Ed Bruce, a singer/songwriter and actor who had his own run of hits on the country charts but was best known for co-writing Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings’ “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” has died at age 81. He died in Clarksville, Tenn. and the cause of death was given as natural causes.
Bruce was also recognized for playing the second lead to James Garner on NBC’s 1981-82 “Bret Maverick,” a one-season reboot of “Maverick,” as well as writing and singing the show’s theme song.
Of “Mammas,” one of the most iconic country hits of all time, Bruce said in a 2012 interview, “It was a top 15 record for me. And actually when I finished writing it, there was a question of whether I was gonna record it or whether I wanted pitch it to Waylon. There was no doubt in my mind it was a No.
Bruce was also recognized for playing the second lead to James Garner on NBC’s 1981-82 “Bret Maverick,” a one-season reboot of “Maverick,” as well as writing and singing the show’s theme song.
Of “Mammas,” one of the most iconic country hits of all time, Bruce said in a 2012 interview, “It was a top 15 record for me. And actually when I finished writing it, there was a question of whether I was gonna record it or whether I wanted pitch it to Waylon. There was no doubt in my mind it was a No.
- 1/8/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Ed Bruce, the country singer-songwriter behind hits including “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” died Friday, January 8th in Clarksville, Tennessee, from natural causes, according to his publicist. He was 81.
William Edwin Bruce Jr. was born December 29th, 1939, in Keiser, Arkansas, and raised in nearby Memphis, Tennessee. That put him in close proximity to Sun Records engineer Jack Clement and owner Sam Phillips, who signed him at 17 to release the 1957 rockabilly side “Rock Boppin’ Baby.”
Bruce would later record with RCA and Wand/Scepter, but...
William Edwin Bruce Jr. was born December 29th, 1939, in Keiser, Arkansas, and raised in nearby Memphis, Tennessee. That put him in close proximity to Sun Records engineer Jack Clement and owner Sam Phillips, who signed him at 17 to release the 1957 rockabilly side “Rock Boppin’ Baby.”
Bruce would later record with RCA and Wand/Scepter, but...
- 1/8/2021
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Ed Bruce, the singer and songwriter who got his start during the Sun Records rockabilly era and went on to write or record a long string of country chart-makers, died of natural causes today in Clarksville, Tennessee. Bruce, who sidelined as an actor on such TV series as James Garner’s 1981 Maverick sequel and 1980’s The Chisholms, was 81.
His death was announced by publicist Jeremy Westby.
A cowriter of the country classic “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Bruce was only 17 when he worked as a recording engineer for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, where he’d soon writer and record “Rock Boppin’ Baby.” Through the mid-1960s he wrote songs for pop star Tommy Roe, country singer Charlie Louvin, and, later in the decade, charted himself with minor hits “Walker’s Woods” and a cover version of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.”
Bigger hits came in the 1970s,...
His death was announced by publicist Jeremy Westby.
A cowriter of the country classic “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” Bruce was only 17 when he worked as a recording engineer for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records, where he’d soon writer and record “Rock Boppin’ Baby.” Through the mid-1960s he wrote songs for pop star Tommy Roe, country singer Charlie Louvin, and, later in the decade, charted himself with minor hits “Walker’s Woods” and a cover version of The Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville.”
Bigger hits came in the 1970s,...
- 1/8/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Elizabeth Cook can’t remember how many times she’s performed on the Grand Ole Opry, except to say it’s “more than 400.” In fact, the veteran country singer holds the record for the most Opry performances by a non-member. It is a curious statistic.
“The stat you don’t want is the one I got,” Cook says with a laugh. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone in support of her superb new album Aftermath, she talked about the dubious distinction but said she doesn’t feel slighted.
“I...
“The stat you don’t want is the one I got,” Cook says with a laugh. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone in support of her superb new album Aftermath, she talked about the dubious distinction but said she doesn’t feel slighted.
“I...
- 10/1/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Guitarist Jimmy Capps, a member of the Musicians Hall of Fame who played on such timeless country songs as Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” has died at 81. Capps was also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, playing lead guitar in the house band. A rep for the Opry confirmed his death.
Born May 25th, 1939, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Capps began playing guitar when he was 12. In 1958, he auditioned for the Louvin Brothers’ band and was ultimately...
Born May 25th, 1939, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Capps began playing guitar when he was 12. In 1958, he auditioned for the Louvin Brothers’ band and was ultimately...
- 6/2/2020
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
The story of Country Music Hall of Fame duo the Louvin Brothers will be told in a new biopic starring Ethan Hawke, according to Variety. Satan Is Real, currently in development, costars Hawke and Alessandro Nivola as sibling singers Charlie and Ira Louvin.
Best known for their 1958 album Satan Is Real, with its outrageous hellscape album cover, the Louvin Brothers were a study in conflict. While delivering songs like “The Christian Life” and “The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea,” the siblings often quarreled and lived on the edge, particularly Ira, whose...
Best known for their 1958 album Satan Is Real, with its outrageous hellscape album cover, the Louvin Brothers were a study in conflict. While delivering songs like “The Christian Life” and “The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea,” the siblings often quarreled and lived on the edge, particularly Ira, whose...
- 5/16/2019
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Ethan Hawke and Alessandro Nivola are teaming up in “Satan Is Real,” the story of the Louvin brothers. The real-life best friends will portray Charlie and Ira Louvin, influential country musicians whose relationship is forged by love, hate, jealousy, and alcohol.
In an interview with Variety, Hawke and Nivola said they hoped to achieve a music term called “blood harmony” in their performances. It’s a term that describes the kind of harmonizing that can be achieved when family members sing together, because their genetic link allows them to share the same tone in their voice.
“It’s such an important expression to us,” said Hawke. “It sounds both violent and beautiful and the music should be that. It’s aggressive, it’s electric, it’s strange. It’s not Brooklyn folk rock. It’s not wannabe cool guy country. It’s hillbilly gospel music.”
The film will be directed by Phil Morrison,...
In an interview with Variety, Hawke and Nivola said they hoped to achieve a music term called “blood harmony” in their performances. It’s a term that describes the kind of harmonizing that can be achieved when family members sing together, because their genetic link allows them to share the same tone in their voice.
“It’s such an important expression to us,” said Hawke. “It sounds both violent and beautiful and the music should be that. It’s aggressive, it’s electric, it’s strange. It’s not Brooklyn folk rock. It’s not wannabe cool guy country. It’s hillbilly gospel music.”
The film will be directed by Phil Morrison,...
- 5/15/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Although the Louvin Brothers’ illustrious career yielded such memorable singles as “I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby,” “When I Stop Dreaming,” and the classic LP, Satan Is Real, the discovery of a treasure trove of previously unreleased demo recordings from siblings Charlie and Ira adds a stunning coda to the Louvins’ already impressive legacy. Love & Wealth: The Lost Recordings, out September 28th on Modern Harmonic, features 29 previously unreleased songwriting demo recordings from 1951-1956, and also includes a spoken audio letter from Ira to Acuff-Rose, the music publishers...
- 8/24/2018
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Many writers have seized on the Cain-and-Abel angle of Ira and Charlie Louvin, otherwise known as the legendary country duo The Louvin Brothers. But none of those writers has ever been Charlie himself. Just before his death in 2011, the 83-year-old icon completed Satan Is Real: The Ballad Of The Louvin Brothers, an account of his tumultuous relationship with his elder brother Ira, who died in a car wreck in 1965 after a lifetime of booze and vice. The title refers to the Louvins’ infamous 1960 country-gospel album, Satan Is Real, which means the brothers brought all those biblical allusions ...
- 1/18/2012
- avclub.com
Welcome to the 53rd Grammy Awards, which will be featuring appearances and performances from some of the biggest names in music. Those names include Eminem (who leads all nominees and who could make history this evening), Lady Gaga (fresh off the premiere of her new single "Born This Way"), Rihanna, Drake, Arcade Fire, Cee Lo Green, Justin Bieber (who is currently in a knock-down, drag-out box office battle with Adam Sandler's "Just Go With It" for the coveted first place spot), Muse, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Bob Dylan (just for good measure). It promises to be an eventful, historic night, and the MTV Newsroom Blog is going to be right on top of all the most outstanding performances, biggest awards upsets and most incredible Grammy moments. The show always features a number of surprises (both scheduled and not), so it should be a fantastically entertaining three-and-a-half hours.
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- 2/14/2011
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
Country music icon Charlie Louvin has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, aged 83. The beloved star, best known as a member of the Louvin Brothers duo with his sibling Ira, died at his home in Wartrace, Tennessee on Wednesday, January 26, according to his manager, Brett Steele.
Louvin was diagnosed with the disease last year and underwent surgery in July, but he continued to perform as his health declined. The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, cementing the group's place in music history.
Their hits included "When I Stop Dreaming", "Hoping That You're Hoping", "You're Running Wild" and 1965 chart-topper "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby".
Louvin was diagnosed with the disease last year and underwent surgery in July, but he continued to perform as his health declined. The Louvin Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, cementing the group's place in music history.
Their hits included "When I Stop Dreaming", "Hoping That You're Hoping", "You're Running Wild" and 1965 chart-topper "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby".
- 1/27/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Los Angeles - Country legend Charlie Charlie Louvin died Wednesday at the age of 83 of complications from pancreatic cancer, according to a statement from his manager. Louvin was diagnosed with cancer last year and kept on performing even after he underwent unsuccessful surgery to remove the tumour. A part of the Louvin Brothers with his brother, Ira, Louvin's harmonies were widely influential in country and rock music in the 1960s, inspiring the work of acts such as the Everley Brothers and Dolly Parton. The brothers separated in 1963, and Ira died in car crash two years later. Charlie Louvin released 19 solo albums, and his biggest hits were See the Big Man Cry in 1965 and I Don't...
- 1/27/2011
- Monsters and Critics
Nashville, Tenn. (AP) — Charlie Louvin, half of the Louvin Brothers whose harmonies inspired fellow country and pop singers for decades, has died due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 83. Brett Steele, his manager, said the country music hall of fame singer died at his home in Wartrace, Tenn., early Wednesday. Louvin was diagnosed with cancer last year and underwent surgery, but continued to schedule performances and even put out an album. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the unique sound of the duet was highly influential in the history of the genre. The hall inducted them...
- 1/26/2011
- by KRISTIN M. HALL (AP)
- Hitfix
Veteran Grand Ole Opry favorite Charlie Louvin lost his battle with pancreatic cancer early Wednesday morning. He was 83 and died at his home in Bell Buckle, Tenn., according to Nashville radio reports. Tracking his father's battle with the disease, Sonny Louvin wrote on Charlie's Web site last summer: "The surgery did not go as planned. He will begin using alternative methods of treatment, going forward." An active musician since the '40s, best remembered for his for his work with brother Ira, Alabama-born Charlie Louvin also released 19 solo albums. Among the hits, according to The Tennessean: "When I Stop Dreaming,...
- 1/26/2011
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Country music star Charlie Louvin is hoping for "a miracle" to help him beat pancreatic cancer. The 82-year-old singer, best known as a member of the Louvin Brothers duo with his sibling Ira, had to cancel a tour which was due to kick off this month to undergo surgery as part of his fight against the disease.
Louvin is set for an operation on July 22 and he's been warned he may have to stay in hospital for up to 30 days following the procedure. The singer admits he was rocked when he was first told he only had six months to live, but now he is more hopeful and is adamant he can overcome the disease.
He tells the Associated Press, "I guarantee that (the diagnosis) rattled my cage... They can do wonders. And what I need sorely is a miracle, and I believe they're still around. There's miracles that happen...
Louvin is set for an operation on July 22 and he's been warned he may have to stay in hospital for up to 30 days following the procedure. The singer admits he was rocked when he was first told he only had six months to live, but now he is more hopeful and is adamant he can overcome the disease.
He tells the Associated Press, "I guarantee that (the diagnosis) rattled my cage... They can do wonders. And what I need sorely is a miracle, and I believe they're still around. There's miracles that happen...
- 7/16/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
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