Johnny Rodriguez
| Johnny Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Juan Raoul Davis Rodriguez |
| Born | December 10, 1951 |
| Origin | Sabinal, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Country, Outlaw Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Labels |
Mercury Records Epic Records Capitol Records Paula Records |
| Associated acts | Freddy Fender, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare, Charly McClain |
| Website | Johnny Rodriguez Official Website |
Juan Raul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951) is an American country music singer. He is a Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of country music's most successful male artists, recording a string of hit songs, such as "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me," "Desperado," "Down on the Rio Grande" and "Foolin'." He has recorded six No. 1 country hits in his career.
Rodriguez was born in Sabinal, Texas, a small town situated 90 miles from Mexico. He was the second youngest in a family of ten children living in a four-room house.
Growing up in Sabinal, Rodriguez was a good student in school and an altar boy for his church. He was also the captain of his junior high school football team. When Rodriguez was sixteen, his father died of cancer and his older brother Andres died in an automobile accident the following year. The two incidents had an effect on Rodriguez and he became a troubled teen. In 1969, at age 18, Rodriguez ended up in jail. He sang frequently in his cell and was overheard by Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, who was very impressed and told promoter "Happy" Shahan about him. (The common story told is that he was arrested after he and some friends were caught stealing and barbecuing a goat, although Jackson would later state that Rodriguez was in jail simply for an unpaid fine.)
Shahan then hired Johnny to perform at his local tourist attraction called the Alamo Village. While singing at this venue, he came to the attention of country singers Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare, who encouraged the young singer to fly up to the country music capital Nashville, Tennessee in 1971.
...
Wikipedia