Скачать или смотреть Eddie Hill - Salty Dog Rag (1952)

Eddie Hill July 21, 1921 ~ January 18, 1994

James Edward Hill was born on July 21, 1921 in Delano, Tennessee. He began his early career on WROL, Knoxville, Tennessee, then he moved on to WNOX and its high popular Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round in the early '40s. His first formal band included Leon Scott and Claude Boone. Sometime later the band became known as the Tennessee Hillbillies. During that time, he partnered with Johnnie and Jack and had a brief association with The Louvin Brothers. In 1943, Hill teamed with Johnny Wright and Kitty Wells. At one point during the war, the group also included Chet Atkins.

In 1948, Hill signed a contract with Decca Records and made his first recordings at the Castle Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. By the early '50s, he was appearing in Memphis, Tennessee on WMC-TV, where he starred in Eddie Hill's Ranch. In 1951, Hill left Decca and landed a contract with Mercury Records. Hill moved to Nashville in 1952 and in 1956, Eddie began working as a DJ on WSM Radio. Hill left Mercury Records in 1953 and the following year, he signed a contract with RCA Records.

Eddie Hill had a notable career as a band leader, but had little recording success beyond his classic cover of The Hot Guitar in 1951. He did however record a number of songs, in a career that lasted more than a decade starting in 1947. His recordings were a mix of country, country jazz and rock 'n' roll, including Steamboat Stomp, Mind Your Own Business, Mountain Jam, Salty Dog Rag, Fire Ball Eight, Cause I Have You, Wild Cat and dozens of other sides with the aforementioned labels.

Hill was sidelined after suffered a stroke in 1968. He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey's Hall of Fame in 19875. Sadly, however, he was in poor health for many years before his death in 1994. Eddie Hill was an important presence in country music and for several years he influenced dozens of artist beyond the country music arena.