George Hamilton IV
(born July 19, 1937, Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to pop-country and folk music.
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GEORGE HAMILTON IV TICKETS
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Biography
On June 18, 1956, while a 19-year-old student at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton
recorded "
A Rose and a Baby Ruth" for
Chapel Hill record label,
Colonial Records. The
song,
written by
John D. Loudermilk, climbed to number 6 on the
United States Billboard Hot 100 chart. By 1960, "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" had attained
gold record status for
ABC-Paramount (who had acquired the song from
Colonial). The
B-side of the
record, "If You Don't Know," revealed Hamilton's ambitions to be a country singer. In late 1959, Hamilton moved his family to
Nashville,
Tennessee to further his work as a country musician.
[1] On February 8, 1960, Hamilton officially became a member of the
Grand Ole Opry. Later that same year, he began recording for
RCA Records, having been signed by
Chet Atkins.
Hamilton's breakthrough hit was the 1961 song "Before This Day Ends." His biggest hit came two years later with "Abilene," another song penned by Loudermilk. The song spent four weeks in the number 1 spot on
Billboard
s country singles chart and reached the Top 20 of the Hot 100. The success of "Abilene" was followed with the song "Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston" (a
Top 5 hit in late 1964).
By the mid-1960s, Hamilton's music began showing a decidedly
folk influence. This was especially evident with 1966's "Steel Rail Blues" and "Early Morning Rain" (both by
Gordon Lightfoot), and 1967's "Urge For Going." Another 1967 hit was "Break My Mind." One more George Hamilton IV song of this genre was a moderate hit in 1969 - the
Ray Griff penned "Canadian Pacific." His last Top 5 single came in 1970, with "She's a Little Bit Country."
After his American chart success declined in the early 1970s, Hamilton began touring the world, across the
Soviet Union,
Australia, the
Middle East and
East Asia. These widely-acclaimed international performances earned Hamilton the nickname 'The International Ambassador of Country Music'.
[2] He also hosted several successful
television programs in the
UK and
Canada during the 1970s, and in the 1990s he played himself in the
West End musical,
Patsy
, based on the life of
Patsy Cline.
Hamilton is still a regular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and in country shows throughout the U.S. and the UK. He mainly concentrates on gospel tours both at home and abroad. In 2007 he collaborated with 'Live Issue'
[3], a group from
Northern Ireland to record a
live album based on the life of
Joseph Scriven, who wrote the
hymn, "What A Friend We Have in Jesus." The two also toured together again in 2009.
As of June 20
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Label
|
| US Country
| US
|
| 1958
| On Campus
|
|
| ABC
|
| Sing Me a Sad Song
|
|
|
| 1961
| To You and Yours
|
|
| RCA Victor
|
| 1963
| Abilene
| 18
| 77
|
| 1964
| Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston
|
|
|
| 1965
| Mister Sincerity...A Tribute to Ernest Tubb
| 19
|
|
| 1966
| Coast-Country
| 21
|
|
| Steel Rail Blues
| 3
|
|
| 1967
| Folk Country Classics
| 3
|
|
| Folksy
| 21
|
|
| 1968
| The Gentle Country Sound of George Hamilton IV
| 25
|
|
| In the 4th Dimension
| 36
|
|
| 1969
| Canadian Pacific
|
|
|
| 1970
| The Best
|
|
|
| Back Where It's At
|
|
|
| 1971
| North Country
| 45
|
|
| West Texas Highway
|
|
|
| 1972
| Country Music in My Soul
|
|
|
| Travelin' Light
|
|
|
| International Ambassador
|
|
|
| 1973
| Out West Country
|
|
|
| 1974
| The Best 2
|
|
|
| Greatest Hits
| 35
|
|
| 1975
| Trendsetter
|
|
|
| Back to Down East Country
|
|
|
| 1976
| Back Home at the Opry
|
|
|
| 1977
| Fine Lace and Homespun Cloth
|
|
| Anchor
|
| 1978
| Feels Like a Million
|
|
|
| 1979
| Forever Young
|
|
| MCA
|
| 1982
| Songs for a Winter's Night
|
|
| Ronco
|
| 1983
| And Country Beat
|
|
| Supraphon
|
| 1984
| Music Man's Dream
|
|
| Range
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Chart Positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| US AC
|
| 1956
| "A Rose and a Baby Ruth"
|
| 6
|
| singles only
|
| 1957
| "High School Romance"
|
| 80
|
|
| "Only One Love"
|
| 33
|
|
| 1958
| "I Know Where I'm Goin'"
|
| 43
|
|
| "Now and for Always"
|
| 25
|
|
| "Why They Don't Understand"
|
| 10
|
|
| "When Will I Know"
|
| 65
|
|
| "Your Cheatin' Heart"
|
| 72
|
| Sing Me a Sad Song
|
| 1959
| "The Teen Commandments"
|
| 29
|
| singles only
|
| "Steady Game"
|
|
|
|
| "Gee"
|
| 73
|
|
| "Little Tom"
|
|
|
|
| 1960
| "Why I'm Walkin'"
|
|
|
|
| "Before This Day Ends"
| 4
|
|
|
| "Walk On the Wild Side of Life"
|
|
|
|
| 1961
| "Three Steps to the Phone (Millions of Miles)"
| 9
|
|
| To You and Yours
|
| "To You and Yours (From Me and Mine)"
| 13
|
|
|
| 1962
| "China Doll"
| 22
|
|
| Abilene
|
| "If You Don't Know I Ain't Gonna Tell You"
| 6
|
|
|
| 1963
| "In This Very Same Room"
| 21
|
|
| single only
|
| "Abilene"
| 1
| 15
| 4
| Abilene
|
| 1964
| "There's More Pretty Girls Than One"
| 21
| 116
|
| Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston
|
| "Linda with the Lonely Eyes"
| 25
|
|
|
| "Fair and Tender Ladies"
| 28
|
|
|
| "Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston"
| 9
|
|
|
| 1965
| "Truck Driving Man"
| 11
|
|
|
| "Walking the Floor Over You"
| 18
|
|
| Mister Sincerity...A Tribute to Ernest Tubb
|
| 1966
| "Write Me a Picture"
| 16
|
|
| Steel Rail Blues
|
| "Steel Rail Blues"
| 15
|
|
|
| "Early Morning Rain"
| 9
|
|
|
| 1967
| "Urge for Going"
| 7
|
|
| Folksy
|
| "Break My Mind"
| 6
|
|
|
| 1968
| "Little World Girl"
| 18
|
|
| The Gentle Country Sound of George Hamilton IV
|
| "It's My Time"
| 50
|
|
|
| "Take My Hand for Awhile"
| 38
|
|
| In the 4th Dimension
|
| 1969
| "Back to Denver"
| 26
|
|
|
| "Canadian Pacific"
| 25
|
|
| Canadian Pacific
|
| "Carolina in My Mind"
| 29
|
|
| Back Where It's At
|
| 1970
| "She's a Little Bit Country"
| 3
|
|
|
| "Back Where It's At"
| 16
|
|
|
| "Let's Get Together" (w/ Skeeter Davis)
| 65
|
|
| A Place in the Country
(Skeeter Davis album)
|
| 1971
| "Anyway"
| 13
|
|
| Back Where It's At
|
| "Countryfied"
| 35
|
|
| North Country
|
| "West Texas Highway"
| 23
|
|
| West Texas Highway
|
| 1972
| "10 Degrees & Getting Colder"
| 33
|
|
|
| "Country Music in My Soul"
| 63
|
|
| Country Music in My Soul
|
| "Travelin' Light"
| 52
|
|
| Travelin' Light
|
| 1973
| "Blue Train (Of the Heartbreak Line)"
| 22
|
|
| International Ambassador
|
| "Dirty Old Man"
| 38
|
|
| Out West Country
|
| "Second Cup of Coffee"
| 50
|
|
| The Best 2
|
| 1974
| "Claim On Me"
| 59
|
|
| single only
|
| "Ways of a Country Girl"
|
|
|
| Trendsetter
|
| 1977
| "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now"
| 81
|
|
| Fine Lace and Homespun Cloth
|
| "May the Wind Be Always at Your Back"
|
|
|
|
| "Everlasting (Everlasting Love)"
| 93
|
|
|
| 1978
| "Only the Best"
| 81
|
|
| Feels Like a Million
|
| "Take This Heart"
|
|
|
|
| 1979
| "Forever Young"
|
|
|
| Forever Young
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| 1980
| "I'll Be Here in the Morning"
|
|
|
|
| "Catfish Bates"
|
|
|
|
| 1984
| "Music Man's Dream"
|
|
|
| Music Man's Dream
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References
- George Hamilton IV and Friends Biography Page
- Inventory of the George Hamilton IV Papers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Official Live Issue Website