Sue Thompson (born
Eva Sue McKee July 19, 1925,
Nevada,
Missouri) is an
American pop and
country music singer. She is best known for the million selling hits "
Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" and "
Norman", both
pop hits in the 1960s.
Early life
By the age of 7, she was singing and playing the
guitar on stage.
[1] When she and her family moved out west to
San Jose, she appeared on the
Hometown Hayride TV program. During
World War II,
she worked at a defense plant. She married when she was 17, and had a
daughter at 20, but the marriage failed and she and her husband split up
after three years. To keep supporting herself after her divorce, she
returned to the
nightclub scene in
California. In
San Jose, she won a talent contest, thus catching the attention of bandleader and radio/TV host
Dude Martin.
Martin invited Thompson to sing with his band, and that led to their
marriage. They recorded duets together, including "If You Want Some
Lovin'", which helped her get a solo contract from
Mercury Records in 1950.
Recording career
Within only a year, she had divorced Martin to marry
Hank Penny, a
comedian and
singer. Penny and Thompson hosted a TV show in
Los Angeles together before eventually moving to
Las Vegas. Thompson recorded separately and also with her husband for
Decca Records. However, none of their songs ever gained any real success. In 1960, Thompson signed on with
Hickory Records. In 1961, "
Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" became a No. 5 hit on the
pop charts, and she followed this up successfully with "
Norman," which reached No. 3. Both of these hit singles were written by
songwriter John D. Loudermilk. They both sold over one million copies, and were awarded with
gold discs.
[2]
In 1962, "Have a Good Time" was a Top 40 hit and in 1963, "Willie
Can" was a minor hit. Her early 1960s' hits made Thompson, then in her
mid-thirties, a favorite among the teenage crowd and briefly a rival to
the much younger
Connie Francis and
Brenda Lee. Two additional hits, also written by Loudermilk, were "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" and "Paper Tiger."
Later career
"Paper Tiger" in 1965 was her last Top 30 hit. In the late 1960s, she went back to country music and released the album
This Is Sue Thompson Country in 1969. In 1971 she worked with
country music singer Don Gibson
on some albums, and they had minor hits with "I Think They Call It
Love," "Good Old Fashioned Country Love," and "Oh, How Love Changes."
She recorded further solo singles for the
country
charts, like "Big Mable Murphy," which made the Top 50 in 1975 and
"Never Naughty Rosie," her last chart single in 1976. She also performed
mainly at the
Las Vegas casinos and at clubs in
Hollywood, like the
Palomino Club. In the 1990s, she settled in
Las Vegas, and continues to periodically perform.
Discography
Albums
| Year |
Album |
Chart Positions |
| US |
US Country |
| 1961 |
Meet Sue Thompson |
— |
— |
| 1962 |
Two of a Kind |
— |
— |
| 1963 |
Golden Hits |
— |
— |
| 1965 |
Paper Tiger |
134 |
— |
| The Country Side of Sue Thompson |
— |
— |
| 1966 |
Sue Thompson with Strings Attached |
— |
— |
| 1969 |
This Is Sue Thompson Country |
— |
— |
| 1972 |
The Two of Us Together (with Don Gibson) |
— |
— |
| 1974 |
Sweet Memories |
— |
— |
| And Love Me |
— |
— |
| 1975 |
Oh How Love Changes (with Don Gibson) |
— |
43 |
| Big Mable Murphy |
— |
— |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart Positions |
Album |
US
[3] |
US Country |
US AC |
AU |
| 1961 |
"Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" |
5 |
— |
1 |
6 |
Meet Sue Thompson |
| "Norman" |
3 |
— |
— |
4 |
| 1962 |
"Two of a Kind" |
42 |
— |
8 |
40 |
Two of a Kind |
| "Have a Good Time" |
31 |
— |
9 |
45 |
Golden Hits |
| "If Only the Boy Knew" (flip side) |
112 |
— |
— |
45 |
| "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" |
17 |
— |
— |
6 |
| "Willie Can" |
78 |
— |
— |
44 |
| 1963 |
"What's Wrong Bill" |
135 |
— |
— |
— |
Paper Tiger |
| "I Like Your Kind of Love" (with Bob Luman) |
— |
— |
— |
26 |
Non-album single |
| 1964 |
"Big Daddy" |
132 |
— |
— |
— |
| "Paper Tiger"A |
23 |
— |
— |
3 |
Paper Tiger |
| 1965 |
"What I'm Needin' Is You" |
115 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1966 |
"Put It Back (Where You Found It)" |
131 |
— |
— |
— |
Non-album single |
| 1972 |
"What a Woman in Love Won't Do" |
|
— |
— |
— |
Sweet Memories |
| "Candy and Roses" |
— |
72 |
— |
76 |
| 1973 |
"Find Out" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1974 |
"Making Love to You is Just Like Eating Peanuts" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
And Love Me |
| "And Love Me" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| 1975 |
"The Very Thought of You" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
| "Any Other Morning" |
— |
— |
— |
— |
Big Mable Murphy |
| "Big Mable Murphy" |
— |
50 |
40 |
— |
| 1976 |
"Never Naughty Rosie" |
— |
95 |
— |
— |
Non-album single |
- A"Paper Tiger" peaked at No. 8 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.
Singles with Don Gibson
| Year |
Single |
Chart Positions |
Album |
| US Country |
CAN Country |
| 1971 |
"The Two of Us Together" |
50 |
— |
The Two of Us Together |
| "Did You Ever Think" |
71 |
— |
| "I Think They Call It Love" |
37 |
— |
| 1972 |
"Cause I Love You" |
64 |
— |
| "Go With Me" |
52 |
49 |
| 1973 |
"Warm Love" |
53 |
52 |
| 1974 |
"Good Old Fashioned Country Love" |
31 |
29 |
Oh, How Love Changes |
| 1975 |
"Oh, How Love Changes" |
36 |
— |
| 1976 |
"Get Ready, Here I Come" |
98 |
— |
References
- After her family moved to San Jose, she appeared on the local Hometown Hayride TV show during her teens. Sue Thompson biography at Allmusic
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 140. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 893. ISBN 0-89820-188-8.
External links
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar