Johnny Carroll (born John Lewis Carrell; October 23, 1937January 13, 1995) 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 ...

musician.

Biography

Born John Lewis Carrell in Cleburne, Texas, Carrell's last name was printed incorrectly as Carroll in his first recording with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and he thereafter used that spelling of his name professionally. Carroll began recording for Decca in the middle of the 1950s. He released several singles, none of which saw significant success, although they are now critically acclaimed. His records were eclipsed by the success of other rockabilly and early

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

musicians such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

, and

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. ...

. His career ended toward the end of the 1950s, but he made a comeback in 1974 with a Gene Vincent tribute song. He continued to record well into the 1980s. For many years he was connected with the Cellar Club in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and other Cellar Clubs around the state. He died of

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

on January 13, 1995, and is buried in his hometown of Godley, Texas. In 1996 a 33-track reissue of his early recordings was released as ''Rock Baby Rock It: 1955-1960''.

Discography

;Early recordings ;Later recordings * "Gene Vincent Rock" (or "The Black Leather Rebel") – 1974 * "Rock, Baby, Rock It" –

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 ...

, 1975 * ''Texabilly'' – Rollin' Rock, 1977 * ''First Time All Over Again'' (with Judy Lindsey) – Gypsy Records, 1980 * "The Telephone Man" (with Judy Lindsey) – Merit Records, 1982 * "Rattle My Bones" – Seville Records, 1983 * ''Still Satin Sheets'' (with Judy Lindsey) – Gypsy Records, 1983 * ''Screamin' Demon Heatwave'' (feat. Judy Lindsey) – Seville Records, 1983 * ''Crazy Hot Rock'' – Charly Records, 1985 * ''Shades of Vincent'' (with Judy Lindsey) – Charly Records, 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Johnny American rockabilly musicians American bandleaders American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American country singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Cleburne, Texas Sun Records artists Phillips International Records artists Charly Records artists Decca Records artists Seville Records artists Warner Records artists Singers from Dallas 1937 births 1995 deaths Deaths from kidney failure in Texas 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers Johnny Kidd & the Pirates members