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Dallas Frazier
Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and MuseumSongwriter Dallas Frazier, known for penning hits including The Oak Ridge Boys‘ 1981 classic “Elvira,” and Gene Watson‘s “Fourteen Carat Mind,” died Friday (Jan. 14). Frazier was 82.
Frazier was born in Spiro, Okla., on Oct. 27, 1939, and raised in Bakersfield, California. At age 12, he was already writing songs and won a talent competition hosted by Ferlin Husky. By age 14, Frazier was recording for Capitol Records. In 1960, Frazier had his first success as a songwriter, when “Alley Oop” became a pop hit for the Hollywood Argyles. Three years later, he moved to Nashville.
In 1967, the Frazier-penned “There Goes My Everything,” recorded by Jack Greene, was named song of the year by the Country Music Association.
Frazier also found success co-writing songs with A.L. “Doodle” Owens, including Charley Pride‘s first No. 1 Billboard Hot Country Songs hit, 1969’s “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me).” Pride also had No. 1 country hits with the Frazier/Owens collaborations “(I’m So) Afraid of Losing You Again,” “I Can’t Believe That You’ve Stopped Loving Me” and “Then Who Am I.”
Connie Smith and George Jones were also among those who recorded several of Frazier’s hits, such as Jones’ 1967 hit “If My Heart Had Windows.” (Jones also recorded an entire album of Frazier’s songs on Sings the Songs of Dallas Frazier.) Among the Frazier-penned Smith recordings are “Ain’t Had No Lovin’,” “Run Away Little Tears,” “Ain’t Love a Good Thing” and more.
Another’s of Frazier’s best-known songs, “Elvira,” was previously recorded by Rodney Crowell before it became a smash hit for the Oak Ridge Boys in 1981. The group’s recording of the song earned the Country Music Association’s single of the year honor.
“I’ve noticed this all my life in writing songs, there’s a thing called feel, and it’s magic when you get ahold of it,” Frazier told journalist Tom Roland in a 2018 interview. “It can make or break a record. You can have a great song and all, but if it doesn’t have that feel, it just doesn’t do anything. ‘Elvira’ had the feel. And The Oaks, what a tremendous cut. With Richard Sterban doing his thing on it and the horns just making it first class…it had so much magic in it, it’d just raise the hair on your arms.”
During his career, Frazier earned three Grammy nominations, for his work on “There Goes My Everything,” “All I Have To Offer You (Is Me),” and “Elvira.”
In 1980, Frazier’s “Beneath Still Waters” became a No. 1 country hit for Emmylou Harris, and Frazier also co-wrote Tanya Tucker‘s first No. 1 hit, “What’s Your Mama’s Name?”
Frazier was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976.
“Dallas Frazier is among the greatest country songwriters of all time,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “He could convey infectious fun with ‘Elvira,’ and then write something as stunningly sad and true as ‘Beneath Still Waters.’ His songs helped Connie Smith to become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was a man of kindness, generosity, and faith, who overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to offer smiling gifts to all of us. He lived a beautiful life of a beautiful mind.”
NEWS
There is no question that Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out made a serious impact and continues to hold weight. The project showed that hip hop is not limited by age and proved that a long-awaited return can still land in a major way regardless of the time away.
If you need a reminder, the Virginia duo’s fourth studio album debuted comfortably within the top five of the Hot 200. It secured the number four position and moved an impressive 118,000 units in its first week.
On top of that, it picked up a win at this year’s Grammys, earning Best Rap Performance for “Chains & Whips.” The album also received four additional nominations, including Best Music Video, Rap Album, and Album of the Year.
It is hard to believe the project will officially hit its one year mark this summer on July 11. Even so, Pusha T is making it clear that both supporters and critics should not be overlooking it anytime soon.
While performing at Coachella yesterday, King Push told the crowd that LGSEO still sits at the top, regardless of genre.
He said, “‘Let God Sort Em Out’ is still the album of the motherfckin year. Whole new year, still album of the year,” per Kurrco. “Album of the motherfcking year until we drop again. We don't care who dropping. It don't matter.”
That is a strong statement for obvious reasons, especially considering the recent claims surrounding Push himself.
Over the same weekend, hip hop social media lit up after several alleged reference tracks connected to Quentin Miller and Push began circulating. Three tracks surfaced in total, but one that drew the most attention was an alleged record titled “Real Gon’ Come.” It is said to come from the DAYTONA era, around 2017 to 2018.
The situation gained traction because fans remember the past tension between Drake and Pusha T before Drake’s clash with Kendrick Lamar. During that feud, Pusha accused Drake of using ghostwriters on tracks like “Infrared,” which appears on DAYTONA. On that song, he raps, “The bigger question is how the Russians did it /
It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin.”
Reactions have been mixed. Some people argue it is not a major issue since Miller’s alleged contributions were limited to hooks. Others point out that the songs were never officially released, so they see no real problem. Meanwhile, critics view it as clear hypocrisy on Pusha T’s part, a perspective that DJ Akademiks has also supported.
