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| label = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]], [[Columbia Records|Columbia]], [[Monument Records|Monument]], [[MGM Records|MGM]], [[RCA Records|RCA]], Tall Texan
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'''William Marvin Walker''' (January 14, 1929<ref name="LarkinCountry">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-726-6|page=432}}</ref> – May 21, 2006)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp?xid=25|title=Grand Ole Opry star Billy Walker killed in car accident|website=Countrystandardtime.com|access-date=2021-08-11|archive-date=2021-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811131145/https://www.countrystandardtime.com/news/newsitem.asp?xid=25|url-status=live}}</ref> was an American [[country music]] singer and guitarist best known for his 1962 hit, "[[Charlie's Shoes]]". Nicknamed The Tall Texan, Walker had more than 30 charting records during a nearly 60-year career,<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=369}}</ref> and was a longtime member of the [[Grand Ole Opry]].
==Biography==
===Early years===
Billy Walker was born in [[Ralls, Texas]], United States,<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> and was the youngest of three children. His mother died when he was only six years old, and Billy's father was unable to care for him and his two older brothers.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Some of the children, including Billy, were placed in a Methodist orphanage in [[Waco, Texas]].<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He attended High School in [[Whiteface, Texas]], and had won a talent contest which entitled him to appear on radio in [[Clovis, New Mexico]].<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He had returned to live with his father at the age of 11.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> Inspired by the music of [[Gene Autry]] as a teenager, he had begun his professional music career in 1947 at age 18.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> After his debut on Clovis radio as a teenager he later joined the ''[[Big D Jamboree]]'' in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] in 1949.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> The same year, [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]] helped him sign with [[Capitol Records]] after he worked with Walker in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]].<ref name="In Memory of Billy Walker">{{cite web | url = http://www.billywalker.com/ | title = In Memory of Billy Walker | website = Billywalker.com | access-date = 2009-04-17 | archive-date = 2018-10-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181024105834/http://www.billywalker.com/ | url-status = live }}</ref> His manager at the time had him wear a [[Lone Ranger]]-style black mask and billed him as The Traveling Texan,<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> the Masked Singer of Country Songs.
In 1951, Walker signed with [[Columbia Records]] and the following year joined the ''[[Louisiana Hayride]]'' in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]],<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> where he and [[Slim Whitman]] were responsible in part for [[Elvis Presley]]'s first appearance on the radio program. In 1954, Walker scored his first hit with "[[Thank You for Calling]]".<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> His early Columbia recordings were at a Dallas studio owned by producer [[Jim Beck (record producer)|Jim Beck]], responsible for hits by [[Ray Price (musician)|Ray Price]], [[Lefty Frizzell]] and others.<ref name="
===Country music career===
After a brief attempt at [[rock and roll]], Walker played the Texas bar circuit before moving to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], in 1959 and joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1960.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He was one of the first artists to record a [[Willie Nelson]] song;<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> and although his 1961 version of "[[Funny How Time Slips Away]]" only reached No. 23 on ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'''s country singles chart, it helped establish Walker's national reputation.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1532202/20060521/walker_billy.jhtml?headlines=true | title = Grand Ole Opry Star Billy Walker, Three Others Killed in Traffic Accident | website = CMT.com | author = | date = 2006-05-21 | access-date = 2009-04-17 | archive-date = 2007-09-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031015/http://www.cmt.com/news/articles/1532202/20060521/walker_billy.jhtml?headlines=true | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 1962, he topped the chart with "Charlie's Shoes", the only No. 1 single of his career.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> His smooth tenor was well-suited to other Western-inspired hits including "Matamoros" and "Cross the Brazos at Waco" (1964).
After performing at a charity concert in [[Kansas City, Kansas]] on March 3, 1963, Walker received a call to return to Nashville.<ref name="auto"/> Fellow performer [[Hawkshaw Hawkins]] gave Walker his [[Airline|commercial airline]] ticket,<ref name="auto"/> and instead flew back to Tennessee on March 5 on a private plane, which crashed, killing Hawkins, [[Patsy Cline]], [[Cowboy Copas]] and pilot Randy Hughes.<ref name="In Memory of Billy Walker"/>
After leaving Columbia in 1965, Walker signed with producer [[Fred Foster]]'s [[Monument Records]] and moved to [[MGM Records|MGM]] in 1970 and to [[RCA Records]] in 1974.<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> He later recorded for several independent labels, including his own Tall Texan label.<ref name="
In the late 1960s, he hosted a syndicated television show, ''Billy Walker’s Country Carnival,'' and appeared on other country music TV programs.<ref name="In Memory of Billy Walker"/> Walker performed around the world, and several times during the 1980s sang at the International Festival of Country Music at [[Wembley Arena]] in [[London]].<ref name="LarkinCountry"/> In April 2006, Walker recorded the duet "All I Ever Need Is You" with Danish singer [[Susanne Lana]] for [[Hillside House Records]]. The recording, at Signal Path Studio in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], was produced by [[Charlie McCoy]].
Walker continued to tour and remained a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, and was scheduled to perform two days following his death with [[Terri Clark]], [[Porter Wagoner]] and others.<ref name="
===Death===
On May 21, 2006, Walker died in a road accident when the van he was driving back to Nashville after a performance in [[Foley, Alabama]], veered off [[Interstate 65]] in [[Fort Deposit, Alabama|Fort Deposit]] and overturned.<ref name="auto"/> His wife Bettie; bassist Charles Lilly Jr., son of Everett Lilly of [[The Lilly Brothers]]; and guitarist Daniel Patton were also killed.<ref name="auto"/> The Walkers, Lilly, and Patton died instantly.<ref name="auto"/> Walker's grandson, Joshua Brooks, survived with serious injuries.<ref name="
==Discography==
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| ''Fine as Wine''
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[[Category:Monument Records artists]]
[[Category:RCA Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Texas]]
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