John D. Loudermilk - BBC - Complete show - 1984 + The Fureys and Davey Arthur.

Here's the celebrated singer songwriter John D. Loudermilk in a rare appearance on BBC Television in 1984. The show also has a very enjoyable appearance by The Furies and Davey Arthur.

John D. Loudermilk (born March 31, 1934) is an American singer and songwriter.

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Loudermilk grew up in a family who were members of the Salvation Army faith and was influenced by the church singing. His cousins Ira and Charlie Loudermilk were known professionally as the Louvin Brothers. Loudermilk is a graduate of Campbell College (now Campbell University), a private North Carolina Baptist Convention-owned college in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

As a young boy he learned to play the guitar, and while still in his teens wrote a poem that he set to music, A Rose and a Baby Ruth. The owners of the local television station, where he worked as a handyman, allowed him to play the song on-air, resulting in country musician George Hamilton IV putting it on record in 1956. After Eddie Cochran had his first hit record with Loudermilk's song, "Sittin' in the Balcony", Loudermilk's career path was firmly set.

Loudermilk recorded some of his songs, including "Sittin' in the Balcony", under the stage name Johnny Dee (reaching No. 38 on the pop charts in 1957). His 'Johnny Dee' records were recorded for the North Carlina based Colonial Records.

In 1958, he signed with Columbia Records and recorded five unsuccessful singles through 1959.[1]

In 1961, he signed with RCA Victor, where he had a number of hits:

Language Of Love (US No. 32/ UK Top 20) in 1961.
Thou Shalt Not Steal (US No. 73) in 1962
Callin' Doctor Casey (US No. 83) in 1962
Road Hog (US No. 65) in 1962.
But it was as a songwriter that he made his mark. In 1963 he wrote another all-time hit for George Hamilton IV, Abilene. Working out of country music capital Nashville, Tennessee, Loudermilk became one of the most productive songwriters of the 1960s and 1970s, penning country and pop music hits for the Everly Brothers, Johnny Tillotson, Chet Atkins, The Nashville Teens, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Johnny Cash, Marianne Faithfull, Stonewall Jackson, Sue Thompson and others. For example, he wrote The Pale Faced Indian, later known as Indian Reservation, a hit in the 70s.

"Midnight Bus" was recorded by several singers, and he commented that the best was by Betty McQuade in Melbourne, Australia.

Loudermilk was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976[2] and was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2011.