Red Foley
Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (
June 17,
1910 â€"
September 19,
1968) was a
country music singer.
Foley was born in
Blue Lick,
Kentucky. He began playing the
guitar and the
harmonica as a young boy and at age seventeen he won first prize in a statewide talent show. Ultimately he signed with
Decca Records in
1941. His hit songs include
Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy,
Old Shep,
Sugarfoot Rag, and
Tennessee Saturday Night.
Peace in the Valley, backed up by
The Sunshine Boys, in
1951 became the first
gospel record to sell a million copies, and
One By One, a duet with
Kitty Wells, became a chart topper in
1954.
For more than two decades, Foley was a major star of country music, selling in excess of twenty-five million records. During 1962-63, Foley was a regular cast member along with
Fess Parker in the
television series,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Red Foley was elected to the
Country Music Hall of Fame in
1967. For his contribution to the music industry, Red Foley also has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6225 Hollywood Blvd.
He died unexpectedly in 1968 in
Fort Wayne, Indiana at the age of fifty-eight from a
heart attack. He is interred in the
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in
Nashville, Tennessee.
His daughter, Shirley Lee Foley, is married to singer
Pat Boone.
Red Foley's song "The Salty Dog Rag" (
mp3) has been a traditional song at
Dartmouth College since
1972. Students have since created a dance to the song that is taught to incoming freshman during orientation activities.
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Red Foley's GravesiteList of best-selling music artists
