Leon Roger Payne (June 15, 1917 – September 11, 1969), "the Blind Balladeer", 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 and songwriter.

Life

He was born in

Alba, Texas Alba ( ) is a town located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm To Market Road 17 on the western edge of Wood County, Texas, United States, south of Lake Fork and approximately ten miles west of Quitman. The population was 473 in t ...

, United States. He was blind in one eye at birth, and lost the sight in the other eye in early childhood. He attended the Texas School for the Blind from 1924 to 1935. He married Myrtie and they had two children together, as well as two children from Myrtie's previous marriage. Payne died at age 52 from a heart attack in 1969 in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. Myrtie died in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

in 2008, and Leon's composition " I Love You Because" was played at her funeral service by pedal steel guitarist Emmett Roch, accompanied by musicians who were members of her church.

Career

Leon wrote hundreds of country songs in a prolific career that lasted from 1941 until his death. He is perhaps best known for " I Love You Because," " You've Still Got a Place in My Heart," and the 1948 song " Lost Highway," a song made famous by

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

in 1949. Payne's own version of "I Love You Because" reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country chart, the only version to do so. Leon Payne also wrote under the pen name of "Pat Patterson" on tracks such as " It's Nothing to Me," performed by

Sanford Clark Sanford Clark (October 24, 1935 – July 4, 2021) was an American country music, country-rockabilly singer and guitarist, best known for his 1956 hit "The Fool (Sanford Clark song), The Fool". Biography Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa ...

. He began his music career in the mid-1930s, playing a variety of musical instruments in public; he started performing on KWET radio in

Palestine, Texas Palestine ( ) is a city in and the County seat, seat of Anderson County, Texas, Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named after Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker (Baptist), Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that ...

, in 1935. He also had a stint playing with

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

' Texas Playboys in 1938. Payne was a regular working musician at Jerry Irby's nightclub in Houston, Texas.

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born 31 August 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner notes ...

, ''Hank Williams - The Biography'', Boston, p. 98. 2005, He joined his stepbrother, famed songwriter

Jack Rhodes Andrew Jackson "Jack" Rhodes (January 12, 1907 – October 9, 1968) was an American country music producer and songwriter, with songwriting credits on over 625 released songs. Several of his songs became hit records, including " A Satisfied Mi ...

, and formed Jack Rhodes and the Lone Star Buddies in 1949. They performed regularly on the

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 ...

show in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He was later on 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 ...

. Much of his musical legacy is recordings of his songs by other artists, perhaps most famous of which are two minor hits for

, "Lost Highway" and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me."

Notable recordings and covers by other artists

recorded " Lost Highway" in 1949 and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" in 1950. *

Eddie Fisher Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, '' The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress E ...

recorded "I Love You Because" in 1952 on his album Eddie Fisher Sings. *

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 ...

recorded "I Love You Because" for

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 ...

in 1954. *

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 ...

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. ...

recorded "Lumberjack" in 1957 and 1960 *

Al Martino Jasper Cini (October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009), known professionally as Al Martino, was an American traditional pop and standards singer. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid-1970s, being described as "one o ...

recorded "I Love You Because" in 1963. Reached #3 on the Billboard pop chart. *

Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...

recorded "Lost Highway" in 1959 and "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" and "Miss Marcy" in 1960. *

recorded "I Love You Because" for

in 1958. *

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. One of the earliest pioneers and practitioners of the Nashville sound, he played a central role in the sonic development of country music in th ...

covered "I Love You Because" and " Blue Side of Lonesome," which were released in 1964 and 1966, respectively. The latter reached number one on the ''

'' US country charts. * Eddie Noack recorded "Psycho" in 1968. This version was barely released and the song remained obscure until covered by Michigan singer Jack Kittel in 1973. The Kittel version reached #114 in the Cash Box "Looking Ahead" survey, September 1974. *

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

recorded "Teach Me to Forget" on his 1968 album ''Mama Tried''. *

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 ...

recorded "Blue Side of Lonesome" on his 1966 album Love Bug; he later devoted an entire album of Payne's songs, '' George Jones Sings the Great Songs of Leon Payne'', in 1971. *

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

included "Lost Highway" on the first of his pseudonymous country albums, "Hank Wilson's Back," released in 1973. *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

recorded "They'll Never Take His Love From Me" in 1979. *

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

can be seen performing "Lost Highway" in a hotel room in the 1965 documentary

Dont Look Back '' Look Back'' is a 1967 American documentary film directed by D. A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in England. In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library ...

. *

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

and

T-Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won several Grammy Awards for his work on film sou ...

, under the pseudonyms Hank Coward and Howard Coward (

The Coward Brothers Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

), released "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" as the B side of a single in 1986. The cut was restored as a bonus track in a 1995 re-release of Costello's Burnett-produced King of America album. * Elvis Costello also released a live version of Payne's song "Psycho." *

Jason & the Scorchers Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a cowpunk band that formed in 1981 and are led by singer-songwriter Jason Ringenberg. With a sound that combines punk rock and country music, Jason and the Scorchers are not ...

, then known as Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, recorded a country-punk version of "Lost Highway" on their first full-length LP, "Lost & Found," in 1985. *Australian blues/rock band The Beasts of Bourbon also released a cover of "Psycho" in 1984. It is included in their debut album, The Axeman's Jazz. *

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

played Payne's song "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" and "Lost Highway" live on more than one occasion. *

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

recorded a version of "Lost Highway" on the b-side of their December 1998 Fisherman's Blues single. *

Doug Sahm Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from San Antonio, Texas. He is regarded as a key Tejano music, Tex-Mex music and Music of Texas, Texan Music pe ...

played Payne's song "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" on his album ''The Return of Wayne Douglas''. *

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

played "Lost Highway" live. It was released posthumously on the re-release of his debut album ''

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...

.'' *

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

recorded "Selfishness in Man". *

Freakwater Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic di ...

recorded "Selfishness in Man". * Buddy and

Julie Miller Julie Anne Miller (born Julie Griffin, July 12, 1956) is an American songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded ...

recorded "Selfishness in Man" on their album

Written in Chalk ''Written in Chalk'' is an album by Buddy Miller, Buddy and Julie Miller, released in 2009. It won numerous awards at the 2009 Americana Music Association awards: Album of the Year and the song "Chalk" won the Song of the Year. Buddy Miller won ...

The Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of co ...

played "Lost Highway" on their album '' Fear and Whiskey''. *

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer St ...

recorded "Lost Highway" in 2006; video footage of that recording appears in their documentary, "Running Down a Dream." *

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith. Since 1978, Carter has ...

recorded "You Are the One" in 1990. * Carl Smith recorded "You Are the One" in 1957. *

Kurt Nilsen Kurt Erik Nilsen () (born 29 September 1978) is a Norwegian pop/country singer. He won the first season of the Norwegian reality show ''Idol'', which aired on TV 2 in May 2003. He then won a one-off international version of ''Pop Idol'' called ...

recorded "Lost Highway" as a duet with

in 2008. *

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...

recorded "The Blue Side of Lonesome" and "I Love You Because" for his "Standard Songs for Average People" in 2007. *

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

recorded "Lost Highway" on the Nonesuch album "Further East/Further West" in 2005. *

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

recorded a version of "Lost Highway", released on the album "Highway Kind" in 1997, shortly after his death. *

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...

and

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944, in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, singer-songwriter, and actor who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, blueg ...

recorded "Lost Highway" on their 1996 disc "Bakersfield Bound." * The Handsome Family covered "Lost Highway" and it was released on their b-sides collection, Scattered. * " It's Nothing To Me" (written under pseudonym P. Patterson) was recorded by

(1961),

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

(1964; as " T'ain't Nothin' To Me),

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard is credited with writing more than 4,000 songs, over 100 of which reached country mus ...

(1967),

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

(1973),

The Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas Good, a founding member, died in 2022. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret a ...

(1999), and

Lee Hazlewood Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...

(2006). * Ricky Warwick covered "Psycho" on his solo ''Hearts on Trees'' acoustic album (2014). *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

recorded Payne's "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" and "You've Still Got A Place In My Heart". * Rex Allen Sr. recorded "Jose Villa Lobo Alfredo Thomaso Vincente Lopez" on "The Smooth Country Sound of Rex Allen". *

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

recorded "Lost Highway" in 2025.

References

External links

*
LeonPayne
at TalentOnDisplay
Leon Payne
article {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Leon 1917 births 1969 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Blind musicians Starday Records artists Capitol Records artists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American male singers American blind people American musicians with disabilities