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Leon Payne ~ Lost Highway (The Bullet Sessions)
Leon Payne was Born on June 15, 1917 in Alba, Texas and died of a heart attack on September 11, 1969. Blind since early childhood, he is probably best remembered today as the songwriter who penned all-time classics like "I Love You Because" and "You've Still Got A Place In My Heart," as well as two songs best known through Hank Williams' recorded versions, "They'll Never Take Her Love From Me" and "Lost Highway." He wrote hundreds of others, too, but he was also a vital and versatile performer who recorded prolifically from 1941 through the 1960s. He gained only mid-level stardom nationwide, though he remained a popular performer in his native Southwest until his death.
A guitarist, pianist and drummer, Payne played with Jack Rhodes Rhythm Boys before forming his own band Lone Star Buddies (Frankie Juricek, Ernie Hunter, Gig Sparks and Tiny Smith). Payne recorded for such labels as Bluebird, Bullet, Decca, Starday, 'D,' and TNT, but it was during his mid-career stint at Capitol from 1949-1953 that he reached his peak and produced his most enduring music, from his classic, chart-topping first release "I Love You Because" (1949) to minor hits like "I'm A Lone Wolf," and under appreciated sides like "I Miss That Gal," "If I could Live My Live Over," and "Poke Salad Greens."
Leon is buired at Sunset memorial Park in San Antonio (Bexar County) Texas, USA.
~RJB: Country Music Historian, 12/2010. References: Record Research: Country Music Singles 1944 -- 1993; Billboard Magazine; RJB: Original Country Music Chronicles.
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