David Luke Myrick (June 20, 1916 – January 28, 1972), known professionally as T. Texas Tyler, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and songwriter primarily known for his 1948 hit, "

The Deck of Cards "The Deck of Cards" is a recitation song that was popularized in the fields of both country and popular music, first during the late 1940s. This song, which relates the tale of a young American soldier arrested and charged with playing cards dur ...

Biography

Myrick was born just outside Mena, Arkansas, United States. He recorded first for

Black & White Records Black & White Records was an American record company and label founded by Les Schreiber in 1943. It specialized in jazz and blues. When the label was sold to Paul and Lillian Reiner, it moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catalog includ ...

as a member of The Six Westernaires, and for 4 Star Records (Hollywood) from September 1945 until the end of the 1950s. Some recordings in the country boogie (or pre-

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

) style were produced for the label with top session musicians on the steel and electric guitar, e.g. the driving instrumental "Guitar Boogie Woogie" (4 Star-1114; recorded in May 1946). The accompanying musicians were billed as The Oklahoma Melody Boys on the record labels. Tyler recorded "The Deck of Cards" in 1948. The spoken-word hit single, which was his biggest hit, tells the story of a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

soldier who explains how a deck of playing-cards serves him as a Bible, an almanac and a prayer-book. Tyler altered but did not write "The Deck of Cards." It appeared in the New York Irish-American newspaper, ''The Advocate'', on June 10, 1916, simply credited to "E. L." Tyler followed that smash with another recitation, the Mary Jean Shurtz composition, "Dad Gave My Dog Away". His popularity resulted in a booking at New York City's Carnegie Hall. He was a frequent performer on the '' Grand Ole Opry'' and ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...

,'' as well as hosting his own television show in Los Angeles, California in 1950. Some of his 4 Star recordings were leased to US- Decca Records from 1952 to 1955. His career was hampered at the end of the 1950s because of personal problems, although some albums on

King Records (USA) King Records may refer to: *King Records (Japan), a Japanese record label founded in 1931 *King Records (United States), an American record label active 1943–1975 *Lizard King Records Lizard King Records was a London-based independent record ...

with 4 Star material and hymns have been released. In the 1960s, Tyler enjoyed a revival when he recorded two albums (one containing hymns) for Capitol Records and, in 1966, another for

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

. Following the death of his first wife, Claudia, in 1968, Tyler remarried Dorie (née Susanna Falk Buhr) and settled down in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, where he preached to a local congregation and occasionally performed. He died in Springfield on January 28, 1972, of stomach cancer.

Tributes

"T-Texas Tyler", a ballad on songwriter and recording artist Bucky Halker's 2008 CD ''Wisconsin 2.13.63, Volume 2'', recalls Tyler's performances in Burley, Idaho in the early 1950s when he struggled with alcohol and drugs and barely made it through his set many nights, but still managed moments of skillful performance. "Red River Dave" McEnery wrote and recorded a song called "Jailhouse Blues" about T. Texas Tyler's arrest in the mid-1950s for marijuana possession. In it he quotes and refers to several of Tyler's hits: "Remember Me (When the Candlelights Are Gleaming)" and "Deck of Cards".

Charted singles

References

External links

T. Texas Tyler biography at CMT.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, T. Texas 1916 births 1972 deaths Singer-songwriters from Arkansas American country singer-songwriters Deaths from stomach cancer Four Star Records artists Apex Records artists RCA Victor artists Starday Records artists People from Mena, Arkansas 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Arkansas Deaths from cancer in Missouri