Sammy Johns

Sammy Johns

born on 7/2/1946 in Charlotte, NC, United States

died on 4/1/2013 in Gastonia, NC, United States

Sammy Johns

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sammy Johns

Sammy Johns (February 7, 1946 – January 4, 2013) was an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his million selling 1975 hit single, "Chevy Van".[1]

Career

Sammy Reginald Johns was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Johns' father gave him a guitar when he was nine, and he founded his first band (the Devilles) in his teenage years.[2] The group performed locally and made a few records for Dixie Records.[2] Johns moved to Atlanta, where he signed with General Recording in 1973. His first solo recording was "Early Morning Love" (1973).[2]

"Chevy Van" (1975) reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[1] and remained in the chart for 17 weeks. It was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. on 4 May 1975.[1] The song and an album (also titled "Chevy Van") led to a contract with Warner Curb Records to produce a soundtrack for the 1977 film The Van. Johns switched to the Elektra label, where he issued singles such as "Common Man" and "Love Me off the Road".[2] John Conlee's cover version of "Common Man" reached number 1. Conlee made the song his theme song.[2] Johns' songs have also been covered by Waylon Jennings, Sammy Kershaw, and Conway Twitty. After Jennings sang Johns' song "America" at a celebration of the restoration of the Statue of Liberty in 1985, the single was nominated for country song of the year.[2]

Death

Johns died on January 4, 2013, at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, North Carolina, at the age of 66.[3]

Discography

Albums

Year Album US Label
1973 Sammy Johns 148 General Recording
1994 Golden Classics Collectables
2000 Honky Tonk Moon Southern Tracks

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions RIAA Album
US
[4]
US Country
1974 "Chevy Van" 5 Gold Sammy Johns
"Early Morning Love" 68 79
1975 "Rag Doll" 52
1980 "Falling for You" 103 rowspan=3
1981 "Common Man" 50
1988 "Chevy Van" (re-release) 80

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs, 2nd, London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 [Sammy Johns at All Music Guide Biography by Linda Seida]. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 8 December 2008.
  3. Lyttle, Steve (2013-01-04). Writer of ‘Chevy Van’ dies at 66. CharlotteObserver.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-08.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010, Record Research, Inc.

External links

  • Interview with Sammy Johns
This page was last modified 20.03.2014 03:03:48

This article uses material from the article Sammy Johns from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.