love” singer earned the nickname, the Southern Gentleman, for his affable reputation. Though not as well known outside the genre as contemporaries like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cast and George Jones, he earned his place in the Country Hall of Fame for a consistent run from 1953 to 1983 of 72 records that made the Billboard charts.


Born James Hugh Loden on May 1, 1928, in Hackleburg, Ala., the budding star started his strumming on a homemade mandolin made out of a molasses bucket, according to The Tennessean. He kicked off performing with his four sisters in a family band called the Loden family, which became a staple of local radio.
 
It wasn’t until after he returned from serving in Korea in 1950 that he became serious about his music career. Using a childhood nickname, Sonny, for the stage, he took advantage of the fledgling medium of television, including regular visits to the “Ed Sullivan Show” to cement his stardom.
 ::snipping3::

(http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2540354.1456180715!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_400/nup-155529-0004-jpg.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUXACqJoPWw&app=desktop  Only the Lonely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNCal03_YEE    Running Bear

 ::MonkeyHeart::


a great singer