Sonny James

James Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928 – February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love", topping both the Billboard Hot Country and Disk Jockey singles charts. Dubbed the "Southern Gentleman" for his congenial manner, his greatest success came from ballads about the trials of love. James had 72 country and pop charted releases from 1953 to 1983, including an unprecedented five-year streak of 16 straight Billboard Hot Country No. 1 singles among his 26 Billboard Hot Country No. 1 hits. From 1964 to 1976, James placed 21 of his albums in the Top 10 of Billboard Top Country Albums. James was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1961 and co-hosted the first Country Music Association Awards show in 1967. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

James Hugh Loden was born on May 1, 1928 to Archie Lee "Pop" Loden and Della Burleson Loden, who operated a 300-acre (120 ha) farm outside Hackleburg, Alabama. His parents were amateur musicians, and his sister Thelma Lee Loden Holcombe also played instruments and sang from an early age. By age three, James was playing a mandolin and singing, and was dubbed "Sonny Boy". In 1933, the family appeared on a radio audition, which resulted in their being offered a regular Saturday slot on Muscle Shoals, Alabama, radio station WNRA. About this time, his parents volunteered to raise an Alabama girl named Ruby Palmer, who soon became part of the family musical group, known as the Loden Family. Later billed as Sonny Loden and the Southerners, the group played theaters, auditoriums, and schoolhouses throughout the Southern United States.

Up to this point, their musical appearances had been a part-time effort for the family, as they returned after each gig or tour to work the family farm. After a few years, Pop Loden decided they were professional enough to immerse themselves in the field full-time, so he leased out the farm and they took a daily spot on radio station KLCN, where they provided early-morning accompaniment for the area's early risers. After that, they had spots on several other radio stations around the South. In 1949, they returned to Alabama with a show on radio station WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama. Near Christmastime that year, the two girls were married in West Memphis, Arkansas, in a double ceremony and left the group. The parents found other girls to take their places, but the group soon disbanded. James's parents returned to Hackleburg and opened a clothing store, where James worked while belatedly finishing his final year of high school. During the summer of 1950, he worked with a band, sometimes singing, but he was most useful as a guitar player on the Memphis, Tennessee radio station WHBQ.

On September 9, 1950, his career was interrupted by the Korean War when his Alabama Army National Guard unit was activated. After military service in Korea, James moved to Nashville, where he spent a week staying with Chet Atkins and his wife. He had roomed with Atkins years earlier in Raleigh, North Carolina, when they were playing at the same radio station. Atkins invited Capitol Records executive Ken Nelson to join them for dinner. James stated, "After dinner, Chet and I began woodshedding on our guitars. We played a few songs I had written, then Chet turned to Ken and said, 'What do you think, Ken?' And Ken said, 'I'd like to record him.'" Nelson asked him to drop his last name professionally, believing already several musicians were named Loden, Louden, or Luden, and that "James" would be easier to remember: "The smallest children can remember Sonny James." So, he released his first studio record as Sonny James. While appearing on Louisiana Hayride, he met musician Slim Whitman. James's performance on stage playing a fiddle and singing brought a strong crowd response, and Whitman invited him to front for his new touring band. James stayed with Whitman's group for only two months, when Whitman felt he had to do some club work to keep up his income to be able to pay his band. The Loden family had only appeared in schoolhouses and such, and Sonny agreed to stay on for a few shows until Whitman could find his replacement. For the remainder of his career, he never played a club performance. Over the next few years, James had several songs that did reasonably well on the country music charts, and he continued to develop his career with performances at live country music shows. He also appeared on radio, including Big D Jamboree, before moving to the all-important new medium of television, where he became a regular performer on ABC's Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri, beginning in October 1955.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.