# Billy Walker (musician)

William Marvin Walker (January 14, 1929 – May 21, 2006) was an American country music singer and guitarist best known for his 1962 hit, "Charlie's Shoes". Nicknamed The Tall Texan, Walker had more than 30 charting records during a nearly 60-year career, and was a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry.

## Biography
### Early years

Billy Walker was born in Ralls, Texas, United States, and was the youngest of three children. His mother died when he was only six years old, and Billy's father was unable to care for him and his two older brothers. Some of the children, including Billy, were placed in a Methodist orphanage in Waco, Texas. He attended High School in Whiteface, Texas, and had won a talent contest which entitled him to appear on radio in Clovis, New Mexico. He had returned to live with his father at the age of 11. Inspired by the music of Gene Autry as a teenager, he had begun his professional music career in 1947 at age 18. After his debut on Clovis radio as a teenager he later joined the Big D Jamboree in Dallas in 1949. The same year, Hank Thompson helped him sign with Capitol Records after he worked with Walker in Waco. His manager at the time had him wear a Lone Ranger-style black mask and billed him as The Traveling Texan, the Masked Singer of Country Songs.
In 1951, Walker signed with Columbia Records and the following year joined the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he and Slim Whitman were responsible in part for Elvis Presley's first appearance on the radio program. In 1954, Walker scored his first hit with "Thank You for Calling". His early Columbia recordings were at a Dallas studio owned by producer Jim Beck, responsible for hits by Ray Price, Lefty Frizzell and others. In 1955, Walker, Presley and Tillman Franks teamed up for a tour of West Texas. Walker soon became a cast member of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri, where he began a long friendship with host, Red Foley.

### Country music career

After a brief attempt at rock and roll, Walker played the Texas bar circuit before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1959 and joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1960. He was one of the first artists to record a Willie Nelson song; and his 1961 version of "Funny How Time Slips Away" reached No. 23 on Billboard's country singles chart and helped establish Walker's national reputation. In 1962, he topped the chart with "Charlie's Shoes", the only No. 1 single of his career. His smooth tenor was well-suited to other Western-inspired hits including "Matamoros" and "Cross the Brazos at Waco" (1964).
After performing at a charity concert in Kansas City, Kansas on March 3, 1963, Walker received a call to return to Nashville. Fellow performer Hawkshaw Hawkins gave Walker his commercial airline ticket, and instead flew back to Tennessee on March 5 on a private plane, which crashed, killing Hawkins, Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and pilot Randy Hughes.
After leaving Columbia in 1965, Walker signed with producer Fred Foster's Monument Records and moved to MGM in 1970 and to RCA Records in 1974. He later recorded for several independent labels, including his own Tall Texan label.
In the late 1960s, he hosted a syndicated television show, Billy Walker’s Country Carnival, and appeared on other country music TV programs. Walker performed around the world, and several times during the 1980s sang at the International Festival of Country Music at Wembley Arena in London. In April 2006, Walker recorded the duet "All I Ever Need Is You" with Danish singer Susanne Lana for Hillside House Records. The recording, at Signal Path Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, was produced by Charlie McCoy.
Walker continued to tour and remained a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, and was scheduled to perform two days following his death with Terri Clark, Porter Wagoner and others.

### Death

On May 21, 2006, Walker died in a road accident when the van he was driving back to Nashville after a performance in Foley, Alabama, veered off Interstate 65 in Fort Deposit and overturned. His wife Bettie; bassist Charles Lilly Jr., son of Everett Lilly of The Lilly Brothers; and guitarist Daniel Patton were also killed. The Walkers, Lilly, and Patton died instantly. Walker's grandson, Joshua Brooks, survived with serious injuries. Walker was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
| 1961 | Everybody's Hits but Mine | — | Columbia |
| 1963 | Greatest Hits | — | Columbia |
| 1964 | Anything Your Heart Desires | — | Columbia |
| 1964 | Thank You for Calling | 18 | Columbia |
| 1965 | The Gun, The Gold and the Girl / Cross the Brazos at Waco | 13 | Columbia |
| 1966 | A Million and One | 13 | Monument |
| 1967 | The Walker Way | 37 | Monument |
| 1968 | I Taught Her Everything She Knows | 38 | Monument |
| 1968 | Salutes the Country Music Hall of Fame | — | Monument |
| 1969 | Portrait of Billy | 40 | Monument |
| 1969 | How Big Is God | — | Monument |
| 1970 | Darling Days | — | Monument |
| 1970 | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Way That I Love You) | 40 | MGM |
| 1971 | I'm Gonna Keep On Lovin' You / She Goes Walkin' Through My Mind | 44 | MGM |
| 1971 | Live | — | MGM |
| 1973 | The Billy Walker Show (with Mike Curb Congregation) | — | MGM |
| 1973 | All Time Greatest Hits | — | MGM |
| 1973 | The Hand of Love | — | MGM |
| 1974 | Too Many Memories | — | MGM |
| 1974 | Fine as Wine | — |
| 1975 | Lovin' and Losin' | 27 | RCA |
| 1976 | Alone Again | 47 | RCA |
| 1980 | Bye Bye Love (with Barbara Fairchild) | — | RCA |
| 1984 | Life Is a Song | — | EMH |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Album |
| Year | Single | US Country | US | CAN Country | Album |
| 1954 | "Thank You for Calling" | 8 | — | — | singles only |
| 1957 | "On My Mind Again" | 12 | — | — | singles only |
| 1960 | "Forever" | — | 83 | — | singles only |
| 1960 | "I Wish You Love" | 19 | — | — | singles only |
| 1961 | "Funny How Time Slips Away" | 23 | — | — | Greatest Hits |
| 1962 | "Charlie's Shoes" | 1 | — | — | Greatest Hits |
| 1962 | "Willie the Weeper" | 5 | — | — | Greatest Hits |
| 1963 | "Heart, Be Careful" | 21 | — | — | Thank You for Calling |
| 1963 | "The Morning Paper" | 22 | — | — | Thank You for Calling |
| 1964 | "Circumstances" | 7 | — | — | Thank You for Calling |
| 1964 | "It's Lonesome" | 43 | — | — | Thank You for Calling |
| 1964 | "Cross the Brazos at Waco" | 2 | 128 | 5 | The Gun, the Gold and the Girl / Cross the Brazos at Waco |
| 1965 | "Matamoros" | 8 | — | — | The Gun, the Gold and the Girl / Cross the Brazos at Waco |
| 1965 | "If It Pleases You" | 16 | — | — | singles only |
| 1965 | "I'm So Miserable Without You" | 45 | — | — | singles only |
| 1966 | "The Old French Quarter (In New Orleans)" | 49 | — | — | A Million and One |
| 1966 | "A Million and One" | 2 | — | — | A Million and One |
| 1966 | "Bear with Me a Little Longer" | 3 | — | — | The Walker Way |
| 1967 | "Anything Your Heart Desires" | 10 | — | — | The Walker Way |
| 1967 | "In Del Rio" | 18 | — | — | I Taught Her Everything She Knows |
| 1967 | "I Taught Her Everything She Knows" | 11 | — | 19 | I Taught Her Everything She Knows |
| 1968 | "Sundown Mary" | 18 | — | — | Portrait of Billy |
| 1968 | "Ramona" | 8 | — | 14 | Portrait of Billy |
| 1968 | "Age of Worry" | 20 | — | 24 | Portrait of Billy |
| 1969 | "From the Bottle to the Bottom" (with The Tennessee Walkers) | 20 | — | — | Portrait of Billy |
| 1969 | "Smoky Places" | 12 | — | — | Darling Days |
| 1969 | "Better Homes and Gardens" | 37 | — | — | Darling Days |
| 1969 | "Thinking 'Bout You, Babe" | 9 | — | 32 | Darling Days |
| 1970 | "Darling Days" | 23 | — | — | Darling Days |
| 1970 | "When a Man Loves a Woman (The Way That I Love You)" | 3 | — | — | When a Man Loves a Woman (The Way That I Love You) |
| 1970 | "She Goes Walking Through My Mind" | 3 | — | 8 | I'm Gonna Keep On Lovin' You / She Goes Walking Through My Mind |
| 1971 | "I'm Gonna Keep On Keep On Lovin' You" | 3 | — | 26 | I'm Gonna Keep On Lovin' You / She Goes Walking Through My Mind |
| 1971 | "It's Time to Love Her" | 28 | — | — | singles only |
| 1971 | "Don't Let Him Make a Memory Out of Me" | 22 | — | — | singles only |
| 1971 | "Traces of a Woman" | 25 | — | 34 | singles only |
| 1972 | "Sing Me a Love Song to Baby" | 3 | — | 63 | All Time Greatest Hits |
| 1973 | "My Mind Hangs on to You" | 34 | — | — | All Time Greatest Hits |
| 1973 | "The Hand of Love" | 52 | — | — | The Hand of Love |
| 1973 | "Margarita" | — | — | — | The Hand of Love |
| 1973 | "Too Many Memories" | 96 | — | — | Too Many Memories |
| 1974 | "I Changed My Mind" | 39 | — | 63 | Too Many Memories |
| 1974 | "How Far Our Love Goes" | 74 | — | — | singles only |
| 1974 | "Fine as Wine" | 73 | — | — | singles only |
| 1975 | "Word Games" | 10 | — | 13 | Lovin' and Losin' |
| 1975 | "If I'm Losing You" | 25 | — | 31 | Lovin' and Losin' |
| 1975 | "Don't Stop in My World (If You Don't Mean to Stay)" | 19 | — | 18 | Alone Again |
| 1976 | "(Here I Am) Alone Again" | 41 | — | — | Alone Again |
| 1976 | "Love You All to Pieces" | 67 | — | — | singles only |
| 1976 | "Instead of Givin' Up (I'm Givin' In)" | 48 | — | — | singles only |
| 1977 | "(If You Can) Why Can't I" | 100 | — | — | singles only |
| 1977 | "It Always Brings Me Back Around to You" | 86 | — | — | singles only |
| 1977 | "Ringgold, Georgia" (with Brenda Kaye Perry) | 64 | — | — | singles only |
| 1978 | "Carlena and Jose Gomez" | 57 | — | — | singles only |
| 1978 | "It's Not Over Till It's Over" | 92 | — | — | singles only |
| 1978 | "You're a Violin That Never Has Been Played" | 82 | — | 55 | singles only |
| 1979 | "Lawyers" | 72 | — | — | singles only |
| 1979 | "Sweet Lovin' Things" | 69 | — | — | singles only |
| 1979 | "Rainbow and Roses" | flip | — | — | singles only |
| 1979 | "A Little Bit Short on Love (A Little Bit Long on Tears)" | 70 | — | — | singles only |
| 1980 | "You Turn My Love Light On" | 48 | — | — | singles only |
| 1980 | "Answer Game" | — | — | — | singles only |
| 1983 | "One Away from One Too Many" | 93 | — | — | Life Is a Song |
| 1983 | "Pardon My Asking" | — | — | — | Life Is a Song |
| 1985 | "Coffee Brown Eyes" | 81 | — | — | singles only |
| 1988 | "Wild Texas Rose" | 79 | — | — | singles only |

### Singles from collaboration albums

| Year | Single | Artist | US Country | Album |
| 1972 | "Gone (Our Endless Love)" | Mike Curb Congregation | 24 | The Billy Walker Show |
| 1980 | "Let Me Be the One" | Barbara Fairchild | 74 | Bye Bye Love |
| 1980 | "Bye Bye Love" | Barbara Fairchild | 70 | Bye Bye Love |
| 1980 | "Love's Slipping Through Our Fingers (Leaving Time on Our Hands)" | Barbara Fairchild | 79 | Bye Bye Love |