Curtis Gordon

about

Curtis Gordon (Jul. 27, 1928 - May 2, 2004) was an American rockabilly singer. One of the most enduring and beloved rockabilly artists of the '50s, Curtis Gordon has never gotten the recognition he deserves as a true crossover artist between country, Western swing, and rockabilly. A devotee of both Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills as a boy, it's possible to hear echoes of Tubb's "Walkin' the Floor Over You" in his best sides, including "Play the Music Louder," "Caffeine and Nicotine," and "Baby, Please Come Home," indeed, the steel player in his '50s band, Freddie Calhoun, played for all the world like Tubb's steel guitarist Jerry Byrd. Gordon grew up listening to Tubb and Wills on the radio, as well as old records by Jimmie Rodgers and quickly developed his own aspirations as a singer, winning a local radio talent show. He left school as a teenager to front a band -- whose membership included a young Jimmy Bryant, then a fiddle-player using the moniker Ivy J. Bryant -- until his parents insisted he give it up. Being stuck in school didn't dampen Gordon's enthusiasm for music or a performing career, however, and he continued working with a Gulfport, MS, outfit called Pee Wee Mills & the Twilight Cowboys. At the age of 21, he put together his own Western swing band and worked the area around the Georgia-Florida border. The band was good enough to earn a living of sorts, and in June of 1952, they entered a contest in Atlanta and ended up catching the ear of a local RCA Victor executi

top songs

albums

Play the Music Louder

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Hot Rods & Custom Classiscs (disc 2)

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Rockabilly Insanity

Rock, Roll, Jump & Jive

Draggin'

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Songs for the Roads, Vol.5

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The Roots of Rockabilly 1940-1953 (disc 1)

Real Raw Rockabilly

1950s Punk & Rockabilly Rebels

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Swingbillies Vol. 4

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TTRH Season 1 - 05 - Coffee

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Red Hot Rockabilly For Ice Cool Cats

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