- Ed Bruce
Infobox musical artist
|
Name = Ed Bruce
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = William Edwin Bruce
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1939|12|29|mf=y
Died =
Origin =Keiser, Arkansas
Instrument =
Genre =Country Music
Occupation =songwriter , singer,commercial voice-over
Years_active = 1966–present
Label =Sun Records ,RCA Records ,United Artists Records ,MCA Records
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =William Edwin Bruce, Jr., born
December 29 ,1939 in Keiser,Arkansas , known as 'Ed Bruce', is acountry music songwriter and singer.Early life & songwriting career
Ed Bruce grew up in
Memphis, Tennessee , and is best known for penning the song "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys ".In 1957, at the age of 17, he went to see
Jack Clement , a recording engineer forSun Records . Bruce caught the attention of Sun ownerSam Phillips , for whom he wrote and recorded "Rock Boppin' Baby" (as "Edwin Bruce"}. In 1962, he wrote "Save Your Kisses" for pop starTommy Roe and in 1965, he wrote "See the Big Man Cry" for country starCharlie Louvin .In the early 1960s, Bruce recorded for
RCA Records and some smaller labels likeWand/Scepter , singingrockabilly music, as well as more pop-oriented material. However, he didn't achieve significant success as a vocalist during this period.The height of his career
In 1966, he returned to
RCA Records and recorded "Puzzles", "The Price I Pay to Stay" and "Lonesome Is Me". He still did not achieve great charting action. He made money doingvoice-overs for television andradio commercials . [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/bruce_ed/bio.jhtml] . He scored his first charted single with "Walker's Woods" in 1967, and also charted with his version ofThe Monkees ' "Last Train to Clarksville ." Both of these singles were minor hits. In 1969, Bruce signed withMonument Records , where he continued to have minor successes with "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven" and "Song For Jenny". Meanwhile, he continued to write songs like "The Man That Turned My Mama On," which was a major hit forTanya Tucker in 1974 and "Restless" forCrystal Gayle the same year. He signed withUnited Artists Records in 1973 and released several singles, but only one single in 1974 became a minor hit. He finally made the upper regions of the charts when he made the Top 20 on the country charts with his version of "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys " in 1976.In 1978, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys" was recorded by
Willie Nelson andWaylon Jennings . It became a major hit, and put Bruce on an upward swing. Two more Top 40 hits followed for Bruce in 1976, and in 1977, he signed withEpic Records where he would score minor hits. In 1979, Tanya Tucker took Bruce's song "Texas (When I Die)" into the country Top 5.In 1980, Bruce signed with
MCA Records , where he would score his biggest successes. His early hits with MCA included "Diane", "The Last Cowboy Song", "When You Fall In Love (Everything's A Waltz)", "Evil Angel", and "Love's Found You And Me". His biggest hit, "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had" went to #1 in 1982. This also was Bruce's first Top 10 as a singer after 15 years. He had other hit songs that made the Top 10 like "Ever, Never Lovin' You", "My First Taste of Texas", and "After All".In 1984, he returned to
RCA Records and scored a #3 hit with "You Turn Me On Like A Radio" in 1985. His last Top 10 single was "Nights" in 1986 and his last Top 40 single (and last chart single to date) was "Quietly Crazy" in 1987.During this time, Bruce began to act and do commercials. One of his biggest acting roles was as a regular on the TV show revival of "Maverick", called "
Bret Maverick ". The show starredJames Garner , and was on during the 1981-1982 season onNBC . He also sang and wrote the theme song to the show.cite web
url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115469/
title=Ed Bruce (I)
publisher=imdb.com
accessdate=2008-07-14
last=
first=]After the 1986 album entitled "Night Things" and a 1988 in 1988 self-titled follow-up, Bruce made a conscious decision to cut back on his music to focus on his acting career, appearing in several
made-for-TV films. [http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/bruce_ed/bio.jhtml] . He hosted two shows in the late 1980s, "Trucking USA" and "American Sports Calvacade" [http://edbrucemusic.com/] Bruce has also appeared in several theatrical releases, including Fire Down Below withSteven Seagal .cite web
url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115469/
title=Ed Bruce (I)
publisher=imdb.com
accessdate=2008-07-14
last=
first=]Discography
ources
* "Country Music:the Rough Guide; Wolff, Kurt; Penguin Publishing"
* LP Discography.comExternal links
* [http://www.edbrucemusic.com/ Official website]
*allmusicguide|id=11:0m6zef5khgf1
*Ed Bruce on [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115469/ IMDB]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.