Johnny Rodriguez On-Line / Bio

Johnny Rodriguez (born December 10, 1951 in
Sabinal,TX) is an American country music singer.
He was the first Latin American country music
singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and
even singing verses of songs in Spanish.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of country
music's most successful male artists, recording a
string of hit songs, such as "You Always Come Back
(To Hurtin' Me)," "Desperado," "Down on the Rio
Grande," and "Foolin'." He has recorded six No. 1
country hits in his career

Growing up in Sabinal, Rodriguez was an A/B
student in school. He was the captain of his junior
high school American football team and an altar
boy for his church. In 1969, he and some friends
were caught by law enforcement officers after
stealing and barbecuing a goat. This unfortunate
incident and subsequent jail sentence led to his
ultimate break in the music business. He often
would sing in his cell and was overheard by a Texas
Ranger, who was very impressed and told promoter
"Happy" Shahan about him.

Shahan then hired Johnny to perform at his local
tourist attraction called the Alamo Village. While
singing at this venue, he came to the attention of
country singers Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare, who
encouraged the young singer to fly up to the
country music capital Nashville, Tennessee in 1971.

The 21-year old singer arrived in Nashville with
nothing more than a guitar in his hand and $14 in
his pocket. Fortunately, Hall soon found work for
Rodriguez fronting his band, as well as writing
songs.

Less then one year later, Hall personally took
Rodriguez to the heads of Mercury Records'
Nashville division to land him an audition with the
record label. After performing the songs "I Can't
Stop Loving You" and "If I Left It Up to You," he
was then offered a contract with Mercury. Upon
signing as a Mercury artist, Rodriguez then
recorded in their Nashville studio.

After signing with Mercury, Rodriguez was soon on
the way to becoming famous. His first single to be
released for Mercury was 1972s "Pass Me By. This
recording was a big success, going to #9 on the Hot
Country Songs list that year, and making him a
country star overnight. Rodriguez officially
became the first Latin-American country singer
(Freddy Fender came a couple years later).

That year, Rodriguez was voted the Most Promising
Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music. The
next year, he achieved his first No. 1 hit song,
"You Always Come Back (To Hurtin' Me)." Another
song that year, "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico," was
also a No. 1 hit. Both his #1 hits charted on the Pop
charts, but only moderately. Rodriguez wrote
some of his own material such as the song "Ridin'
My Thumb to Mexico." In 1973, his debut album was
released, which rose to #1 on the "Top Country
Albums" chart. He was nominated for Male Vocalist
of the Year by the CMA Awards. In addition to his
success in Country music, he also had a role on the
television show Adam-12 and also made a guest
appearance on The Dating Game in 1974. Since
then, he has often appeared on talk shows and
other television shows.

The year 1975 was probably his biggest year, in
terms of chart success. That year all the singles he
released (3 in all) soared to No. 1 on the country
charts. These songs were, "I Just Can't Get Her Out
of My Mindm" "Just Get Up and Close the Door,"
and "Love Put a Song In My Heart."

Success on the country charts continued
throughout much of the '70s. He recorded songs
not only written by himself around this time, but
also covers of others' songs such as Linda
Hargrove's "Just Get Up and Close the Door,"
Mickey Newbury's "Poison Red Berries," and Billy
Joe Shaver's "Texas Up Here Tennessee." These
songwriters were also country music singers
themselves. By 1975, Rodriguez was considered an
"outlaw," representing the Outlaw Country market
in country music, like fellow musicians, Bobby Bare
and Tom T. Hall.

Despite the outlaw movement fading from view in
the late 1970s, Rodriguez was determined to stay
on top of his game. In 1979, he switched to Epic
Records. Under Epic, he worked with the
legendary producer Billy Sherrill, who produced
some of the biggest names in the business at the
time. His first hit from Epic came that year with
the #6 country hit, "Down on the Rio Grande." His
debut album from the record company was
entitled Rodriguez. All the songs from the album
were cover versions.

Although Rodriguez did not make the Top 10
continuously as in the past, he managed to stay in
the Top 20, with hits like "Fools For Each Other"
and "What'll I Tell Virginia." At the same time,
Rodriguez continued to be a popular concert
attraction wherever he went. In 1983, he went
into the Top 5 with the hit song "Foolin'," followed
by the Top 10 hit "How Could I Love Her So Much."
In 1982, he did a duet with Zella Lehr on the song
"Most Beautiful Girl (La Chica Mas Linda)." The
single was released by Columbia Records. In 1986,
he left Epic Records.

In 1987, he signed with Capitol Records for a brief
period of time. He had his last major hit in 1988
with "I Didn't (Every Chance I Had)," which reached
#12 on the country charts. By 1989, he left Capitol
Records.

Overall in the course of his career, Rodriguez
released 26 albums and 45 charted singles. He has
also had six No. 1 hits on the country charts. In
1993, he recorded an album for Intersound Records
called Run For the Border. In the mid-1990s, the
Indie label "High-Tone" released an album called
You Can Say That Again. He also continued to tour
around the country during this time. In 1996, he
turned to another label, Paula Records which
issued a single called "One Bar at a Time".

Since 1998, Rodriguez has toured the United States
and world, performing in countries including
Switzerland, Poland, England, South Korea,
Canada, and Mexico. He has performed concerts at
the famed Ryman Auditorium and Carnegie Hall.
He has been honored by two U.S. presidents:
Jimmy Carter, and George Bush. He played at the
latter's inaugural ball.

On August 18, 2007, Rodriguez was inducted into
the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, located in
Carthage, Texas.