BOB LUMAN

Robert Glynn "Bob" Luman (15 April 1937 – 27 December 1978) was an American country and rockabilly singer-songwriter.

Luman was born in Blackjack, Texas, but raised in Nacogdoches, Texas. His early interest in music was influenced by his father, an amateur fiddle, guitar and harmonica player. Bob Luman received his first guitar when he was thirteen years of age.

Luman attended high school in Kilgore, where the family had moved after young Bob's birth. It was in high school that Luman started his first band.

Luman had been a baseball star in his high school, and he tried out with the Major League Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates, but when he didn't make it in professional baseball, he decided to concentrate on music. In 1956, he won a talent contest promoted by the Future Farmers of America, which earned him an appearance on the Louisiana Hayride.

For the Hayride, Luman formed a backup band called the Shadows, including James Burton on guitar, James Kirkland on bass and Butch White on drums. In 1957, the band signed with Imperial Records, where they recorded "All Night Long" (b/w "Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache") and "Amarillo Blues."

That same year, the band appeared on the Town Hall Party in Los Angeles, and appeared in the movie Carnival Rock, where they backed up David Houston.

The following year, having been dropped by Imperial Records, Luman signed with Capitol Records, where he released "Try Me" and "I Know My Baby Cares." Capitol Records wanted Luman to change his name, which he refused to do, so he left the record label and signed with Warner Bros. Records, recording "Class of '59" and "Loretta."

In 1960, Luman was inducted into the United States Army. It was while still in the Army that Warner Bros. Records released Luman's best-known crossover hit, "Let's Think About Living," a novelty song that hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 9 on the Billboard country music chart.It also reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.

After leaving the Army in 1962, Luman moved to Nashville. On 12 August 1964 he married Barbara in Yuma, Colorado.[citation needed] In 1965, he joined the Grand Ole Opry.

Later career

Luman toured frequently in the 60s and 70s, and became popular in Las Vegas, with an act which combined country and rockabilly. He signed with Epic Records in 1968, and had several hits with them, including "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" and "Still Loving You." "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" became his biggest country hit, hitting No. 4 on the country chart. (Steve Wariner, who had earlier been a member of Luman's band, later covered the song in 1984, and he, too, took it to No. 4 on the country charts.)

              

Luman's other country hits included "Ain't Got Time To Be Unhappy" (1968), "Ballad of Two Brothers" (with Autry Inman, 1968), "When You Say Love" (1972), "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)" (1973), "Proud Of You Baby" (1975), and "The Pay Phone" (1977). Perhaps his most unusual song was a slow, soulful recitation of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone."

Luman died in Nashville of pneumonia in 1978, at the age of forty-one. After his death, Bear Family Records released several compilations of his songs, including More of the Rocker, Still Rockin' and Carnival Rock.

Legacy

Luman is a member of both the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

            

                                                                     
           



                                                         
            

Bob Luman started out as a rockabilly performer, switched to country and then in the late '50s nearly ditched the music industry altogether; were it not for the interference of the Everly Brothers, Nashville would have lost a popular and talented performer to major league baseball. 

He was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, and grew up loving both sports and music. As a teen, Luman was a high school baseball star, and was so good that he caught the eye of several major league baseball scouts. Through his teens, Luman was primarily interested in singing country music like his idol Lefty Frizzell, but then he saw Elvis perform at a country music show. This inspired him to try his hand at the rockabilly sound and found his own band, which soon began performing at school activities and for area clubs. Soon after graduating, Luman won a talent contest, leading to his debut on the Louisiana Hayride. He was well received and became a regular in the mid-'50s. He was handsome, young and talented to boot, so it was only natural that Luman begin appearing on television. In 1957, he had a small role in a Hollywood film, Carnival Rock. He also appeared in Las Vegas along with Tex Ritter and Johnny Cash. Still, his singles did nothing on the charts. 

In 1959, the Pittsburgh Pirates offered young Luman a lucrative contract. Fed up with his lack of success, he decided to go for it and announced this during a concert one night. The Everly Brothers happened to be in the audience and after the show, they talked him into giving country music one more try. They suggested he record the Boudleaux Bryant song "Let's Think About Living," and sure enough, it was a Top Ten hit on both the country and pop charts. His follow-up, "The Great Snowman," was also a hit and Luman began organizing a promotional tour. Unfortunately he was drafted and spent the next two years in the military.He was discharged in 1964 and began recording for Hickory Records. 

His debut single, "The File," made it to the Top 25. The following year, he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Luman eventually signed with Epic Records and soon had a string of major hits on his hands beginning with the Top 20 "Ain't Got Time to Be Happy." Over the next ten years, Luman released many more singles that made it into the Top 25 or better, including the Top Five hit "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" in 1972. During these years, Luman toured extensively and frequently. The first country performer to perform in Puerto Rico, he also appeared on national and international television shows and remained a regular on the Opry, where his lively performances raised the eyebrows of the old timers who thought his music veered dangerously close to rock & roll at times. Luman had a major heart attack in 1975, and it took him nearly five months to recover. (Afterwards, he joked about his enormous medical bills during his Opry performances.) His final chart appearance came in 1977 with the Top 15 hit "The Pay Phone." The following year he contracted pneumonia and died at the age of 41. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide

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