John D. Loudermilk

Wikipedia:

John D. Loudermilk (born March 31, 1934) is an American singer and songwriter.

Biography

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Loudermilk grew up in a family who were members of the Salvation Army faith and was influenced by the church singing. His cousins Ira and Charlie Loudermilk were known professionally as the Louvin Brothers. Loudermilk is a graduate of Campbell College (now Campbell University), a private North Carolina Baptist Convention-owned college in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

As a young boy he learned to play the guitar, and while still in his teens wrote a poem that he set to music, A Rose and a Baby Ruth. The owners of the local television station, where he worked as a handyman, allowed him to play the song on-air, resulting in country musician George Hamilton IV putting it on record in 1956. After Eddie Cochran had his first hit record with Loudermilk's song, "Sittin' in the Balcony", Loudermilk's career path was firmly set.

Loudermilk recorded some of his songs, including "Sittin' in the Balcony", under the stage name Johnny Dee (reaching #38 on the pop charts in 1957).

His recording label was RCA Victor, where he had a number of hits:

But it was as a songwriter that he made his mark. In 1963 he wrote another all-time hit for George Hamilton IV, Abilene. Working out of country music capital Nashville, Tennessee, Loudermilk became one of the most productive songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s, penning country and pop music hits for the Everly Brothers, Johnny Tillotson, Chet Atkins, The Nashville Teens, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Johnny Cash, Marianne Faithfull, Stonewall Jackson, Sue Thompson and others.

"Midnight Bus" was recorded by several singers, and he commented that the best was by Betty McQuade in Melbourne, Australia.

Loudermilk was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976.

Notable compositions