John Allan Seay, Jr. (July 15, 1940 – May 14, 2016) 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, professionally known as Johnny Sea or Johnny Seay. His first hits came in the late 1950s, and his career saw a resurgence in the mid-1960s, particularly with the release of his

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

single "Day For Decision".

Biography

Seay was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and had his first major break in 1957 by winning a state talent show (whose runner-up was Bill Anderson). As a result of this he was offered a recording contract as well as the opportunity to appear on ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

'' and '' The Grand Ole Opry''. In 1959, he scored a hit on the country charts with "Frankie's Man Johnny", and had a second in 1960 with "Nobody's Darling but Mine".

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.com Both his early hits were on NRC Records. After these hits he moved westward to become a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

. In 1964 he began recording again and his songs, "My Baby Walks All Over Me" and "My Old Faded Rose", became country chart successes. Signing with

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

in 1966, he released the song "Day For Decision" which featured a background chorus singing "

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

". The recording was a country success and also peaked at No. 35 on the US pop charts; it was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

but lost to a collection of recordings by

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...

.The Envelope
''

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''. Accessed October 19, 2007. Its accompanying album, which was a minor chart success, featured renditions of several popular

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

tunes. After 1967, he began recording under his given name Johnny Seay again, and had two more country hits for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, "Goin' to Tulsa" and "Three Six Packs, Two Arms and a Juke Box". His 1968 (released in 1970) song "Willie's Drunk and Nellie's Dyin'" were about his real-life neighbors Willie and Nellie York; after the song's release, the family was profiled in ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...

'' (July 17, 1970). Following his second rise to stardom, Seay returned to the life of a cowboy, moving to Justiceburg, Texas. He died on May 14, 2016, when his single-engine plane clipped a cell telephone tower wire and crashed near West, Texas. He was 75.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Johnny 1940 births 2016 deaths American country singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Country musicians from Mississippi National Recording Corporation artists Philips Records artists Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Warner Records artists