1. Tommy Duncan recorded and toured with bandleader Bob Wills on and off into the early 1960s.
19 Facts About Tommy Duncan
2.
Tommy Duncan was born in Whitney, Texas, United States, on a large farm into a large and impoverished family of truck farmers.
3.
Thomas moved the family to Raymondville, Texas, when Tommy Duncan was 13; not wanting to move, he stayed behind to sharecrop on a cousin's farm, and by 1932, was surviving as a busker in Fort Worth singing at a root beer stand.
4.
Tommy Duncan was hired after he sang a version of Emmett Miller's "I Ain't Got Nobody" and impressed Wills with his yodeling ability and bluesy phrasing.
5.
Tommy Duncan quickly became a sensation, both on the show and at dances and other appearances.
6.
Tommy Duncan was versatile in his singing style and repertoire, was credited with a fine voice and range, and was ideal for the kind of dance music Wills performed and recorded.
7.
Tommy Duncan sang everything from ballads and folk to pop, Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, blues, and cowboy songs.
8.
Tommy Duncan married, but after only a few years, his wife developed cancer and died.
9.
Tommy Duncan was a master stylist with the ability to make each song sound as though he wrote it.
10.
Tommy Duncan's service lasted less than a year when he received a medical discharge, and he rejoined Wills in 1944 as the war neared its end.
11.
Tommy Duncan appeared with Wills and the other Playboys in several movies, including Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Rhythm Roundup, Blazing the Western Trail, Lawless Empire, and Frontier Frolic.
12.
Tommy Duncan's voice matured in the middle to late 1940s.
13.
One night in a bar visiting with songwriter Cindy Walker, Tommy Duncan motioned for her to look at a gentleman sitting just a few tables away- who was staring at his glass of beer.
14.
Tommy Duncan was admired by contemporaries, including Tex Ritter, Tex Williams, Teddy Wilds, Hank Penny, and Ole Rasmussen.
15.
Wills told guitarist Eldon Shamblin to "fire" Tommy Duncan, who set out to form his own band.
16.
Tommy Duncan organized another Western swing band called Tommy Duncan and His Western All Stars, featuring his younger brother Glynn, a Western swing pioneer, on bass.
17.
From 1959 to 1961, Tommy Duncan again toured and recorded with Wills, rekindling much of their former success.
18.
Tommy Duncan, who had previous heart problems, died in his motel room in San Diego, California, after a performance at Imperial Beach on July 24,1967.
19.
On his own and with Wills, Tommy Duncan's singing and songwriting were an influence on such artists as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison, Merle Haggard, Buddy Holly, Red Steagall, George Strait, Clint Black, Randy Travis, and Garth Brooks.