|
Red Simpson Biography
Born in Higley, Arizona March 6, 1934, he was the youngest of 12 children. His family moved to Bakersfield in 1937. Red has toured the United States many times over. He has worked in Hawaii, and toured Germany, France, England, and Canada. He has also worked concerts at Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Palladium, The Hollywood Bowl, Las Vegas, Reno, and a crowd of 28,000 at Hawaii’s Honolulu Stadium.
Red has opened shows for Buck Owens, including New Yorks’ Carnegie Hall. He also worked on a half a dozen installments of the syndicated television show “Buck Owens Ranch”. In 1966 He toured military bases in Germany and France. In 1967 he joined The Merle Haggard Show and opened shows for Merle. They wrote songs together on the bus and in hotel rooms. He left Capital Records in 1968.
In the early seventies, while on tour, he ran into an old friend, Gene Breeden, a Visalia native in Vancouver, Washington. Breeden was starting his own label, Portland Records. He needed artists for his label and invited Red saying he even has a song for him. He told Red it was called “Hello, I’m A Truck”. Red said, “Hello, I’m A What?” After hearing the song he knew it was a good idea. He was right. Capital picked it up and it reached number 4 in December 1971. It spent Seventeen weeks on the charts and hit number one on radio play lists around the country.
His final personal entry on the chars was on Key Records with “The Flying Saucer Man and The Truck Driver”. Red considers some of his best songs were recorded by Merle Haggard: “Lucky Ol Colorado” and “You Don’t Have Very Far To Go” co written by Merle Haggard. “You Don’t Have Very Far To Go” has been recorded by many artists including: Merle Haggard (on three occasions), Rosanne Cash, Connie Smith, Jeannie Seely, Roy Clark, and Billy Mise.
In 1995 Red recorded two duets with Junior Brown, “Semi Crazy” and “Nitro Express” Although Red no longer tours, he performs frequently in the Bakersfield area. Red had success in 2006 with his writing of two of his songs recorded by Ron Gaither: “Jesus On My Side” and “Pickin And Singing For Jesus”, reaching the top 10 on the Gospel Charts. Red continues to stay busy on the local scene appearing at Bakersfield’s oldest night club “Trouts” and two or three weeks a year on the road. He continues his writing career and works in his home studio while he enjoys his hobby of gardening and spending time with his family and wife, Joyce.
|
|
Instruments:
Piano, Lead guitar, Bass fiddle.
Television:
Numerous local shows:
The Grand Ole Opry
Dean Martin Music Country
Songs Recorded By Many Artists:
Merle Haggard
Buck Owens
Roy Clark
Del Reeves
Connie Smith
Ferlin Husky
Charlie Walker
Dorsey Burnette
Jeannie Seely
Homer And Jethro
Don Bowman
Stoney Edwards
Dave Dudley
Junior Brown
Ron Gaither
And Many Others
Number One and Top 10 Songs:
Hello, I’m a Truck
Roll, Truck Roll
Country Western Truck Driver Singer
Truckin On Down The Road
Yip, Yip
Motel Joe
Highway Patrol
Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves
Truckin Trees For Christmas
Awards:
Top New Make Vocalist, Cash Box Magazine 1972
Most Promising Album Artist, Record World
#2 Most Promising Male Vocalist, Record World
Album Of The Year: Let Me Tell You About A Song, Bill Woods From Bakersfield
Top Singles:
Roll, Truck Roll, 1966 on Capital
Highway Patrol, 1966 on Capital
Hello, I’m A Truck, 1971 on Capital
Discography:
Roll, Truck Roll, 1966 on Capital
The Man Behind The Badge, 1966 on Capital
Truck Drivin Fool, 1967 on Capital
Red Simpson Sings For Bakersfield Dozen, 1967 on Capital
Hello, I’m A Truck, 1971 on Capital
The Very Real Red Simpson, 1972 on Capital
Trucker’s Christmas, 1973 on Capital
The Best of Red Simpson, 1995 on King
The Best of Red Simpson Country Western Truck Drivin Singer, 1999 on Razor & Tie
Record Label: Capital - Signed in 1966 to do truck songs.
First album, Roll, Truck Roll was a big success. He cut three more albums for Capital in the next two years:
“Man Behind The Badge”
“Truck Drivin Fool”
“A Bakersfield Dozen”
|
