Mickey Newbury
Induction Year: 1980
Birth Name: MickeyNewbury
Birth Date: May 19, 1940
Place of Birth: Houston, TX
Deceased: September 28, 2002
Place of Death: Vida, OR
Biography
"Music has never been anything but an escape from depression for me. How many people have listened to my songs and thought, 'He must have a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a pistol in the other.' Well, I don't. I write my sadness. I call it robbing the dragon."
"Decide what you want your music to be for you--a diversion, a hobby, a way to pay the bills. Basically, however, just write for yourself. Yet if you feel that you have to make a living at it, then approach it more from a 'hook' standpoint. In my own view, once you write your first song for money, then you are copping out--you're in the business of mass appeal."
"I write what I think. If you don't write what you think, what you write you become." --Mickey Newbury
Former Occupations:
Shrimp boat worker
Discography / Career Highlights
Career Milestones:
1956--performed with group the Embers; recorded with the band on Herald label
1963--came to Nashville
1964--signed with Acuff-Rose
1966--had #1 records on four different charts--pop/rock ("Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In" by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition), rhythm & blues ("Time is a Thief" by Solomon Burke), easy listening ("Sweet Memories" by Andy Williams), and country ("Here Comes the Rain, Baby" by Eddy Arnold)
1968--recorded first album for RCA, "Harlequin Melodies"
1969--went to Los Angeles to write a John Hartford television special with Kris Kristofferson
1970--performed at The Bitter End in New York City
Catalog Highlights:
"She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye" - Artists: Jerry Lee Lewis (1969), Lonnie Mock, Troy Seals, Ronnie Milsap (1975)
"Sweet Memories" - Artists: Mickey Newbury, Andy Williams, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson (1979), Joan Baez, Ray Price, B.B. King, Dottie West & Don Gibson (1969)
"American Trilogy" - Artists: Mickey Newbury, Elvis Presley
"Funny, Familiar, Forgotten, Feelings" - Artists: Tom Jones, Don Gibson (1967), Joan Baez, Buffy St. Marie
"Here Comes the Rain, Baby" - Artists: Eddy Arnold (1968)
"San Francisco Mabel Joy" - Artists: Joan Baez
"Just Dropped in to See What Condition My Condition Was In" - Artists: Kenny Rogers & the First Edition (1971)
"33rd of August" - Artists: Joan Baez, Waylon Jennings
"Angelline" - Artists: Joan Baez
"Five Miles From Home"
"Got Down on Saturday"
"Weeping Allaleah" - Artists: Tom Jones
"I Wish I Could Say No to You" - Artists: Tom Jones
"Why You've Been Gone So Long" - Artists: Johnny Darrell (1969)
"Time Is a Thief" - Artists: Solomon Burke
"Heaven Help the Child"
Comments:
"Heaven Help the child" won the "World Popular Song" contest at the Tokyo Music Festival in April, 1973