John Preston Courville (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011), known professionally as Johnny Preston, was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his 1959 international number one hit "Running Bear" and his 1960 hit “Cradle of Love”
Life and career
Born in Port Arthur, Texas, The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed by Richardson and George Jones. The record was released after the Big Bopper's death in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens on February 3, 1959.
It entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in October 1959, reaching number one in January 1960 and remaining there for three weeks. The sales of the record exceeded one million copies, earning Preston his first gold disc.
Preston's "I'm Starting to Go Steady", a song on the flip side of "Feel So Fine", (Billboard number 14, UK number 18) was released in June 1960. "Leave My Kitten Alone", a song later made famous as part of The Beatles Anthology 1, was a minor hit for Preston. He later made appearances on American Bandstand (ABC-TV) and The Milt Grant Show and also The Buddy Deane Show (East Coast, United States).
Preston's pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He also performed at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri.
Preston had coronary artery bypass surgery in 2010. Preston was buried at Oak Bluff Memorial Park in Port Neches, Texas. A tribute concert was performed on November 5, 2011, featuring guest artists Gene Bourgeois, Johnny Tillotson, Dickey Lee, and Chris Montez, along with Lamar State College - Port Arthur's touring band, under the direction of Aaron Horne.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;
|-
!Year
!Album
!Record label
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1960
|align=left| Running Bear
|rowspan="2"| Mercury Records
|-
|align=left| Come Rock with Me
|-
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;
|-
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="3"|Peak chart<br />positions
!rowspan="2"|Record label
!rowspan="2"|B-side
!rowspan="2"|Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
!align=centre| US
!align=centre| US<br />R&B
!align=centre| UK
|-
|| 1959
|align=left| "Running Bear"
| 1
| 3
| 1
|rowspan="11"| Mercury Records
| "My Heart Knows"
|| Running Bear
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1960
|align=left| "Cradle of Love"
| 7
| 15
| 2
| "City of Tears"
|rowspan="2"| Come Rock with Me
|-
|align=left| "Feel So Fine"
| 14
| –
| 18
| "I'm Starting to Go Steady"<br /><small>(UK number 49)</small>
|-
|align=left| "Up in the Air"
| –
| –
| –
| "Charming Billy"<br /><small>(US number 105, UK number 34)</small>
||
|-
|align=left| "New Baby for Christmas"
| –
| –
| –
| "(I Want A) Rock and Roll Guitar"
||
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1961
|align=left| "Leave My Kitten Alone"
| 73
| –
| –
| "Token of Love"
|| Come Rock with Me
|-
|align=left| "Willy Walk"
| –
| –
| –
| "I Feel Good"
||
|-
|align=left| "Let Them Talk"
| –
| –
| –
| "She Once Belonged to Me"
||
|-
|align=left| "Free Me"
| 97
| –
| –
| "Kissin' Tree"
||
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1962
|align=left| "Let the Big Boss Man (Pull You Through)"
| –
| –
| –
| "The Day After Forever"
||
|-
|align=left| "Let's Leave It That Way"
| –
| –
| –
| "Broken Hearts Anonymous"
||
|-
|| 1963
|align=left| "This Little Bitty Tear (It's Gonna Dry)"
| –
| –
| –
|| Imperial Records
| "The Day the World Stood Still"
||
|-
|| 1964
|align=left| "All Around the World"
| –
| –
| –
|| Hall-Way Records
| "Just Plain Hurt"
||
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1965
|align=left| "The Peddler Man"
| –
| –
| –
|rowspan="2"| Hall Records
| "I'm Kicking Myself"
||
|-
|align=left| "Running Bear '65"
| –
| –
| –
| "Dedicated to the One I Love"
||
|-
|align=left| "Good Good Lovin'"
| –
| –
| –
|| TCF Hall Records
| "I'm Asking Forgiveness"
||
|-
|| 1968
|align=left| "I'm Only Human"
| –
| –
| –
|| ABC Records
| "There's No One Like You"
||
|}
See also
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
- List of stage names
- List of Mercury Records artists