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Mel Tillis is a Actor and Executive Producer American born on 8 august 1932
Lonnie Melvin "Mel" Tillis (born August 8, 1932) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits.
Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music. He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.
Tillis was born in Dover, Florida (near Tampa) in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout with malaria. As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar and at age 16, won a local talent show. He attended the University of Florida but dropped out and joined the United States Air Force. While stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.
After leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa, Florida. He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of famed Nashville publishing house Acuff-Rose Music. Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills. Tillis eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired," a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957. Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail." Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis's material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose," followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill."
Rise to fame
Although Tillis charted on his own Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, he had more success as a songwriter. He continued to be Webb Pierce's songwriter. He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis's own future hit) and "Crazy, Wild Desire." Bobby Bare, Tom Jones ("Detroit City"), Wanda Jackson, and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs. Tillis continued to record on his own. Some well-known songs from his Columbia years include "The Brooklyn Bridge," "Loco Weed," and "Walk on, Boy." However, he did not achieve major success on the country charts on his own.
In the mid-1960s, Tillis switched over to Kapp Records, and in 1965, he had his first Top 15 hit with "Wine." Other hits continued to follow, such as "Stateside" and "Life Turned Her That Way" (which was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton in 1988, going to No. 1). He wrote for Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl At Night") and wrote a big hit for Kenny Rogers and the First Edition called "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." He also wrote the hit "Mental Revenge" for Outlaw superstar Waylon Jennings. (It has also been covered by the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Barbara Mandrell, and Jamey Johnson.) In 1968, Tillis achieved his first Top 10 hit with "Who's Julie." He also was a regular featured singer on The Porter Wagoner Show.
The height of his career
Things turned around in 1969 for Tillis. He finally achieved the success he always wanted with two Top 10 country hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere." In 1970, he reached the Top 5 with "Heart Over Mind," which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs list. After this, Tillis's career as a country singer went into full swing. Hits soon came quite easily, such as "Heaven Everyday" (1970), "Commercial Affection" (1970), "Arms of a Fool" (1970), "Take My Hand" (a duet with Sherry Bryce in 1971), and "Brand New Mister Me" (1971). In 1972, Tillis achieved his first chart-topper with his version of his song "I Ain't Never." Even though the song was previously a hit by Webb Pierce, Tillis's version is the better-known version of the two. Most of the above-mentioned song hits were recorded on MGM Records, Tillis's record company in the early part of the decade.
After the success of "I Ain't Never," Tillis had another hit, which came close to No. 1 (reaching No. 3), entitled "Neon Rose," followed by "Sawmill," which reached No. 2. "Midnight, Me and the Blues" was another near chart-topper in 1974. Other hits Tillis had on MGM include "Stomp Them Grapes" (1974), "Memory Maker" (1974), "Woman in the Back of My Mind" (1975), and his version of "Mental Revenge" (1976). Tillis achieved his biggest success with MCA Records, with which he signed in 1976. It started with a pair of two No. 1 hits in 1976, "Good Woman Blues" and "Heart Healer". (In an interview, he mentioned having written five hits in one week.) Thanks to this success, in 1976 Tillis won the CMA Awards's most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year, and was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that year. He achieved another No. 1 in 1978 with "I Believe In You" and then again in 1979 with "Coca-Cola Cowboy," which was put in the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose, in which he also made a cameo appearance. Also in 1978, Mel co-hosted a short-lived variety series on ABC television, Mel and Susan Together with model Susan Anton. Other hits around this time included "Send Me Down to Tucson," "Ain't No California," and "I Got the Hoss." In mid-1979, Tillis switched to another record company, Elektra Records.
After signing with Elektra, he continued to make hit songs such as "Blind In Love" and "Lying Time Again," both hits in 1979. Until 1981, Tillis remained on top of his game as one of country music's most successful vocalists of the era. "Your Body Is an Outlaw" went to No. 3 in 1980, followed by another Top 10 hit, "Steppin' Out." "Southern Rains" in 1981 was his last No. 1 hit. That same year, he released an album of duets with Nancy Sinatra which spawned two hit singles, the Top 30 hit "Texas Cowboy Night" and the double A-side, "Play Me or Trade Me/Where Would I Be." He remained with Elektra until 1982 before switching back to MCA for a brief period in 1983. That summer, he scored a Top 10 hit with "In The Middle Of The Night" and had his last Top 10 hit with "New Patches" in 1984. By this time, however, Tillis had built up a financial empire thanks to investing in music publishing companies such as Sawgrass and Cedarwood. He also appeared in movies, including Love Revival, W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), The Villain (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980),The Cannonball Run (1981), and Uphill All the Way (1986), a comedy western in which he starred with fellow country singer Roy Clark, among others. In 1979, he acquired radio station KIXZ (AM) in Amarillo, Texas, from Sammons-Ruff Associates, which converted from Top 40 to country music and became a force in the Panhandle region. A short time later, Tillis acquired Amarillo, Texas, Rock FM station KYTX, which changed calls to KMML (a play on Tillis's stutter). Still later he operated WMML in Mobile, Alabama. All of his stations were sold after a time for a healthy return. He briefly signed with RCA Records, as well as Mercury Records, and later Curb Records in 1991. By this time, his chart success had faded.
Later career and life
Since his heyday in the 1970s, Tillis remained a songwriter in the 1980s, writing hits for Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. He also wrote his autobiography called Stutterin' Boy. (The title comes from Tillis's speech impediment.) Tillis appeared as the television commercial spokesman for the fast-food restaurant chain Whataburger during the 1980s. He also built a theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed on a regular basis until 2002. In 1998, he teamed up with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed to form The Old Dogs. The group recorded a double album of songs penned entirely by Shel Silverstein. In July 1998, Old Dogs Volumes 1 and 2 were released on the Atlantic Records label. A companion video, as well as a Greatest Hits album (composed of previously released material by each individual artist), were also available. In the 1990s, Tillis's daughter, Pam Tillis, became a successful country music singer in her own right, having hits like "Maybe It Was Memphis" and "Shake the Sugar Tree."
The Grand Ole Opry inducted Mel Tillis on June 9, 2007. He was inducted into the Opry by his daughter Pam. Along with being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, it was announced on August 7 that year that Tillis, along with Ralph Emery and Vince Gill, is the latest to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Family
Tillis has six children: songwriter Mel "Sonny" Tillis, Jr., singer-songwriter Pam Tillis, Carrie April Tillis, Connie Tillis, Cindy Tillis, and Hannah Tillis. Mel has one brother, Richard, and two sisters, Linda and Imogene.
Source : Wikidata
Mel Tillis
Birth name Lonnie Melvin Tillis
Nationality USA
Birth 8 august 1932
Death 17 november 2017 (at 85 years)
Awards National Medal of Arts
Nationality USA
Birth 8 august 1932
Death 17 november 2017 (at 85 years)
Awards National Medal of Arts
Tillis's biggest hits include "I Ain't Never", "Good Woman Blues", and "Coca-Cola Cowboy". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music. He also has won the CMA Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. He is also known for his speech impediment, which does not affect his singing voice. His daughter is country music singer Pam Tillis.
Biography
Early lifeTillis was born in Dover, Florida (near Tampa) in 1932. His stutter developed during his childhood, a result of a bout with malaria. As a child, Tillis learned the drums as well as guitar and at age 16, won a local talent show. He attended the University of Florida but dropped out and joined the United States Air Force. While stationed in Okinawa, he formed a band called The Westerners, which played at local nightclubs.
After leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis returned to Florida where he worked a number of odd jobs, eventually finding employment with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa, Florida. He used his railroad pass to visit Nashville and eventually met and auditioned for Wesley Rose of famed Nashville publishing house Acuff-Rose Music. Rose encouraged Tillis to return to Florida and continue honing his songwriting skills. Tillis eventually moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and began writing songs full-time. Tillis wrote "I'm Tired," a No. 3 country hit for Webb Pierce in 1957. Other Tillis hits include "Honky Tonk Song" and "Tupelo County Jail." Ray Price and Brenda Lee also charted hits with Tillis's material around this time. In the late 1950s, after becoming a hit-making songwriter, he signed his own contract with Columbia Records. In 1958, he had his first Top 40 hit, "The Violet and a Rose," followed by the Top 25 hit "Sawmill."
Rise to fame
Although Tillis charted on his own Billboard's Hot Country Songs list, he had more success as a songwriter. He continued to be Webb Pierce's songwriter. He wrote the hits "I Ain't Never" (Tillis's own future hit) and "Crazy, Wild Desire." Bobby Bare, Tom Jones ("Detroit City"), Wanda Jackson, and Stonewall Jackson also covered his songs. Tillis continued to record on his own. Some well-known songs from his Columbia years include "The Brooklyn Bridge," "Loco Weed," and "Walk on, Boy." However, he did not achieve major success on the country charts on his own.
In the mid-1960s, Tillis switched over to Kapp Records, and in 1965, he had his first Top 15 hit with "Wine." Other hits continued to follow, such as "Stateside" and "Life Turned Her That Way" (which was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton in 1988, going to No. 1). He wrote for Charley Pride ("The Snakes Crawl At Night") and wrote a big hit for Kenny Rogers and the First Edition called "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town." He also wrote the hit "Mental Revenge" for Outlaw superstar Waylon Jennings. (It has also been covered by the Hacienda Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, Barbara Mandrell, and Jamey Johnson.) In 1968, Tillis achieved his first Top 10 hit with "Who's Julie." He also was a regular featured singer on The Porter Wagoner Show.
The height of his career
Things turned around in 1969 for Tillis. He finally achieved the success he always wanted with two Top 10 country hits, "These Lonely Hands of Mine" and "She'll Be Hanging Around Somewhere." In 1970, he reached the Top 5 with "Heart Over Mind," which peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs list. After this, Tillis's career as a country singer went into full swing. Hits soon came quite easily, such as "Heaven Everyday" (1970), "Commercial Affection" (1970), "Arms of a Fool" (1970), "Take My Hand" (a duet with Sherry Bryce in 1971), and "Brand New Mister Me" (1971). In 1972, Tillis achieved his first chart-topper with his version of his song "I Ain't Never." Even though the song was previously a hit by Webb Pierce, Tillis's version is the better-known version of the two. Most of the above-mentioned song hits were recorded on MGM Records, Tillis's record company in the early part of the decade.
After the success of "I Ain't Never," Tillis had another hit, which came close to No. 1 (reaching No. 3), entitled "Neon Rose," followed by "Sawmill," which reached No. 2. "Midnight, Me and the Blues" was another near chart-topper in 1974. Other hits Tillis had on MGM include "Stomp Them Grapes" (1974), "Memory Maker" (1974), "Woman in the Back of My Mind" (1975), and his version of "Mental Revenge" (1976). Tillis achieved his biggest success with MCA Records, with which he signed in 1976. It started with a pair of two No. 1 hits in 1976, "Good Woman Blues" and "Heart Healer". (In an interview, he mentioned having written five hits in one week.) Thanks to this success, in 1976 Tillis won the CMA Awards's most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year, and was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame that year. He achieved another No. 1 in 1978 with "I Believe In You" and then again in 1979 with "Coca-Cola Cowboy," which was put in the Clint Eastwood movie Every Which Way but Loose, in which he also made a cameo appearance. Also in 1978, Mel co-hosted a short-lived variety series on ABC television, Mel and Susan Together with model Susan Anton. Other hits around this time included "Send Me Down to Tucson," "Ain't No California," and "I Got the Hoss." In mid-1979, Tillis switched to another record company, Elektra Records.
After signing with Elektra, he continued to make hit songs such as "Blind In Love" and "Lying Time Again," both hits in 1979. Until 1981, Tillis remained on top of his game as one of country music's most successful vocalists of the era. "Your Body Is an Outlaw" went to No. 3 in 1980, followed by another Top 10 hit, "Steppin' Out." "Southern Rains" in 1981 was his last No. 1 hit. That same year, he released an album of duets with Nancy Sinatra which spawned two hit singles, the Top 30 hit "Texas Cowboy Night" and the double A-side, "Play Me or Trade Me/Where Would I Be." He remained with Elektra until 1982 before switching back to MCA for a brief period in 1983. That summer, he scored a Top 10 hit with "In The Middle Of The Night" and had his last Top 10 hit with "New Patches" in 1984. By this time, however, Tillis had built up a financial empire thanks to investing in music publishing companies such as Sawgrass and Cedarwood. He also appeared in movies, including Love Revival, W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), The Villain (1979), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980),The Cannonball Run (1981), and Uphill All the Way (1986), a comedy western in which he starred with fellow country singer Roy Clark, among others. In 1979, he acquired radio station KIXZ (AM) in Amarillo, Texas, from Sammons-Ruff Associates, which converted from Top 40 to country music and became a force in the Panhandle region. A short time later, Tillis acquired Amarillo, Texas, Rock FM station KYTX, which changed calls to KMML (a play on Tillis's stutter). Still later he operated WMML in Mobile, Alabama. All of his stations were sold after a time for a healthy return. He briefly signed with RCA Records, as well as Mercury Records, and later Curb Records in 1991. By this time, his chart success had faded.
Later career and life
Since his heyday in the 1970s, Tillis remained a songwriter in the 1980s, writing hits for Ricky Skaggs and Randy Travis. He also wrote his autobiography called Stutterin' Boy. (The title comes from Tillis's speech impediment.) Tillis appeared as the television commercial spokesman for the fast-food restaurant chain Whataburger during the 1980s. He also built a theater in Branson, Missouri, where he performed on a regular basis until 2002. In 1998, he teamed up with Bobby Bare, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Reed to form The Old Dogs. The group recorded a double album of songs penned entirely by Shel Silverstein. In July 1998, Old Dogs Volumes 1 and 2 were released on the Atlantic Records label. A companion video, as well as a Greatest Hits album (composed of previously released material by each individual artist), were also available. In the 1990s, Tillis's daughter, Pam Tillis, became a successful country music singer in her own right, having hits like "Maybe It Was Memphis" and "Shake the Sugar Tree."
The Grand Ole Opry inducted Mel Tillis on June 9, 2007. He was inducted into the Opry by his daughter Pam. Along with being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry, it was announced on August 7 that year that Tillis, along with Ralph Emery and Vince Gill, is the latest to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Family
Tillis has six children: songwriter Mel "Sonny" Tillis, Jr., singer-songwriter Pam Tillis, Carrie April Tillis, Connie Tillis, Cindy Tillis, and Hannah Tillis. Mel has one brother, Richard, and two sisters, Linda and Imogene.
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Filmography of Mel Tillis (8 films)
Actor
Add to a movie list
Beer for My Horses (2008)
Directed by Michael Salomon
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, Willie Nelson, Brit Morgan, Barry Corbin, Tracy Morgan
Roles Bob the Plumber
Rating48%
Best friends Joe Bill "Rack" Racklin (Toby Keith) and Lonnie Freeman (Rodney Carrington) are deputy sheriffs in the small town of Mangum, Oklahoma that enjoy pig hunting and drinking at the local bar the Thirsty Monkey. After his girlfriend Cammie (Gina Gershon) leaves him, Rack finds out that his old flame Annie Streets (Claire Forlani) has returned home from Chicago to care for her sick mother. Rack, Lonnie, and their friend and fellow deputy Skunk Tarver (Ted Nugent) arrest three local criminals and a Mexican drug lord Tito Garza (Greg Serano) for stealing fertilizer that is intended to make methamphetamine. Garza is scheduled to be turned over to the FBI for federal charges when Annie mysteriously disappears, after a date and one night stand with Rack, who discovers that Annie has been kidnapped by Tito's older brother Manuel Garza (Carlos Sanz), who runs a large Mexican drug cartel. Manuel demands his brother be returned to him in Santa Luna, Mexico or he will kill Annie. Despite being taken off the case Rack, Lonnie, and Skunk take Tito to Mexico. Along the way they are helped by a group of circus entertainers led by Charlie (Willie Nelson), who gives them a jug of homemade whiskey known as "circus jolly". Once in Mexico they engage in a gunfight with Garza's men and it's revealed that Annie's rich and powerful stepfather Buck Baker (Barry Corbin) is Garza's partner and his United Farm Enterprises is the base for the largest methamphetamine operation in Oklahoma. Baker reveals that the local district attorney is corrupt and that he has been giving Annie's mother "goofy juice" to make her appear to have Alzheimer's disease. Rack, with the help of an undercover FBI agent, kills Buck and rescues Annie. Rack, Lonnie, and Skunk turn Manuel and Tito over to the FBI in Oklahoma City and return to Mangum where they are cheered by the local crows at the Thirsty Monkey and berated by Sheriff Landry for disobeying orders but does not arrest them and everyone toasts "whiskey for my men, beer for my horses".
Uphill All the Way (1986)
, 1h26Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark, Burl Ives, Glen Campbell, Trish Van Devere
Roles Booger Skaggs
Rating42%
Cannonball Run II (1984)
, 1h48Directed by Hal Needham
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Sports films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Martial arts films, Auto racing films, Road movies
Actors Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas
Roles Mel
Rating51%
Having lost the first Cannonball Run race, Sheik Abdul ben Falafel (Jamie Farr) is ordered by his father (Ricardo Montalban) to go back to America and win another Cannonball Run in order to "emblazon the Falafel name as the fastest in the world." When Sheik Abdul points out that there is no Cannonball Run that year, his father simply tells him to "buy one."
The Cannonball Run (1981)
, 1h35Directed by Hal Needham
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Sports films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Auto racing films, Road movies
Actors Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, Farrah Fawcett, Jackie Chan, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.
Roles Mel
Rating61%
Race teams have gathered in Connecticut to start a cross-country car race. One at a time, teams drive up to the starters' stand, punch a time card to indicate their time of departure, then take off.
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
, 1h40Directed by Hal Needham
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action
Themes Transport films, Films about automobiles, Trucker films, Road movies, Chase films
Actors Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed (Hubbard), Pat McCormick, Paul Williams
Roles Fairgrounds Owner
Rating53%
Big Enos Burdett (Pat McCormick) is running for Governor of Texas against another candidate, John Coen (David Huddleston). After a figurative and literal "mudslinging" between the two, they are both confronted by the outgoing governor and given a thorough tongue-lashing. As Burdett is leaving the office he overhears the governor yelling at an assistant to take responsibility for transporting a crate of unknown content from Miami to the Republican Party convention in Dallas. Burdett then schemes to pick up the crate and deliver it to the convention. He enlists the help of Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cledus (Jerry Reed) to carry out the task.
The Villain (1979)
, 1h29Directed by Hal Needham
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Western
Actors Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margret, Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Strother Martin
Roles Telegraph Agent
Rating53%
A beautiful woman, "Charming Jones" (Ann-Margret) is being escorted across the west by a naive, slow-witted cowboy, "Handsome Stranger" (Schwarzenegger) after claiming a large sum of money given to her by her father, Parody Jones (Martin). However, bad guy Avery Simpson (Elam), who delivered Charming the money, decides he wants it for himself. He hires an old cowboy, "Cactus Jack" (Douglas), to rob them when they leave town.
Every Which Way but Loose (1978)
, 1h54Directed by James Fargo
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Action, Adventure, Romance
Themes Films about animals, Films about music and musicians, Sports films, Transport films, Motocyclette, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Films about apes, Musical films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Ruth Gordon, Beverly D'Angelo, John Quade
Roles Himself (uncredited)
Rating62%
Philo Beddoe is a truck driver living in the San Fernando Valley. He lives in a small house, with an orangutan named Clyde, behind that of his friend, Orville Boggs, and his mother. Philo makes money on the side as a bare-knuckle fighter; he is often compared to a legendary fighter named Tank Murdock.
, 1h31Directed by John G. Avildsen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Musical, Crime
Themes Films about music and musicians, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Musical films, Road movies, Children's films, Chase films
Actors Burt Reynolds, Conny Van Dyke, Ned Beatty, Jerry Reed (Hubbard), Art Carney, Brad Dourif
Roles Good Ole Boy #2
Rating59%
In 1957, W.W. Bright (Burt Reynolds) is an easygoing crook who robs gas stations. He meets the Dixie Dancekings, a country music band, while fleeing from a policeman. Dixie (Conny Van Dyke), their singer, gives him an alibi. He claims to be in the music business, and ends up promoting the group. Wayne (Jerry Reed), the band's leader, does not trust him, but the others all have faith in him.
Producer
Uphill All the Way (1986)
, 1h26Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Actors Roy Clark, Mel Tillis, Roy Clark, Burl Ives, Glen Campbell, Trish Van Devere
Roles Executive Producer
Rating42%