David Houston
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David Houston in 1965
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Charles David Houston |
| Born | (1935-12-09)December 9, 1935 |
| Origin | Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 30, 1993(1993-11-30) (aged 57) |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1950s–1989 |
| Labels | Epic |
Charles David Houston (December 9, 1935 – November 30, 1993)[1] was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s.[2]
His biggest success came in 1966, when his recording of "Almost Persuaded", topped the Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart for nine weeks, and garnered Houston a pair of Grammy Awards.
Houston was born in Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana, United States.[3] He was a descendant of Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.[3] His godfather was 1920s pop singer Gene Austin.[3] Like Austin, Houston lived briefly as a youth in a house at the intersection of Marshall and Goodwill streets in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Another musician from Minden, Tommy Tomlinson, collaborated with Houston in the single "Mountain of Love".
Houston was one of the earliest artists with National Recording CorporationinAtlanta, Georgia. In 1963, he rose to national stardom with "Mountain of Love"; the song, which was different from the tune made famous by composer Harold Dorman, Johnny Rivers, and Charley Pride, rose to number two on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, as did "Livin' in a House Full of Love" (1965).[3]
In 1966, Houston recorded "Almost Persuaded". This song, which is unrelated to the Philip Paul Bliss hymn of the same title, is the tale of a married man managing to resist a temptress he meets in a tavern. Houston's recording of it quickly reached number one that August, eventually spending nine weeks atop Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.[3] For 46 years, no song did as well until Taylor Swift matched its nine-week record on December 15, 2012, with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". (Swift's song went on to surpass the nine-week run of "Almost Persuaded", spending a 10th week at No. 1 in early 2013.)
Houston was awarded two Grammy Awards for Best Country & Western Recording and Best Country & Western Performance, Male in 1967 for "Almost Persuaded" which began a string of top five Houston singles through 1973, including six more number ones: "With One Exception" and "You Mean the World to Me" (1967); "Have a Little Faith" and "Already It's Heaven" (1968); "Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)" (1970); and 1967's "My Elusive Dreams" duet with Tammy Wynette.[3]
In later years, Houston sang duets with Barbara Mandrell on several of her early hits, most notably 1970's "After Closing Time" and 1972's "I Love You, I Love You".[3]
Houston's last Top 10 country hit came in 1974 with "Can't You Feel It", though he continued making records until 1989.[3]
Houston died of a brain aneurysm on November 30, 1993, in Bossier City, one week before his 58th birthday.[2] He had been residing in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner.
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 1964 | New Voice from Nashville | — | — | Epic |
| 1965 | Twelve Great Country Hits | — | — | |
| 1966 | Almost Persuaded | 1 | 57 | |
| 1967 | A Loser's Cathedral | 12 | — | |
| Golden Hyms | — | — | ||
| My Elusive Dreams (with Tammy Wynette) | 11 | — | ||
| You Mean the World to Me | 3 | — | ||
| 1968 | David Houston's Greatest Hits | 20 | — | |
| Already It's Heaven | 9 | — | ||
| 1969 | Where Love Used to Live / My Woman's Good to Me | 27 | — | |
| David | 14 | 143 | ||
| 1970 | Baby, Baby | 7 | 194 | |
| The World of David Houston | 35 | — | ||
| Wonders of the Wine | 13 | 170 | ||
| 1971 | A Woman Always Knows | 22 | 218 | |
| David Houston's Greatest Hits, Volume II | 21 | — | ||
| 1972 | The Day That Love Walked In | 14 | — | |
| A Perfect Match (with Barbara Mandrell) | 38 | — | ||
| 1973 | The Many Sides of David Houston | 45 | — | |
| Good Things | 17 | — | ||
| 1975 | A Man Needs Love | — | — | |
| 1976 | What a Night | — | — | |
| 1977 | David Houston | — | — | Starday |
| 1978 | Best | — | — | Gusto |
| 1979 | From the Heart of Houston | — | — | Derrick |
| 1980 | Next Sunday I'm Gonna Be Saved | — | — | Excelsior |
| 1981 | From Houston to You | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | |||
| 1963 | "Mountain of Love" | 2 | 132 | — | New Voice from Nashville |
| 1964 | "Passing Through" | 37 | — | — | |
| "Chickashay" | 17 | — | — | ||
| "One If for Him, Two If for Me" | 11 | — | — | ||
| "Love Looks Good on You" | 17 | — | — | ||
| 1965 | "Sweet, Sweet Judy" | 18 | — | — | A Loser's Cathedral |
| "Rose Colored Glasses" | — | — | — | ||
| "Livin' in a House Full of Love" | 3 | 117 | — | Almost Persuaded | |
| 1966 | "Sammy" | 47 | — | — | single only |
| "Almost Persuaded"A | 1 | 24 | — | Almost Persuaded | |
| "Where Could I Go? (But to Her)" | 14 | 133 | — | A Loser's Cathedral | |
| "A Loser's Cathedral" | 3 | 135 | — | ||
| 1967 | "With One Exception" | 1 | — | — | |
| "You Mean the World to Me" | 1 | 75 | 1 | You Mean the World to Me | |
| 1968 | "Have a Little Faith" | 1 | 98 | 1 | Already It's Heaven |
| "Already It's Heaven" | 1 | — | 1 | ||
| "Where Love Used to Live" | 2 | — | 1 | Where Love Used to Live/ My Woman's Good to Me | |
| 1969 | "My Woman's Good to Me" | 4 | — | 1 | |
| "I'm Down to My Last 'I Love You'" | 3 | — | 4 | A Woman Always Knows | |
| "Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)" | 1 | — | 1 | Baby, Baby | |
| 1970 | "I Do My Swinging at Home" | 3 | — | 4 | Wonders of the Wine |
| "Wonders of the Wine" | 6 | — | 5 | ||
| 1971 | "A Woman Always Knows" | 2 | — | 1 | A Woman Always Knows |
| "Nashville" | 9 | — | 24 | David Houston's Greatest Hits, Volume II | |
| "Home Sweet Home" | 32 | — | — | Good Things | |
| "Maiden's Prayer" | 10 | — | 19 | ||
| 1972 | "The Day That Love Walked In" | 18 | — | 20 | The Day That Love Walked In |
| "Soft, Sweet and Warm" | 8 | — | 6 | Good Things | |
| "I Wonder How John Felt (When He Baptized Jesus)" | 41 | — | — | single only | |
| "Good Things" | 2 | — | 3 | Good Things | |
| 1973 | "She's All Woman" | 3 | — | 6 | |
| "The Lady of the Night" | 22 | — | 95 | single only | |
| 1974 | "That Same Ol' Look of Love" | 33 | — | — | A Man Needs Love |
| "Can't You Feel It" | 9 | — | 13 | ||
| 1975 | "A Man Needs Love" | 36 | — | — | |
| "I'll Be Your Steppin' Stone" | 40 | — | 45 | What a Night | |
| "Sweet Molly" (with Calvin Crawford) | 69 | — | — | ||
| "The Woman on My Mind" | 35 | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "What a Night" | 51 | — | — | |
| "Lullaby Song" | — | — | — | singles only | |
| "Come on Down (To Our Favorite Forget-About-Her Place)" | 24 | — | — | ||
| 1977 | "So Many Ways" | 33 | — | — | David Houston |
| "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" | 68 | — | — | ||
| "The Twelfth of Never" | 98 | — | — | ||
| "It Started All Over Again" | 56 | — | — | Best | |
| 1978 | "No Tell Motel" | 72 | — | — | |
| "Waltz of the Angels" | 51 | — | — | From the Heart of Houston | |
| "Best Friends Make the Worst Enemies" | 46 | — | — | ||
| 1979 | "Faded Love and Winter Roses" | 33 | — | — | |
| "Let Your Love Fall Back on Me" | 57 | — | — | ||
| "Here's to All the Too Hard Working Husbands (In the World)" | 60 | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "You're the Perfect Reason" | 64 | — | — | singles only |
| "Sad Love Song Lady" | 78 | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "My Lady" | — | — | — | From Houston to You |
| "Texas Ida Red" | 69 | — | — | ||
| 1989 | "A Penny for Your Thoughts Tonight Virginia" | 85 | — | — | single only |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||
| Year | Single | Collaborator | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | ||||
| 1967 | "My Elusive Dreams" | Tammy Wynette | 1 | 89 | — | My Elusive Dreams |
| 1968 | "It's All Over" | 11 | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "After Closing Time" | Barbara Mandrell | 6 | — | 4 | A Perfect Match |
| 1971 | "We've Got Everything but Love" | 20 | — | — | ||
| 1972 | "A Perfect Match" | 24 | — | — | ||
| 1973 | "I Love You, I Love You" | 6 | — | 18 | ||
| 1974 | "Lovin' You Is Worth It" | 40 | — | — | ||
| "Ten Commandments of Love" | 14 | — | 9 | A Man Needs Love | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Missing from David Houston's 45 Discography are "We Got Love" (1964) and "My Little Lady" (1965).
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