|
Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZGILKYSON, Terry(b Hamilton Henry Gilkyson, 17 June 1916, Phoenixville PA; d 15 October 1999) Successful folk-pop singer and songwriter. He moved to Phoenix AZ before WWII, served in the U.S. Army, later did a folk music programme for Armed Forces Radio Service 1948-51 called The Solitary Singer: he researched songs and talked about them as well as singing them. He recorded his ‘Cry Of The Wild Goose' for Decca in 1949, covered by Frankie Laine for a big hit '50, and sang with the Weavers on ‘On Top Of Old Smoky' '51. There were three 10-inch Gilkyson LPs on Decca 1950-2. His ‘Tell Me A Story' was a cute novelty duet hit '53 by Laine and kid singer Jimmie Boyd, and Laine went on to cover more Gilkyson songs. Gilkyson formed the vocal trio Easy Riders with Frank Miller and Richard Dehr; they wrote ‘Memories Are Made Of This' and backed Dean Martin on the huge hit '55 (song revived '66 by the Drifters). They landed a Columbia contract and were the only folk group signed to a major label in the USA during the ‘lost years' for folk music between the blacklisting of the Weavers and the emergence of the Kingston Trio in 1958. After three albums 1956-9 they re-formed as a quartet with Dehr, Bernie Armstrong and Carson Parks, making three more albums on Kapp 1960-3 as ‘Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders'. In the long run Terry's great strength was his songwriting. The trio adapted a Bahamian folk tune ‘Marianne' for their own million-seller '57; they backed Laine on ‘Love Is A Golden Ring' for a top 10 '57; they wrote and introduced ‘Green Fields' '56, revived as ‘Greenfields' for a hit by the Brothers Four '60; their ‘Everybody Loves Saturday Night' was a hit for the New Christy Minstrels '63; ‘Fast Freight' was recorded by the Kingston Trio; other Gilkyson songs included ‘Tell The Captain' (aka ‘Sloop John B'), and ‘Remember The Alamo'. His work has been covered hundreds of times by everybody from Doris Day and Johnny Cash to Harry Connick Jr. During the 1960s he wrote a song a week for Walt Disney; ‘The Bare Necessities' for the film Jungle Book '67 was nominated for an Oscar. His oldest daughter Nancy was an executive at WB Records; second daughter Eliza Gilkyson is a highly rated singer-songwriter; son Tony played guitar with the L.A. band X. |