Marvin Karlton Rainwater
(July 2, 1925 – September 17, 2013)
was an American
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
and
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 ...
singer and songwriter who had several hits during the late 1950s, including the self-penned "
Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" and "
Whole Lotta Woman," which hit #1 on the
UK Singles Chart. He was known for wearing
Native American fashion-themed outfits on stage and claimed to have quarter-blood
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
ancestry.
Biography
Early life and rise to fame
Rainwater was born in
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...
,
to Stella (née Miller) and Cicero Percy Rainwater, and grew up during the Great Depression. He also lived in Alabama and Muskogee, Oklahoma. As a child, instead of listening to 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 ...
'' with his father, he took classical piano lessons, which ended after he lost part of his right thumb to a work accident as a teenager.
He originally trained to be a veterinarian,
but after some time in the Navy during World War II took up the guitar.
He became fascinated with
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
and started playing and writing songs. With his brothers, he played concerts around
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. He sometimes wore a buckskin jacket and headband.
Rising guitarist
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...
worked with Rainwater and together they cut a few
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
for
4 Star Records.
Pop singer
Teresa Brewer
Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...
turned his composition "I Gotta Go Get My Baby" into a big hit.
Others were overdubbed and released on budget record labels.
Rainwater got his big break in the music business when he performed on
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer. At the peak of his success, in the early to mid-1950s, Godfrey was heard on radio and seen on television up to six days ...
's programs.
He won first place on ''
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') is an American radio and television variety show that ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur God ...
'' on May 9, 1955. He had a regular role on ABC-TV's ''
Ozark Jubilee
''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...
'' for several years in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
beginning in 1955.
He signed with
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
and recorded a series of songs for the label, including peppy numbers like "Hot and Cold".
Such songs were showcases for Rainwater's voice, and his energy and versatility led him to record rockabilly.
Height of his career (late 1950s)
Rainwater was one of country's most noteworthy stars in the late 1950s, when his good looks and
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
voice made him popular. One of the first country songs he recorded was "
Gonna Find Me a Bluebird", which he wrote.
Released in 1957, the song became a big country-pop crossover hit, making Rainwater among the first country singers to appeal to a pop market.
The song reached No. 3 on the country chart and 18 on the pop chart.
It sold one million copies by 1957, and gave Rainwater his first
gold record
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
.
During the song's success, Rainwater relocated to the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
-
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
area.
"The Majesty of Love" (1957) was a duet with
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...
, which also sold over one million copies.
His next single, "So You Think You Got Troubles", was a successful follow-up on the country charts, but not on the pop charts. His self-penned
"Whole Lotta Woman" reached
UK No. 1 for three weeks in April and May 1958.
A second UK single, "I Dig You Baby", made No. 19 in June 1958.
"Nothin' Needs Nothin' (Like I Need You)" missed the UK Top Thirty chart, but returned him to the US Country chart.
Rainwater performed and toured throughout the rest of the 1950s.
In 1959, he added three more gold records: "My Love Is Real", "My Brand Of Blues" and "Half Breed" (A cover version of a
John D. Loudermilk song,
) all sold in excess of one million
records.
In 1959, Rainwater recorded another Loudermilk song, "
The Pale Faced Indian". His original version went unnoticed, but later efforts by
Don Fardon and
Paul Revere & The Raiders under the title "Indian Reservation" were hits. Marvin recorded a number of songs with his little sister Patty Rainwater who was almost 12 years his junior. They recorded songs like "Down In The Cellar" as well as some of Patty's compositions like "Because I'm A Dreamer" and "Two Fools In Love".
His voice began to give out, and he developed calluses on his vocal cords.
As a result, Rainwater and MGM Records parted ways in 1960.
He went into brief retirement to rest his voice and then recorded sporadically for
Warwick Records (United Kingdom)
Warwick Records is a British record label active in the 1970s and early 1980s, established by Ian Miles, which specialised in producing song compilations that were sometimes given away as 'promos' with other products, such as magazines. Warwick ...
, although without any hits.
In the 1960s, he recorded for a series of record labels including
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
and
Sonet
Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes ...
; and started his own record company called Brave Records.
Later life
In the 1970s, Rainwater developed
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...
, from which he slowly recovered, and moved to
Aitkin, Minnesota. He appeared occasionally at rockabilly festivals in Europe
and was still loved by many fans.
Rainwater was the 73rd inductee into the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The original Rockabilly Hall of Fame was an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly.
Headquartered in Nashville ...
.
He died of heart failure on September 17, 2013, in Minneapolis. Marvin had children by his first wife, and three by his second. He was survived by his third wife.
Legacy
Rainwater's song "Gamblin' Man" was covered by
Mike Ness on his 1999 album, ''
Under the Influences''. "So You Think You've Got Troubles" was covered by
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
, as evidenced on his 1966 ''
Spotlight on Nilsson'' compilation album. "
Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" was covered by
Petula Clark
Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
in 1957 and by
Steve Young
Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Bu ...
on his 1969 album, ''
Rock Salt & Nails''. "Hot and Cold" was featured on
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 ...
's radio show, ''
Theme Time Radio Hour.''
The British guitarist
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is known as the lead guitarist for the Shadows.
Early life and career
Marvin was born as Brian Robson Rankin at ...
derived his stage surname in honor of Marvin Rainwater.
Discography
Singles
Albums
* 1957 ''Songs By Marvin Rainwater'' (MGM E3534)
* 1958 ''Marvin Rainwater Sings With a Heart – With a Beat'' (MGM E3721) (1985:Bear Family BFX 15132)
* 1960 ''Sing for You'' (Audio Lab)
* 1962 ''Gonna Find Me A Bluebird'' (MGM E4046)
* 1963 ''Marvin Rainwater'' (Crown CST307)
* 1985 ''Rockin' Rollin' '' (Bear Family BFX15079) (MGM ''Whole Lotta Woman'')
* 1970 ''Country's Favorite Singer'' (Mount Vernon MVM146)
* 1972 ''Gets Country Fever'' (Philips)
* 1981 ''Whatever Happened to Marvin Rainwater'' (Mark IV Records RR-42156)
Notes
References
*
Whitburn, Joel. ''Top 40 Hits''.
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
: Billboard Books.
External links
*
Marvin Rainwater in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame bio1998 Minnesota Public Radio interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainwater, Marvin
1925 births
2013 deaths
Writers from Wichita, Kansas
Musicians from Wichita, Kansas
United States Navy personnel of World War II
American country singer-songwriters
American male pop singers
American male singer-songwriters
MGM Records artists
American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent
People from Aitkin, Minnesota
Singer-songwriters from Minnesota
Singer-songwriters from Kansas