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Gary Perkins (July 14, 1937 - June 28, 1991) was a radio DJ honored at the Grand Ole Opry in 1990 for his service to the country music industry.
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment, it is the longest running radio broadcast in US history. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of famous singers and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music as well as comedic performances and skits. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world and millions of radio and internet listeners.
Born in Abilene, Texas Perkins began his radio career in 1957 at Midland Texas' KCRS where Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly used to drop their records off. After joining the army, where he served in the National Security Agency as well as in Armed Forces Radio, he moved to El Paso Texas and joined KHEY radio in the 1960s.
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in Texas, United States. The population was 117,463 at the 2010 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2017 estimated population of 170,219. It is the county seat of Taylor County. Dyess Air Force Base is located on the west side of the city.
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County.
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Many critics described his music as operatic, nicknaming him "the Caruso of Rock" and "the Big O". While most male rock-and-roll performers in the 1950s and 1960s projected a defiant masculinity, many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability. He performed standing still, wearing black clothes to match his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Publishing his own magazine for the station, Gary quickly built a rapport with the artists he interviewed (which led to a stint as drummer for Lefty Frizzell's band). He became friends with the likes of Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams Jr., Glen Campbell and Buck Owens. He was always asked to MC their shows and by the time he moved to San Diego California's KSON radio station, he was becoming more popular than some of the artists themselves as noted by an article in the June 1971 issue of TV & Radio Mirror:
William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell, was an American country music singer-songwriter and honky-tonk singer.
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, producer, author, poet, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.
Johnny Cash was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide. Although primarily remembered as a country music icon, his genre-spanning songs and sound embraced rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal won Cash the rare honor of being inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.
Whenever Gary Perkins is emceeing a country music show, the autograph-seekers run right past Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Glen Campbell. Pens poised in mid-air, they pass up their national singing idols and rush up to the 6'1", blue-eyed, blond-haired San Diego favorite who simply plays their music. When this happens he usually replies, "I'm not one of the stars, I'm just the deejay." Ask anyone who listens to his show and they'll tell you differently. They'll tell you that his warm, personable approach is helpful in getting through the day.
Consistently rated number 1 with females 25 to 49 in the broadcast industry ratings for his market, Gary later rose to fame in the early to mid-1970s for changing the face of country music by playing the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John and The Eagles alongside the country standards, leading to the cross-over trend of Country rock and pop. This earned him the reputation as a daring, often iconoclastic, music director.
Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist and singer for the rock band the Beatles, widely considered the most popular and influential group in the history of popular music. McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. He has written, or co-written, 32 songs that have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009 he had 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. After the group disbanded in 1970, he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.
Sir Elton Hercules John is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums. John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the United States, 58 Billboard Top 40 singles, 27 Top 10 singles, four of which reached number two and nine of which reached number one. His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", rewritten in dedication to Diana, Princess of Wales, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling single in the history of the UK and US singles charts. He has also produced records and occasionally acted in films. John owned Watford F.C. from 1976 to 1987 and from 1997 to 2002, and is an honorary Life President of the club.
Country rock is a subgenre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late-1960s and early-1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal styles, and additional instrumentation, most characteristically pedal steel guitars. Country rock began with artists like Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons and others, reaching its greatest popularity in the 1970s with artists such as Emmylou Harris, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Nesmith, Poco and Pure Prairie League. Country rock also influenced artists in other genres, including the Band, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Rolling Stones, and George Harrison's solo work. It also played a part in the development of Southern rock.
In the 1980s he moved back to El Paso and to his home station of KHEY radio. On June 7, 1990, the El Paso Times announced that Gary Perkins would be honored that night with an plaque at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee which acknowledged his 35 years of service to the country music industry. The award was to be presented to him by legendary crooner Tom T. Hall. [1]
Thomas T. Hall is an American country music songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, novelist, and short-story writer. He has written 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the No. 1 international pop crossover smash "Harper Valley PTA" and the hit "I Love", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. He became known to fans as "The Storyteller," thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting.
Gary had also become a notable writer for the El Paso Times often writing about politics, humor or his bout with pancreatic cancer. Gary Perkins died June 28, 1991, [2] [3] one year after he first learned he had cancer of the pancreas. Gary is survived by his sons Craig Anthony Perkins of industrial band cell:burn and jido-genshi and Todd Perkins.
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans.
