Richard William Curless (March 17, 1932 – May 25, 1995) 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, o ...
singer.
He usually wore a patch over his right eye.
Biography
Curless was born in
Fort Fairfield, Maine
Fort Fairfield is a town in Aroostook County, eastern Maine, United States, located along the Canada–US border. The population was 3,322 at the 2020 census.
History
Fort Fairfield is named for John Fairfield, 13th and 16th governor of Main ...
, United States, and moved with his family to
at the age of eight.
He began his music career in 1948 in
Ware, Massachusetts
Ware is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The census-designated place of Ware, comprising the main settle ...
, where he hosted a
radio show
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio netwo ...
and toured with a local band called the Trail Blazers.
He married his wife, Pauline, in 1951, and only six months after the wedding, he was drafted into the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. He served in the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top: ...
from 1952 to 1954 first as a
truck driver
A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...
and later as a radio host with the stage name "Rice Paddy Ranger".
He returned home to Maine in 1954 and continued performing on radio shows, but he spent much of the following year, 1955, at home due to a chronic illness.
In 1957, Curless returned to the public spotlight and appeared on the
CBS television show ''
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur G ...
''.
He spent much of the late 1950s performing in clubs in California and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
but occasionally returned home to Maine to recover from periods of illness and fatigue.
While in Maine, Curless recorded several singles including "China Nights" at Event Records with
Al Hawkes
Al Hawkes (December 25, 1930 – December 28, 2018) was an American musician, founder of Event Records, and pioneer of the American bluegrass movement. He received state and national accolades, including being recognized as a member of the first ...
. Eventually he temporarily left the music industry and bought his own lumber trucking vehicle in Maine.
In 1965, Curless recorded one of the biggest hits of his career, "
A Tombstone Every Mile", which cracked the top 5 on the
''Billboard'' country charts and propelled him to national fame.
In 1966, he recorded the album ''A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You'' with
Kay Adams. From 1966 to 1968, he toured the nation with the ''Buck Owens All American Show''. The pinnacle of his career came in the late 1960s with eleven top-40 hits, including "Six Times a Day (the Trains Came Down)".
Altogether, he recorded 22 ''Billboard'' top-40 hits throughout his career.
After his success in 1970 with the hits "
Big Wheel Cannonball" and "Hard, Hard Traveling Man", he recorded infrequently until he released the albums ''Welcome to My World'' and ''It's Just a Matter of Time'' in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in 1987. The albums were successful in Europe, especially in Norway and Germany.
Curless recorded an album with German country musician
Tom Astor in 1991. During the later part of his life, he performed often at the Cristy Lane Theater in
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, Missouri, Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County, Missouri, Stone County. Branson is in the Ozarks, Ozark Mountains. ...
.
Curless died of
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenoca ...
in 1995, aged 63.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
*
Dick Curless: Allmusic Overview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curless, Dick
1932 births
1995 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century American male singers
American country singer-songwriters
American male singer-songwriters
Capitol Records artists
Deaths from cancer in Maine
Deaths from stomach cancer
People from Ware, Massachusetts
Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts
United States Army soldiers
United States Army personnel of the Korean War