Mel moved to Nashville as an aspiring songwriter in 1957 after Webb
Pierce had a Top 5 hit with “I’m Tired,” a song Mel says Webb
first heard Ray Price singing backstage at the Opry. Soon, Mel was
writing hits for all sorts of singers: Bobby Bare (“Detroit
City”), Ray Price (“One More Time,” “Heart Over Mind,”
“Burning Memories”), Jack Greene (“All the Time”), Kenny
Rogers and the First Edition (“Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to
Town”), and Ricky Skaggs (“Honey (Open That Door)”). At the same
time, Mel launched a recording career that has yielded 67 Top 40 hits,
including chart-toppers like his own version of “I Ain’t Never,”
“Coca Cola Cowboy,” “Good Woman Blues,” and “Southern
Rains.” In 1972, the Country Music Association named him Entertainer
of the Year. Mel also stepped out of the country music world and tried
his hand at acting. He appeared in several television movies and the
feature films like Every Which Way But Loose, W.W. & The Dixie Dance
Kings, and Uphill All the Way. Today, new generations continue to
discover the songs of the man who received the Academy of Country
Music’s Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award in 2010: Opry member Alison
Krauss and Robert Plant revived his “Stick With Me Baby,”
originally written for the Everly Brothers, for their Grammy-winning
Raising Sand album, and Jamey Johnson covered “Mental Revenge” for
his 2010 album, The Guitar Song.
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blues
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19/05/2015 Last update