Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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McCALL, Darrell

 

(b 30 April 1940, New Jasper, Greene Co. OH) Texas-based honky-tonk singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor. Highly thought of by contemporaries Willie Nelson (who has produced and sung on his recordings), Ray Price, Ronnie Milsap etc and regarded as a major star on the Texas circuit. As a teenager McCall had his own Saturday morning radio show on WSRW Hillsboro OH; after army service he moved to Nashville in 1958 with schoolfriend Donny Young (Johnny Paycheck); they planned to work as a duo but he ended up singing harmony on sessions for George Jones, Faron Young etc; worked the road in the bands of Young, Ray Price and others. He joined forces with Nashville session singers Delores Dinning, Emily Gilmore and Hurshel Wiginton as the Little Dippers, scoring a top ten pop hit 'Forever' '60 and signed to Capitol as a pop act, but failed.

He moved to Phillips in 1962 with minor country hits; sang the theme song for Paul Newman film Hud '63; appeared in films Nashville Rebel '65 and What Am I Bid '68; worked for a time as a cowboy in the Southwest and in some rodeos. He moved through Wayside, Atlantic, Columbia, Hillside, RCA, Indigo '68-84 with minor hits for each label. He worked the Texas honky-tonk circuit with his band the Tennessee Volunteers. Albums included Meet Darrell McCall '70 on Wayside; Lily Dale '77 on Lone Star/Columbia; Texas Dance Hall Music (with Curtis Potter and Ray Sanders) '80 on Hillside; Reunion (with Tennessee Volunteers) '86 on BGM; Hot Texas Country (with Johnny Bush) '86 on Step One; All She Did Was Fall In Love '93 and A Way To Survive '95 on Artap.