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and later for KRUS. In 1954, Blake persuaded the Rhythm Rebels, a duo featuring Carl Adams (lead guitar) and Eddie Hall (bass guitar), to operate as his backing group as he began touring on the live circuit and appearing on
Southern television programs to gain exposure. On one such program,
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as "Story of a Broken Heart". "Sweetie Pie" and "I Dig You Baby" were paired together for a single in 1958 but it sold poorly. Sensing he had little hope with writing pop songs, Blake struck a songwriting partnership with
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while Blake's rendition was shelved. Under advisement from RCA executives, Atkins released the other two songs recorded from Blake's session, "Freedom" and "Mister Hoody", then nullified his recording contract.
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Blake suffered from alcoholism throughout the majority of his life. At the age of 54, Blake was murdered by his third wife over marital disputes on
Christmas Eve in 1985. He was posthumously inducted into the
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or more likely during boot camp. While in the Marine Corps, Blake nurtured his ambitions of being a professional musician by frequently singing and playing on the guitar for enlisted men before his discharge.
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that began to dominate the
American charts, Blake recorded his debut single, "Koolit", in 1956. "Koolit" was issued by Young Records in April but it failed to chart.
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in 1931. He never knew his father nor did he develop a healthy relationship with his mother. His troubles continued into his teen years when Blake was imprisoned on
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singer and songwriter active in the 1950s to the 1970s. Regarded as a skilled writer, Blake penned several songs that were later recorded by rock and
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in 1961, taking the song to number one on the country charts. The Blake-Belew partnership is credited with a number of charting hits recorded by
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quickly released Horton's version in April 1957 under the title "The Woman I Need". Horton enjoyed a Top 10 hit on
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whose momentous performance on the show convinced Blake to adopt characteristics of
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met him at a disc jockey convention in
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among others. He also achieved modest success as a recording artist for
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322:". However, they sold the rights to Darrell Edwards who pitched it to
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578:American rockabilly musicians
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588:People murdered in Louisiana
583:Country musicians from Texas
496:"The Tragedy of Tommy Blake"
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206:United States Marine Corps
16:American singer-songwriter
498:. Rockabilly Hall of Fame
467:"Tommy Blake ā Biography"
573:American murder victims
422:Rockabilly Hall of Fame
357:Rockabilly Hall of Fame
186:Rockabilly Hall of Fame
229:for the radio station
598:United States Marines
223:Shreveport, Louisiana
102:Musician, songwriter
568:Singers from Dallas
389:. Rockabilly Europe
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563:1985 deaths
558:1931 births
534:Tommy Blake
520:Tommy Blake
465:Koda, Cub.
300:Johnny Cash
292:Sam Philips
288:Sun Records
261:Chet Atkins
257:RCA Records
182:Sun Records
178:Johnny Cash
154:Tommy Blake
141:Formerly of
112:1950sā1970s
99:Occupations
25:Tommy Blake
552:Categories
363:References
344:Mel Tillis
340:Del Reeves
336:Jim Reeves
312:Carl Belew
305:Jerry Ross
278:Billboard'
250:rockabilly
192:Early life
162:rockabilly
85:Rockabilly
47:1931-09-14
32:Birth name
502:March 29,
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450:March 29,
427:March 29,
393:March 29,
538:AllMusic
471:AllMusic
524:Discogs
90:country
342:, and
290:after
227:deejay
217:Career
176:, and
156:(born
117:Labels
78:Genres
210:Korea
123:Young
504:2017
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231:KTBS
73:, US
61:Died
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127:RCA
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