Bob Luman

Biography

Robert Glynn Luman (April 15, 1937 – December 27, 1978) was an American country and rockabilly singer.

Early life and career

Luman was born in Blackjack, Texas, United States, and raised in Nacogdoches, Texas. His early interest in music was influenced by his father, an amateur fiddle, guitar, and harmonica player.
Bob Luman received his first guitar when he was 13 years of age. He attended high school in Kilgore, where the family had moved after young Bob's birth and started his first band while in high school. Luman had been a baseball star at his high school and tried out with the Major League Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates, but when he did not make it in professional baseball, he decided to concentrate on his music.
In 1956, he won a talent contest promoted by the Future Farmers of America, which earned him an appearance on the Louisiana Hayride.
For the Hayride, Luman formed a backup band called the Shadows, including James Burton on guitar, James Kirkland on bass, and Butch White on drums. In 1957, the band signed with Imperial Records, where they recorded "All Night Long" (with B-side "Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache") and "Amarillo Blues".
That same year, the band appeared on the Town Hall Party in Los Angeles, and in the movie Carnival Rock, where they backed up David Houston.
The following year, having been dropped by Imperial Records, Luman signed with Capitol Records, where he released "Try Me" and "I Know My Baby Cares". Capitol Records wanted Luman to change his name, which he refused to do, so he left the record label and signed with Warner Bros. Records, recording "Class of '59" and "Loretta×Loretta1990 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracksA1Loretta1:37A2It's a Sin2:33A3If You Don't Love Me2:32A4Love Worked a Miracle2:37A5Poor Boy Blues2:38A6(I Get So) Sentimental2:47A7You're Welcome2:30A8Running Scared1:59B1Freedom of Living2:02B2Tears From Out of Nowhere2:18B3It's All Over (But the Shouting)2:29B4The Best Years of My Wife2:16B5Bigger Man Than I (Have Cried)2:59B6Too Hot to Dance2:08B7I Like Your Kind of Love2:20B8Hardly Anymore3:03".
In 1960, Luman was inducted into the United States Army. While still serving in the Army, Warner Bros. Records released Luman's best-known crossover hit, "Let's Think About Living×Let's Think About Living1960 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksALet's Think About Living2:03BYou've Got Everything2:25", a novelty song that hit number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number nine on the Billboard country music chart. It also reached the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
After leaving the Army in 1962, Luman moved to Nashville. On August 12, 1964, he married Barbara in Yuma, Colorado. In 1965, he joined the Grand Ole Opry.

Later career

Luman toured frequently in the 1960s and 1970s, and became popular in Las Vegas, with an act that combined country and rockabilly. He signed with Epic Records in 1968, and had several hits, including "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers×Lonely Women Make Good Lovers17 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lonely Women Make Good Lovers3:122I'm Gonna Write a Song2:063Delta Dawn2:354Love Ought to Be a Happy Thing2:045Woman, I Just Want to Love You More2:596I'm a One Woman Man2:187It Takes You2:448Easy Lovin'2:219Sweet Baby Jane2:1210Sugar Man2:0011Someone to Give My Love To2:58" and "Still Loving You". "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" became his biggest country hit, hitting number four on the country chart. (Steve Wariner, who had earlier been a member of Luman's band, later covered the song in 1984, and he, too, took it to number four on the country charts.)
Luman's other country hits included "Ain't Got Time to Be Unhappy", (1968) "Ballad of Two Brothers" (with Autry Inman, 1968), "When You Say Love" (1972), "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (1973), "Proud of You Baby" (1975), and "The Pay Phone" (1977). Perhaps his most unusual song was a slow, soulful recitation of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone".
Luman died of lung cancer in Nashville on December 27, 1978. He was 41 years old. After his death, Bear Family Records released several compilations of his songs, including More of the Rocker, Still Rockin', and Carnival Rock.

Legacy

Luman is a member of both the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
His song "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers×Lonely Women Make Good Lovers17 June 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lonely Women Make Good Lovers3:122I'm Gonna Write a Song2:063Delta Dawn2:354Love Ought to Be a Happy Thing2:045Woman, I Just Want to Love You More2:596I'm a One Woman Man2:187It Takes You2:448Easy Lovin'2:219Sweet Baby Jane2:1210Sugar Man2:0011Someone to Give My Love To2:58" was featured in the 1988 drama film Rain Man.