Dick Curless (March 17, 1932 – May 25, 1995) was an American-Canadian country music singer and guitarist known for his extensive vocal range, trademark eye patch, and songs about life on the road. Rising to fame with the 1965 hit "A Tombstone Every Mile," Curless built a loyal following with his blend of truck-driving country, folk ballads, and gospel music.
Biography Curless was born in Fort Fairfield, Maine, United States, and moved with his family to Massachusetts at the age of eight. He began his music career in 1948 in Ware, Massachusetts, where he hosted a radio show and toured with a local band called the Trail Blazers.
Curless married his wife, Pauline, in 1951, and only six months after the wedding, he was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954, first as a truck driver and later as a radio host with the alias "Rice Paddy Ranger".
Curless returned home to Maine in 1954 and continued performing on radio shows, but he spent much of the following year, 1955, at home due to a chronic illness.
In 1956, Curless returned to the public spotlight with his own rendition of Streets of Laredo. In 1957, he appeared on the CBS television show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He spent much of the late 1950s making what seems to be the world record of consecutive one night stands, ranging from Quebec, Canada all the way to Los Angeles, California. He occasionally returned home to recover from fatigue and chronic illness, caused by his intense addiction to alcohol. While in Maine, Curless recorded several singles, including "China Nights" (1957) at Event Records with Al Hawkes. Eventually he temporarily left the music industry and bought his own lumber trucking vehicle in Maine.
In 1965, Curless recorded the biggest hit of his career, "A Tombstone Every Mile", which cracked the top 5 on the Billboard country charts and propelled him to national fame. In 1966, he recorded the album A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You with Kay Adams. From 1966 to 1968, he toured the nation with the Buck Owens All American Show. The pinnacle of his career came in the late 1960s with eleven top-40 hits, including "Six Times a Day (the Trains Came Down)", Travelin' Man, Big Foot, and lots of others. Altogether, he recorded 22 Billboard top-40 hits throughout his career.
After Curless' success in 1970 with the hits "Big Wheel Cannonball" and "Hard, Hard Traveling Man", he recorded infrequently until he released the albums Welcome to My World and It's Just a Matter of Time in Norway in 1987. The albums were successful in Europe, especially in Norway and Germany.
Curless recorded an album with German country musician Tom Astor in 1991. From 1992 all the way to his death, he performed often at the Cristy Lane Theater in Branson, Missouri.
Curless died of stomach cancer in 1995, aged 63.
Discography Albums Year Album US Country Label 1959 Songs of the Open Country — Tiffany 1961 Singing Just for Fun — 1962 I Love to Tell the Story — 1965 Tombstone Every Mile 12 Capitol Hymns — 1966 The Soul of Dick Curless — Tower Travelin' Man — At Home with Dick Curless — A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You (w/ Kay Adams) 16 1967 All of Me Belongs to You — Ramblin' Country — 1968 The Long Lonesome Road 43 The Wild Side of Town — 1970 Hard, Hard Traveling Man — Capitol 1971 Doggin' It 42 Comin' On Country 43 1972 Stonin' Around — 1973 Live at the Wheeling Truck Driver's Jamboree 37 The Last Blues Song — 1974 End of the Road — Hilltop 1987 Welcome to My World — Rocade (Norway) 1990 It's Just a Matter of Time — Rocade (Norway), Stetson (UK) 1995 Traveling Through — Rounder
Singles Year Single Chart positions Album US Country CAN Country - 1965 "A Tombstone Every Mile" 5 — A Tombstone Every Mile "Six Times a Day (The Trains Came Down)" 12 — "'Tater Raisin' Man" 42 — Travelin' Man 1966 "Travelin' Man" 44 — "Highway Man" — — single only "A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You" (w/ Kay Adams) — — A Devil Like Me Needs an Angel Like You "The Baron" 63 — All of Me Belongs to You 1967 "All of Me Belongs to You" 28 — "House of Memories" 72 — "Big Foot" 70 — Ramblin' Country 1968 "Bury the Bottle with Me" 55 — The Long Lonesome Road "I Ain't Got Nobody" 34 — "All I Need Is You" — — single only 1969 "The Wild Side of Town" — — The Wild Side of Town 1970 "Big Wheel Cannonball" 27 18 Hard, Hard Traveling Man "Hard, Hard Traveling Man" 31 — "Drag 'Em Off the Interstate, Sock It to 'Em, J.P. Blues" 29 — 1971 "Juke Box Man" 41 — Doggin' It "Loser's Cocktail" 36 — Comin' On Country "Snap Your Fingers" 40 — 1972 "January, April and Me" 34 — Stonin' Around "Stonin' Around" 31 35 "She Called Me Baby" 55 — 1973 "Chick Inspector (That's Where My Money Goes)" 54 — Live at the Wheeling Truck Driver's Jamboree "China Nights (Shina No Yoru)" 80 — Stonin' Around "The Last Blues Song" 65 — The Last Blues Song 1974 "Swingin' Preacher" — — "Brand New Bed of Roses" — — single only
References
External links [ Dick Curless: Allmusic Overview]