Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Terry LaVerne Stafford (November 22, 1941 – March 17, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 U.S. Top 10 hit, "Suspicion", and the 1973 country music hit, "Amarillo by Morning".
Biography
Born to William Nathan Stafford and Juanita J. Stafford in Hollis, Oklahoma, Stafford grew up in Amarillo, Texas, and graduated from Palo Duro High School in Amarillo in 1960. After high school he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in music.
The song "Suspicion", which was released on the Crusader record label and which had previously been recorded by Elvis Presley, made it to number 3 in the U.S. and number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. "Suspicion," with a vocal by Stafford that reminded many listeners of Presley, had the unusual distinction of being at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1964 just below The Beatles when they made history by holding down the entire top five. The following week is when Suspicion topped out at #3 with The Beatles holding 3 of the other 4 spots of the top 5. Stafford's recording sold over one million copies. His follow-up, "I’ll Touch a Star" made number 25 in America. Both recordings were produced by Bob Summers (brother-in-law of Les Paul), who played all the instruments on the tracks as well as engineering and recording them. Bob released his own version in the '70s as well as a remake with Ed Greenwald on vocals in 2008.
In 1969, Buck Owens re-wrote Stafford's "Big in Dallas", recording it as "Big in Vegas". Owen's version peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. and reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Stafford himself continued to record, but had no more hits, although his 1973 release/joint composition, "Amarillo by Morning", was later covered by George Strait on Strait's 1982 album Strait from the Heart. The song was named "#12 country song of all-time" by Country Music Television.
Stafford lived most of his life between Los Angeles and Amarillo and died in Amarillo of liver failure.
