Nashville Songwriting Legend Dallas Frazier Dies At 82

Frazier (Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS HALL OF FAME member DALLAS FRAZIER died on FRIDAY, JANUARY 14th in a GALLATIN, TN rehabilitation facility at the age of 82. He had suffered two strokes in recent months.

Among his many hit compositions were THE OAK RIDGE BOYS' crossover "Elvira," GENE WATSON's "Fourteen Carat Mind," and JACK GREENE's 1967 CMA Award-winning Song of the Year, "There Goes My Everything." His songs were also cut by GEORGE JONES, CONNIE SMITH, CHARLEY PRIDE, TANYA TUCKER, MERLE HAGGARD and EMMYLOU HARRIS, among others, and he had a pop and R&B hit with "Alley Oop" by THE HOLLYWOOD ARGYLES in 1960.

As an artist, he recorded for CAPITOL RECORDS, which signed him when he was just 14, and later, RCA VICTOR, charting four singles for each label between the 1960s and early '70s. He made regular appearances on CLIIFE STONE's LOS ANGELES television show, HOMETOWN JAMBOREE.

THE OAK RIDE BOYS' DUANE ALLEN said, “For over five decades, songs written by DALLAS FRAZIER have affected THE OAK RIDGE BOYS' career like no other writers. 'The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor' won a GRAMMY Award for us when we were a Gospel group in the mid-'70s. Then, in 1981, 'Elvira' became the biggest song in the music industry, winning all of the awards and selling over two and a half million 45 rpm singles. THE OAK RIDGE BOYS and our families, along with millions of fans and friends who love his music, join in prayer for [wife] SHARON and the FRAZIER family."

"DALLAS FRAZIER is among the greatest country songwriters of all time," said KYLE YOUNG, CEO of the COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM. "He could convey infectious fun with 'Elvira,' and then write something as stunningly sad and true as 'Beneath Still Waters.' His songs helped CONNIE SMITH to become a member of the COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME. He was a man of kindness, generosity and faith, who overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to offer smiling gifts to all of us."

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