From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed May 1, 2002  1:15 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Sonny James
 
SONNY JAMES

Born James Loden, 1 May 1929, Hackleburg, Alabama

Pop/country singer / songwriter / guitarist. Nicknamed the Southern
Gentleman.
Jimmy Loden made his stage debut at the age of four; toured with the Loden
Family act playing fiddle and guitar. He served in Korea, signed with
Capitol in 1955 and was renamed Sonny James by producer Ken Nelson.
He was the first country singer to get a pop # 1 with "Young Love" (1957,
also # 1 country). The Tab Hunter cover also went to # 1, even for six
weeks, but it sounded like a better song the way Sonny sang it.
"First Date, First Kiss, First Love" made # 25 pop ( # 9 country) that same
year. Sonny never made the pop top 40 again despite 16 more Hot 100
entries, 1957-71. He recorded for NRC (1960) and RCA (1961), before
going back to Capitol, where he would score 27 country hits, 1963-1971.
The first of these was "The Minute You're Gone", covered by Cliff Richard
who had a Top 10 UK hit with it. Between 1967 and 1971 Sonny had sixteen
consecutive number ones 1967-71, one of the most remarkable feats in the
history of charts. Most of these were remakes of hits from the 1955-60
period, like BORN TO BE WITH YOU, Only The Lonely, Running Bear,
Since I Met You Baby, It's Just A Matter Of Time and Empty Arms.
Sonny appeared in four low-budget films : Second Fiddle To A Steel Guitar,
Nashville Rebel , Las Vegas Hillbillies and Hillbilly In A Haunted House.
He switched to Columbia in 1972, continued with hits incl. "When The Snow
Is On The Roses", "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)", "Little Band Of Gold",
"Come On In", 1972-76, then recorded for Monument (1979) and Dimension
(1982) before retiring from the music business.

CD recommendation: Young Love & Other Rock 'n' Roll Ballads : The Best
Of the '50's Pop Singles (Connoisseur, 2001).
Bear Family is about to release a 6 CD-box ("Young Love") of Sonny's 1952-62
recordings.
Official website: http://www.sonnyjames.net