Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
Hank Locklin
Born:  February 15, 1918
Died:  March 8, 2009
KNUZ Houston Home Town Jamboree
KRLD Big D Jamboree
KWKH Louisiana Hayride
WSM Grand Ole Opry
KLEE Houston, TX
KLEE Houston, TX
KTHS Hot Springs, AR
KWKH Shreveport, LA
WALA Mobile, AL
WCOA Pensacola, FL
WDLP Panama City, FL

About The Artist

Hank Locklin - CSR 1960 Hank Locklin arrived in this world in the town of McClellan, Florida. He never did stray very far from those roots - settling in Brewster, Alabama in the later years of his life where he died in March 2009. When he was all of ten years old he was already giving his family of what lay ahead for him - writing songs, singing and playing the guitar.

He started his musical journey practically right out of high school in Munson, Florida working at stations WCOA over in Pensacola and shortly after that, WDLP in Panama City.

Folks began to discover Hank Locklin in the late 1940s. Chaw Mank answered a reader's point blank question in one of his question and answer columns, "Who is Hank Locklin?". It is there we begin the trail of his career. In 1947, he was working on KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas as part of the group behind Joe Avants.

A couple of years later, he met up with Harold Daily of the South Coast Amusement Company in the Houston area and played him some of his compositions. Mr. Daily was duly impressed and took the songs with him to California. There he arranged to have the Four Star record label to try a test release with his tune that became a hit - "The Same Sweet Girl" which rose to the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. The Houston radio audience was able to hear Hank over KLEE each day at 12:45.

Around 1954 or so, he was one of the regular performers on the Houston Hometown Jamboree being heard over KNUZ and KNUZ-TV in Houston, Texas. Pete Hunter was the emcee of that show that featured other talented acts such as Arlie Duff, Biff Collie, Patsy Elshire and Blackie Crawford.

On May 1, 1954, Hank and Tommy Sands were a few of the guests on a new show that was airing over WBAP in Fort Worth, The All Star Country Roadshow. That show was to run five hours on Saturday nights. Chuck Wells and his five-piece band were to be regulars on the show along with the Imperial Quartet. Glenn Rich and Mickey Murphy were sharing the emcee duties on the show. The 1954 article indicated it was on WBAP at the 820 spot on the dial until 10:00pm when it switched to the 570 spot on the dial. Of course, today WBAP is well known as a clear channel station that reached far and wide.

He began to also develop his songwriting talents in those early years of his career. The tune he co-wrote with Slim Willet, was one of Slim's first songwriting efforts. In one of those 20-question type articles in 1954, Hank told readers he had written over 150 songs by 1954. He indicated he had also written a couple of gospel tunes.

  • Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On - 1950
  • I'm Lonely Darling - 1950
  • Tho I've Lost - 1951
  • No One Is Sweeter Than You - 1951
  • Pinball Millionaire - 1951 with Slim Willet and Jim Leisy
  • Holy Train
  • Are You Treating Your Neighbor As Yourself

Hank became a regular on the Big D Jamboree out of Dallas, Texas. His fan club representative, Mrs. J. C. Jeanes, told Country Song Roundup readers that the Big D Jamboree show aired from 8:00pm to midnight on Saturday nights. After that show, he would find the time to make it back to Houston where he had a show on KTRK-TV, channel 13 for his show from 5:00pm to 5:30pm.

The year of 1954 saw Nashville reaching out to him. Carl Smith had him on as a guest on the Prince Albert sponsored portion of the Grand Ole Opry over WSM on June 26, 1954.

In a January 1959 article, Hank was cited as one of Country Song Roundup's favorite country artists at a time when Rockabilly was also getting attention. They told fans that their favorite artists seemed to be doing those 'pure country' tunes again - such as Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith and Johnny Cash.

He was noted to have a very famous collection of old phonographs and old records, that dated back to the very first recordings at the turn of the century.

He married the former Willa Jean Murphy in 1938.

Credits & Sources

  • National Hillbilly News; Vol. 2 No. 6; January 1947; Poster Show Print Co.; Huntington, WV
  • National Hillbilly News; Vol. V No. 1; September - October 1949; Mr. & Mrs. Orville Via; Huntington, WV
  • National Hillbilly News; Vol. V No. 4; March - April 1950; Mr. & Mrs. Orville Via; Huntington, WV
  • Country Song Roundup; No. 11; April 1951; Charlton Publishing Corp.; Derby, CT
  • Country Song Roundup; No. 30; March - April 1954; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT
  • Pickin' and Singin' News; Vol. II No. 9; May 8, 1954; Chas. G. Neese, Inc.; Nashville, TN
  • Pickin' and Singin' News; Vol. II No. 12; June 26, 1954; Chas. G. Neese, Inc.; Nashville, TN
  • Cowboy Songs; No. 36; August 1954; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT
  • Cowboy Songs; No. 43; August 1954; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT
  • Country Song Roundup; No. 34; September 1954; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT
  • Country Song Roundup; No. 46; October 1956; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT
  • Country Song Roundup; No. 58; January 1959; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT

Sound Sample—(YouTube Video Format)


Let Me Be The One

Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)

 
4 Star
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  1313 A The Last Look At Mother
  1313 B The Same Sweet Girl
  1337 A Born To Ramble
  1337 B Knocking At Your Door
  1360 A Send Me The Pillow (That You Dream On)
  1360 B I'm Lonely Darling
  1397 A You Burned A Hole In My Heart
  1397 B Our Love Will Show The Way
  1405 A Are You Treating Your Neighbor As Yourself
  1405 B Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room
  1444 A Midnight Tears
  1444 B It's So Hard To Say I Love You
  1466 A Pin Ball Millionaire
  1466 B Paper Face
  1506 A Come Share The Sunshine With Me
  1506 B The Place And The Time
  1521 A The Holy Train
  1521 B Is There Room For Me
  1530 A No One Is Sweeter Than You
  1530 B Tho I've Lost
  1545 A A Year Of Time (w/The Rocky Mountain Boys)
  1545 B To Whom It May Concern (w/The Rocky Mountain Boys)
  1556 A I Could Love You Darling
  1556 B The Song Of The Whispering Leaves
  1564 A Your House Of Love Won't Stand
  1564 B You Do You Think You're Fooling
  1574 A Send Me The Pillow You Dream On, No. 2
  1574 B I Always Lose
  1582 A Stumpy Joe
  1582 B I'm Going To Copyright Your Kisses
  1594 A Tell Me You Love Me
  1594 B Tomorrow's Just Another Day To Cry
  1605 A Could You
  1605 B Down Texas Way
  1608 A Who's Knocking At My Heart
  1608 B Harvest Is Ripe
  1624 A Alone At A Table For Two
  1624 B Golden Wristwatch
  1632 A Won't You Ever Change Your Mind
  1632 B Crazy Over You
  1641 A Let Me Be The One
  1641 B I'm Tired Of Bumming Around
  1688 A Empty Bottle Empty Heart
  1688 B Who Will It Be
  1747 A You Burned A Hole In My Heart
  1747 B Same Sweet Little Girl
  X-28 A Crazy Over You
  X-28 B Won't You Change Your Mind
  X-66 A Who Is Knocking At My Heart
  X-66 B The Harvest Is Ripe
 
Decca
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  28526 A I Like To Play With Your Kisses
  28526 B Picking Sweethearts
  28740 A The Red Rose
  28740 B I Can't Run Away
  28826 A Lessons In Love
  28826 B Shadows
  29030 A Queen Of Hearts
  29030 B Mysteries Of Life
  29270 A Baby You Can Count On Me In
  29270 B Whispering Scandal
  29599 A Let Me Confess
  29599 B I'll Always Be Standing By
 
King
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  5283 A Let Me Be The One
  5283 B Send Me The Pillow You Dream On
 
MGM
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  14753 A Send Me Your Coffee Cup
  14753 B True Love Is Always True
 
Plantation
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  142 A You Never Miss The Water
  142 B Daytime Love Affait
 
RCA Victor
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  20-6170 A Your Heart Is An Island
  20-6170 B You're Out Of Step
  20-6242 A These Ruins Belong To You
  20-6242 B Who Am I To Cast The First Stone
  20-6347 A Love Or Spite
  20-6347 B Why Baby, Why?
  20-6434 A A Good Woman's Love
  20-6434 B I'm A Fool
  20-6571 A Seven Or Eleven
  20-6571 B You Can't Never Tell
  20-6672 A How Much
  20-6672 B She's Better Than Most
  20-6778 A 14 Karat Gold
  20-6778 B By The Sweat Of My Brow
  20-6867 A Goin' Home All By Myself
  20-6867 B The Rich And The Poor
  20-6984 A Geisha Girl
  20-6984 B Livin' Alone
  20-7127 A Send Me The Pillow You Dream On
  20-7127 B Why Don't You Haul Off And Love Me
  20-7203 A Blue Grass Skirt
  20-7203 B It's A Little More Of Heaven
  47-0031 A Send Me The Pillow You Dream On
  47-0031 B Jonas P. Jones
  47-0196 A Joannie
  47-0196 B Cuban Girl
  47-0634 A Imagination Runnin' Wild
  47-0634 B Love Has A Mind Of It's Own
  47-0772 A I Forgot To Live Today
  47-0772 B Eventually
  47-1014 A Love The Devil Out Of Me
  47-1014 B Softly
  47-6170 A Your Heart Is An Island
  47-6170 B You're Out Of Step
  47-6347 A Why Baby Why
  47-6347 B Love Or Spite
  47-6434 A A Good Woman's Love
  47-6434 B I'm A fool
  47-6571 A Seven Or eEleven
  47-6571 B You Can Never Tell
  47-7317 A The Upper Room
  47-7317 B That Inner Glow
  47-7472 A When The Band Plays The Blues
  47-7472 B Foreign Car
  47-7612 A Blues In Advance
  47-7612 B Seven Days (the Humming song)
  47-7871 A This Song Is Just for You
  47-7871 B From Here To There To You
  47-7965 A Happy Journey
  47-7965 B I Need You Now
  47-8034 A we're Gonna Go Fishin'
  47-8034 B Welcome Home, Mr. Bluies
  47-8106 A Wabash Cannonball
  47-8106 B Once More
  47-8248 A Kiss On the Floor
  47-8248 B Wooden Sildier
  47-8695 A The Girls Get Prettier
  47-8695 B To Him
  47-8928 A The Best Part Of Loving You
  47-8928 B Last Thing On My Mind
  47-9218 A Nashville Women
  47-9218 B Behind My Back
  47-9582 A Everladting Love
  47-9582 B I'm Slowly Going Out Of Your Mind
  47-9955 A She's As Close As I Can Get To Loving You
  47-9955 B I Like A Woman
  47-9986 A My Heart Needs A Friend
  47-9986 B Only A Fool
  8783 A Insurance
  8783 B I Feel A Cry Coming On
  8928 A The Best Part of Loving You
 
Starday
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  7035 A Send Me The Pillow You Dream Upon
  7035 B Let Me Be the One