Carl Richard Mann (August 22, 1942December 16, 2020) was an American

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 Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

singer and pianist from West Tennessee. He was referred to as "The Last Son of Sun", as he was one of the final artists introduced by

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American disc jockey, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, R ...

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

Biography

Mann was born in

Huntingdon, Tennessee Huntingdon is a town in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,439 at the 2020 census and 3,985 in 2010. It is the county seat of Carroll County. History European-American settlers named Huntingdon for Memucan Hunt, who ...

, and raised in rural western Tennessee. His parents owned a

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

business. A child musical prodigy, he learned to play the guitar by age eight, sang in church, and by the age of eleven also began to perform

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

songs for local talent shows in nearby

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. In 1957 at the age of 15, Mann released his first single on Jaxon Records, "Gonna Rock and Roll Tonight" b/w "Rockin' Love". After he released several more singles on Jaxon, W.S. Holland became Mann's manager, and took the young singer to

. (Holland was the drummer for singer/songwriter

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Sun owner

signed Mann to a three-year contract, and soon after, Sun released Mann's

version of

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

's "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

" in 1959. Mann and

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

released single versions of the tune at the same time that year, and both charted; it was sixteen-year-old Mann's first hit, peaking at No. 24 on the US R&B Singles chart and No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It ultimately sold a million records. Mann's follow-up singles were less successful; he covered several pop standards, but his only charting hit was 1959's " Pretend", which peaked at No. 57 Pop. An LP, ''Like Mann'', was released in 1960 but did not sell well, and Mann began to drift from the music business. After serving in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1964, he released a single, "Down to My Last I Love You", on

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

. But it failed and he returned to family life and the lumber business, where he battled with problems of

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In 1974, Mann worked to revive his career as a country artist, releasing singles on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and

Dot A dot is usually a small, round spot. Dot, DoT or DOT may also refer to: Orthography * Full stop or "period", a sentence terminator * Dot (diacritic), a mark above or below a character (e.g. ȧ, ạ, İ, Ċ, ċ, etc.), usually to indicate sou ...

. His 1976 single " Twilight Time" scraped the US Country Singles chart, peaking at No. 100. In 1977, he landed a deal with

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

record label Rockhouse Records, which released a live/studio split ''Gonna Rock'n'Roll Tonight'' in 1978 and ''In Rockabilly Country'' in 1981. Mann toured occasionally in Europe in the 1980s, but eventually returned to Tennessee and running the family logging outfit. In 2005, Mann came out of music retirement, performing on the local ''Huntingdon Hayride'' radio show in his hometown. He continued to perform overseas and in the states, and record. He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in

, in 2006. A CD called ''Rockabilly Highway'', featuring Mann, and Sun Records label mates W. S. Holland and Rayburn Anthony, was released in 2008. Mann put out an album ''Carl Mann'' in 2012. Two other albums were released including his music. Mann continued to perform, including at Sun Record showcases in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, such as "Viva Las Vegas" at the Orleans Hotel, and at

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

's "Ink and Iron", and other venues. When dates allowed, his sons, Richard and Joe Mann, joined him to carry on the family musical tradition. Mann died at a hospital in

, on December 16, 2020. He was 78 years old.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Like Mann'' (1960/08/17 Phillips International PLP 1960 S *''In Rockabilly Country'' (1981 Rockhouse RHLP-8102 L *''Legacy - Strait & Narrow Road'' (2005/2 Round Midnight RAM 9001) *''Endlessly (Legendary Country Influences)'' (2006/8 Round Midnight RAM 9002) *''A Rockabilly Christmas'' (2007/11 Catalogue #171107) *''Rayburn Anthony, W.S. Holland & Carl Mann - Rockabilly Highway - After 50 Plus Years, Still Rockin’'' (2009/1/1) *''Carl Mann'' (2012/5/1 Jaxon Records JRCD 20102 imited CD-R release *''Carl Mann & Rayburn Anthony - Cruisin Around'' (2013 JL Records Sweden) *''Rockabilly Renaissance'' (2016 Jaxon Records JRCD 82119)

Live albums

*''Gonna Rock 'N' Roll Tonight'' (1978 Rockhouse RHLP-7806 L

Singles

*"Gonna Rock & Roll Tonight"/"Rockin' Love" (1957) *"

"/"Foolish One" (1959) *" Pretend"/"Rockin' Love" (1959) *"

Some Enchanted Evening "Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. It has been described as "the single biggest popular hit to come out of any Rodgers and Hammerstein show." Mast, Gerald''Can't Help Sing ...

"/"I Can't Forget" (1959) *"Baby I Don't Care"/"Vanished" (1960) *" South of the Border/"I'm Comin' Home" (1960) *"

The Wayward Wind "The Wayward Wind" is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics), and first recorded by American singer Gogi Grant in 1955, and released in 1956. Grant's version reached No. 1 on both the ''Cash Box'' charts, ...

"/"Born to Be Bad" (1960) *"If I Could Change You"/"I Ain't Got No Home" (1961) *"

When I Grow Too Old to Dream "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" is a popular song with music by Sigmund Romberg and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, published in 1934. The song was introduced by Evelyn Laye and Ramon Novarro in the film '' The Night Is Young'' (1935). It has si ...

"/"

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...

" (1962) *"The Serenade of the Bells"/"Down to My Last I Forgive You" (1966) *"Burnin' Holes in the Eyes of Abraham Lincoln"/"The Ballad of Johnny Clyde" (1974) *"Just About Out"/"Neon Lights" (1975) *"Cheatin' Time"/"It's Not the Coffee" (1975) *"Annie-Over-Time"/"Back Loving" (1975) *" Twilight Time"/"Belly-Rubbin' Country Soul" (1976)

References

External links

Carl Mann Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (July 14, 2013)
Carl Mann biography
BlackCat Rockabilly, Netherlands * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Carl 1942 births 2020 deaths American rockabilly musicians Singers from Tennessee Phillips International Records artists American male singers People from Huntingdon, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee