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Darrell McCall
actually began his recording career as a member
of the Little Dippers in 1960. Darrell broke
away from the group the following year, and by
1963 his sound had evolved into pure country. He
sang both traditional country and honky tonk
during the '60s, but eventually became devoted
to the dance hall country that has remained
popular for decades.
Born in and raised in New
Jasper, OH, Darrell began his musical career by
landing a slot as a Saturday morning DJ on a
local radio station when he was 15 years old.
Around the same time, he was playing local
dances and events as a musician. Following his
high school graduation, he joined the Army,
where he was stationed in Kentucky. After his
tour of duty was completed, he and his childhood
friend Johnny Paychech moved to Nashville in
1958. Darrell and Johnny attempted to record as
a duo, but they were unsuccessful. Eventually,
Darrell became a studio harmony vocalist,
singing on records by Faron Young, George Jones,
and Ray Price among others. In a short time, the
studio work metamorphosed into road work, as he
played bass and sang harmony for several
different touring bands, including those of
Young, Price, and Hank Williams Jr. |
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During a recording session in
1959, Darrell met Buddy Killen, a famous
Nashville producer and publisher. Impressed with
Darrell's abilities, Killen asked him to join a
group he was assembling called the Little
Dippers, which also featured Hurshel Wigintin,
Delores Dinning, and Emily Gilmore. Darrell
agreed, and the Little Dippers had one major pop
hit, the Top Ten single "Forever," in 1960. The
following year, he signed a solo contract with
Capitol. During 1961, he released two pop
singles for the label, "My Kind of Lovin'" and
"Call the Zoo".
Darrell returned to country in
1962 and signed a contract with Phillips. In
January of 1963, "A Stranger Was Here," his
first -- and, as it would turn out, his biggest
-- country hit, appeared. Peaking at number 17
on the charts, the single spent eight weeks on
the charts and seemed to be a positive beginning
to his country career. He also sang the theme
to the Paul Newman film Hud that same year.
In 1965, Darrell appeared in
the film Nashville Rebel, and the following
year, he was in Road to Nashville and What Am I
Bid. He didn't return to recording until 1968,
when he joined the roster of the independent
label Wayside Records. Over the next two years,
he had four hits for the label -- "I'd Love to
Live With You Again," "Wall of Pictures," "Hurry
Up," "The Arms of My Weakness" -- and released
one album, 1970's Meet Darrell McCall, which was
distributed by Mercury. The contract with
Wayside expired in 1971, and Darrell didn't
immediately sign another recording contract.
However, Hank Williams, Jr. took Darrell's
"Eleven Roses" (which he co-wrote with Lamar
Morris) to number one, which led to Tree
International signing him as a professional
songwriter.
Darrell reactivated his
recording career in 1974, when he signed with
Atlantic. His debut single for the label,
"There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone,"
nearly reached the country Top 50 that year. In
1975, he left Atlantic for Columbia, where he
had his greatest period of chart success since
the early '60s. His first single for the label
was "Pins and Needles (In My Heart)." His
second single, "Lily Dale," was a duet with
Willie Nelson that cracked the country Top
40. Darrell's new success was partially due to
the popularity of outlaw country, and how he
neatly fit into its rough and ready musical
style.
"Lily Dale" was named Best
Duet of 1977 by Cash Box magazine, and it was
followed by "Dreams of a Dreamer," Darrell's
first solo Top 40 hit since 1963. Darrell
followed that with his singles "Down the Roads
of Daddy's Dreams" and "The Weeds Outlived the
Roses."
In
1980, he signed with Hillside Records, where he
recorded a duet on "San Antonio Medley" with
Curtis Potter. He switched labels to RCA, where
he reached the charts with the single "Long Line
of Empties." Darrell recorded only
sporadically, most notably as the uncredited
"friend" on Connie Hanson and Friend's 1982 hit,
"There's Still a Lot of Love in San Antone." Two
years later, he charted "Memphis in May," which
was released on Indigo Records. In 1986, McCall cut two albums: a record
with his old backing group the Tennessee
Volunteers called Reunion (released on BGM) and
Hot Texas Country, a duet record with Johnny
Bush.
Darrell signed with Artap
Records and released three successful projects
in the 1990's. Two singles did well with
traditional country music fans including "Set Me
Down Where Country Music Plays".
In
2005, he joined Heart of Texas Records. His
first full length album in over five years was
released to rave reviews. "Old Memories and
Wine" was the first time that Darrell was
actually allowed to pick all the material and
the musicians for an album. Darrell's daughter
Guyanne wrote the title track and his son Cody
did all the harmony work. Mona McCall,
Darrell's wife, contributed two songs to the
project "The French Song" and "The Deepening
Snow."
"I am
so happy with 'Old Memories and Wine' and
singing with Heart of Texas Records," Darrell
said. "Justin Trevino is a fine producer and
knows how to get the sound that I need and
want. I am having so much fun now working the
road and getting to see those fans all over the
country. This is the only life that I know and
I appreciate the opportunity to make a living
doing what I love to do."
Darrell and Mona recently moved back to Texas,
settling near Brady. He is still in high demand
for personal appearances. Darrell is making his
dreams come true every single day. |