Donald Ray Walser (September 14, 1934 – September 20, 2006) was an American

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 ...

singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

legend."

Music career

Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and raised in Lamesa. A roots musician since he was 11 years old, Walser became an accomplished guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He started his first band, The Panhandle Playboys, at age 16, and shared bills with another aspiring Texas singer,

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

. As

rock'n'roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

began to skyrocket in popularity, Walser opted to stay in the Texas Panhandle, raise a family and work as a mechanic and later as an auditor for the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

, rather than move 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 ...

and pursue a recording career. As a result, he had little following outside Texas for the first part of his career. However, he never stopped playing and became widely known in Texas. From 1959 to 1961 Walser had a group called The Texas Plainsmen and a weekly radio program. For the next three decades he was always in bands and played a heavy schedule. He wrote popular original songs such as "Rolling Stone from Texas", which received a four-star review in 1964 from ''Billboard'' magazine. As time went on, Walser also became known for maintaining a catalog of older, obscure country music and cowboy songs. He kept alive old 1940s and 1950s tunes by country music pioneers such as Bob Wills and Eddy Arnold, and made them his own in a style that blended elements of honky tonk and

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

. He also was known for his extraordinary yodeling style in the tradition of Slim Whitman and Jimmie Rodgers. In 1984, the Guard transferred Walser to Austin, a center of the burgeoning

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

music scene. He put together his Pure Texas Band and developed a strong local following. Walser opened for

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

in 1996. In 1990, Walser was "discovered" by musician and talent scout TJ McFarland. In 1994, aged 60, Walser retired from the Guard. Able to devote himself fully to music for the first time in his life, he was immediately signed by Watermelon Records and released the album ''Rolling Stone From Texas'', produced by Ray Benson of

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

. His extraordinary vocal abilities earned him the nickname "the Pavarotti of the Plains" by a reviewer for ''Playboy'' magazine. Because of his Austin base, he attracted fans from country music traditionalists, and

alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music: *Independent music *Alternative rock *Alternative pop *Alternative R&B *Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul *Alternative reggaeton *Alternative hip hop *Alternative dance *Alter ...

and punk fans. His band later became the opening act for the

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

. He had cameo roles in feature films with Western swing settings, especially an acclaimed and memorable role as the lead singer in a rodeo dance band, singing "I'll Hold You in My Heart," in the 1998

Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...

film '' The Hi-Lo Country'' — a performance often regarded as one of the highlights of the picture. In September 2003, Don Walser retired from live performances due to health issues. Three years later, Walser died due to complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

on September 20, 2006, six days after his 72nd birthday.

Quotes about Don Walser

* "Perhaps the last of God's great pure country singers, with a national and international following among those who like the real deal" — John Morthland * "This man's voice is a national treasure and qualifies as high Texas folk art. ... When it comes to evocative, classic country music, it doesn't get much better than this" — Erik Hage, ''Allmusic'' * "Nothing less than pure country music incarnate" — David Courtney, ''Austin City Search'' * "Country music's greatest yodeler" — Texas Music Group] * "A Texas country music institution" — Jerry Renshaw, ''Austin Chronicle'' * "Simply one of the great voices and nice guys of our day" — tunefan.com

Awards and honors

Don Walser was voted "Best Performing Country Band" at the Austin Music Awards, was voted top country band of the year by the '' Austin Chronicle'' in 1996, and received an Association for Independent Music "Indie" Award in 1997. He also received recognition in mainstream country, and played the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

on October 30, 1999, and again in 2001. In 2000 he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, and he and the Pure Texas Band played at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the awards ceremony.

Discography

* ''Texas Souvenir'' (1992) * ''Rolling Stone From Texas'' (1994) * ''The Archive Series: Volume 1'' (1995) * ''The Archive Series Volume 2'' (1995) * ''Texas Top Hand'' (1996) * ''Down At The Sky-Vue Drive-In'' (1998) * ''Here's To Country Music'' (1999) * ''I'll Hold You In My Heart'' (2000,

Valley Entertainment Valley Entertainment is an American independent record label and music distributor based in New York City, United States. The company was founded in 1994 by Barney Cohen and Jon Birge. In 2001, it acquired the prestigious back catalogue of space, ...

) * ''Dare To Dream: The Best of Don Walser'' (2001) * ''Texas Legend'' (2006)

References

External links