Melvin Endsley

Melvin Endsley (30 January 1934 – 16 August 2004) was a musician, singer, and songwriter best known for writing the song "Singing the Blues", along with over 400 songs recorded by hundreds of artists since 1956. Some of the artists that have recorded his songs include Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Andy Williams, Paul McCartney, Stonewall Jackson, and Ricky Skaggs. At the beginning of his career, Endsley recorded including RCA and MGM, however, his vocal recordings were commercially unsuccessful. In 1998, he was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.

Endsley was born in Drasco, Arkansas on 30 January 1934. When he was three years old, he contracted polio, requiring him to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. From the age of 11, he spent three years in the Crippled Children's Hospital in Memphis. While there, he listened to country music on the radio and taught himself to play the guitar. After returning to Drasco, he began to play on radio shows. By the time he was 20 years old, his song, "It Happens Everytime", caught the attention of Don Gibson and Dorsey Burnette.

Endsley wrote "Singing the Blues" in 1954. The following year, he took the song to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry to pitch it backstage. In 1956, Marty Robbins recorded the song, which is credited with putting Robbins on the map. Endsley's writing talents were in high demand, after Robbins's success with "Singing the Blues". The song became a number one record for Marty Robbins, Guy Mitchell, and Tommy Steele on various music genre charts.

In October 1956, Guy Mitchell released "Singing the Blues", after which it spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart from December 8, 1956 to February 2, 1957. Mitchell's version was also No. 1 in the U.K. for three (non-consecutive) weeks in early 1957. In late 1956 and early 1957, Marty Robbins' version made it to number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 13 weeks, peaking at No. 17 on the U.S. pop charts.

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