Darrell McCall (born April 30, 1940) is a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
performer, known for his
honky tonk
A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...
and traditional country musical style at the height of his career in the 1960s, and his return to popularity during the
Outlaw country era in the late 1970s.
Early life
McCall was born and raised in
New Jasper Township, Greene County, Ohio
New Jasper Township is one of the twelve civil township, townships of Greene County, Ohio, Greene County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,639.
Geography
Located in the east central part ...
. He was a boyhood friend of fellow future musician
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...
. At the age of 15, he landed a job as a disc jockey at a local Ohio radio show on Saturday mornings. During this time, he also performed as a musician at dances and other events. After graduating from high school, McCall joined the military and was stationed in
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
.
[Darrell McCall](_blank)
CMT.
Career
In 1958, after finishing his duty in the army, McCall moved to
Nashville
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 ...
with Paycheck to record as a duo. The duo failed but McCall soon found work as a background singer during recording sessions for various artists including
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country singer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. His hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, Die ...
,
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
and
Ray Price
Noble Ray Price (January 12, 1926 – December 16, 2013) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone is regarded as among the best male voices of country music, and his innovations, such as prope ...
. Next, he began to tour with the bands of Young, Price and the newcomer
Hank Williams Jr.
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...
In 1959, McCall was contacted by Nashville producer
Buddy Killen
William Doyce “Buddy” Killen (November 13, 1932 – November 1, 2006) was an American record producer and Music publisher (popular music), music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and Tree International Publishi ...
, and asked to join a pop band he was forming called
The Little Dippers
Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...
. The band released the top ten pop hit "
Forever
Forever or 4ever may refer to:
Film and television Films
* ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice
* ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume
* '' ...
" in 1960. The next year, McCall was signed by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
as a solo singer. He released two singles for the label, but neither charted and the performer was subsequently released by Capitol. In 1962, McCall signed with
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...
as a country music singer. He released the hit "A Stranger Was Here," which peaked at No. 17. Later in the year he performed the theme for the film ''
Hud'', which starred actor
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
.
McCall decided to begin an acting career in 1965. He appeared in numerous films including ''Nashville Rebel'', ''Road to Nashville'' and ''What Am I Bid''. During his acting career, McCall also traveled to the American Southwest to perform in rodeos as a cowboy. In 1968, he decided to return to recording.
In 1968, McCall signed with "Wayside Records" and released four singles. In 1970, he released his first album, ''Meet Darrell McCall'' for
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
. Hank Williams Jr. recorded a song penned by McCall in 1971 entitled "
Eleven Roses
"Eleven Roses" is a song written by Lamar Morris and Darrell McCall and recorded by American musician Hank Williams Jr. It was released in March 1972 as the only single and title track from the album of the same name. The song was Williams' fi ...
." It became a No. 1 hit for Williams and resulted in a songwriting contract offer from "
Tree International Publishing
Tree International Publishing was a major American music publisher, based in Nashville. As the last major music publisher that was owned and operated in Nashville, it was sold to the Sony Music, CBS Records Group in 1989.John ParelesRecords to Buy ...
" for McCall, who accepted. In 1974, he signed with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
, releasing the single "There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone." The following year he left Atlantic and signed with
. During this period his popularity grew due to the
Outlaw Country sound being pushed into the mainstream. With Columbia he recorded the hit duet "Lily Dale" with
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
, which became a top 40 hit and was awarded the "Best Duet of 1977" by ''
Cash Box Magazine
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
''. After a few more singles with the label, McCall signed with Hillside Records in 1980 and released a single, but then decided to sign with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
. With RCA, he released his final top 40 hit "Long Line of Empties." His final charting single "Memphis in May" was released for Indigo Records in 1984. In 1986, McCall recorded two albums, including one with
Johnny Bush
John Bush Shinn III (February 17, 1935October 16, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Nicknamed the "Country Caruso", Bush was best known for his distinctive voice and for writing the song "Whiskey River", a t ...
. Following these releases, he stopped recording but continued to tour.
However, he did appear as the lead singer on a few tracks of the
Ace in the Hole's 1995 debut album.
[Mazak, Grant]
Ace in the Hole Band
, ''Texas Music History Online'', 2006.
McCall continues to tour and perform on a regular basis. His wife Mona is also part of the touring band, where she contributes guitar and vocals. More recently, McCall began recording new material for Heart of Texas Records, an independent record label specializing in classic country music. He has released several albums through the label, including studio albums, a greatest hits collection and a duets record called "Survivors," with fellow classic country artists Curtis Potter and Tony Booth.
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Singles
Guest singles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Darrell
1940 births
American country singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Ohio
Living people
People from Greene County, Ohio
Columbia Records artists
Country musicians from Ohio