James, Sonny(originally, Loden, JamesHugh)

James, Sonny(originally, Loden, JamesHugh), American country singer, guitarist, and songwriter; b. Hackleburg, Ala., May 1, 1929. James was an eclectic country singer who scored 72 country chart entries between 1953 and 1983 with a variety of songs, many of them borrowed from pop, R&B, and folk music. His biggest hits included “Young Love,” “It’s the Little Things,” and “You’re the Only World I Know.”

James grew up in the musical Loden Family, which performed around the South and included his parents and four sisters. He first performed publicly at the age of four. By seven he was playing fiddle, and he then took up guitar. In his teens he was employed as a musician on a radio station in Birmingham, Ala. He served in the Army in Korea during the Korean War, 1950-52. After his discharge he returned to performing and was signed to Capitol Records, which assigned his stage name by combining his nickname and his first name.

James reached the country charts with his debut single, “That’s Me without You” (music and lyrics by J. D. Miller and Bennett Wyatt), in February 1953, but he did not achieve major success until four years later, when “Young Love” (music and lyrics by Rick Cartey and Carole Joyner) topped both the country and pop charts and sold a million copies. He continued to chart with pop-styled material over the next several years, but his success with such recordings declined to the point that he left Capitol for the smaller NRC label in 1960, then moved briefly to RCA Victor. By 1962 he was off the charts.

James returned to Capitol in 1963 with a distinctly country approach and enjoyed his second country #1 after eight years in January 1965 with “You’re the Only World I Know” (music and lyrics by Sonny James and Robert Tubert). The song earned him Grammy nominations for Best Country and Western Song and Best Country & Western Single, and his You’re the Only World I Know LP earned him a nomination for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance, Male. From this point through 1972 his records regularly occupied the top of the country charts. “Behind the Tear” (music and lyrics by Ned Miller and Sue Miller) hit #1 in October 1965, as did a revival of the 1961 pop song “Take Good Care of Her” (music and lyrics by Arthur Kent and Ed Warren) in June 1966. The Best of Sonny James was a #1 country album in December 1966.

James began an amazing string of 16 consecutive country chart-topping singles in April 1967 with a revival of the 1949 pop song “Need You” (music and lyrics by Johnny Blackburn, Teepee Mitchell, and Lew Porter); a Need You LP topped the country album charts in July. “Need You” was followed at the top of the country singles charts by a revival of the 1965 pop song “I’ll Never Find Another You” (music and lyrics by Tom Springfield; August 1967); “It’s the Little Things” (music and lyrics by Arlie Duff; November 1967); a revival of the 1965 pop song “A World of Our Own” (music and lyrics by Tom Springfield; March 1968); “Heaven Says Hello” (music and lyrics by Cindy Walker; August 1968); a revival of the 1956 pop song “Born to Be with You” (music and lyrics by Don Robertson; December 1968); a revival of the 1960 pop song “Only the Lonely” (music and lyrics by Joe Melson and Roy Orbison; March 1969); a revival of the 1960 pop song “Running Bear” (music and lyrics by J. P. Richardson, aka The Big Bopper; June 1969); a revival of the 1956 pop song “Since I Met You, Baby” (music and lyrics by Ivory Joe Hunter; October 1969); a revival of the 1959 pop song “It’s Just a Matter of Time” (music and lyrics by Brook Benton, Beiford Hendricks, and Clyde Otis; February 1970); a revival of the 1966 pop song “My Love” (music and lyrics by Tony Hatch; May 1970); “Don’t Keep Me Hangin’ On” (music and lyrics by Sonny James and Carole Smith; August 1970); a revival of the 1959 pop song “Endlessly” (music and lyrics by Brook Benton and Clyde Otis; November 1970); a revival of the 1957 pop song “Empty Arms” (music and lyrics by Ivory Joe Hunter); a revival of the 1961 pop song “Bright Lights, Big City” (music and lyrics by Jimmy Reed; July 1971); and “Here Comes Honey Again” (music and lyrics by Sonny James and Carole Smith; November 1971).

After one single that missed the #1 spot, James scored two more in 1972, “That’s Why I Love You Like I Do” (music and lyrics by Kelso Herston and Jack Morrow) in June, and his first release under a new contract with Columbia Records, “When the Snow Is on the Roses” (music and lyrics by Ernest Bader, Larry Kusick, Hans Last, and Eddie Snyder) in September. In 1973 his singles performed less well as Capitol continued to release material from its vault to compete with new Columbia recordings, thus glutting the market. But he returned to #1 with “Is It Wrong (For Loving You)” (music and lyrics by Warner Mack) in May 1974.

James’s record sales declined after the mid-1970s as he moved to Monument Records in 1977 and Dimension Records in 1981. His last recording was done for Dot Records in 1986, when he re-recorded some of his hits for an album called Sonny James, after which he retired from performing.

—William Ruhlmann