Sue Thompson
Sue Thompson (born Eva Sue McKee; July 19, 1925) is an American pop and country music singer. She is best known for the million selling hits "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" and "Norman", both pop hits in the early 1960s and her 1965 hit "Paper Tiger".
Sue Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Eva Sue McKee |
| Born | July 19, 1925 Nevada, Missouri, United States |
| Genres | Pop, country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1950–present |
| Labels | Mercury, Decca, Columbia and Hickory Records |
| Website | Sue Thompson Unofficial Site; accessed July 2, 2015. |
Early life
She was born in Nevada, Missouri. By the age of 7, she was singing and playing the guitar on stage.[1]
During World War II, she worked at a defense plant. She married when she was 17, and had a daughter at 20, but the marriage failed and she and her husband split up after three years. To keep supporting herself after her divorce, she returned to the nightclub scene in California. In San Jose, she won a talent contest, thus catching the attention of a bandleader and radio/TV host named Dude Martin, who invited her to sing with his band. This led to their marriage. They recorded duets together, including "If You Want Some Lovin'", which helped her get a solo contract from Mercury Records in 1950.
Recording career
Within a year, she divorced Martin to marry Hank Penny, a comedian and singer. Penny and Thompson hosted a TV show in Los Angeles together before eventually moving to Las Vegas. Thompson recorded separately and also with her husband for Decca Records. However, none of their songs were successful. In 1960, Thompson signed on with Hickory Records. In 1961, "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" became a No. 5 hit on the pop charts, and she followed this up successfully with "Norman," which reached No. 3. Both of these hit singles were written by songwriter John D. Loudermilk. They both sold over one million copies, and were awarded gold discs. Both were also chart successes in Australia, reaching #3 and #8 respectively.[2]
In 1962, "Have a Good Time" was a Top 40 hit and in 1963, "Willie Can" was a minor hit. Her early 1960s' hits made Thompson, then in her late-thirties, a favorite among the teenage crowd and briefly a rival to the much younger Connie Francis and Brenda Lee. Two additional hits, also written by Loudermilk, were "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" and "Paper Tiger."
Later career
"Paper Tiger" in 1965 was her last Top 30 hit, and also her biggest hit in Australia, where it reached #2. In the late 1960s, she went back to country music and released the album This Is Sue Thompson Country in 1969. In 1971 she worked with country music singer Don Gibson on some albums, and they had minor hits with "I Think They Call It Love", "Good Old Fashioned Country Love", and "Oh, How Love Changes". She recorded further solo singles for the country charts, like "Big Mable Murphy", which made the Top 50 in 1975 and "Never Naughty Rosie", her last chart single in 1976. She also performed mainly at the Las Vegas casinos and at clubs in Hollywood, like the Palomino Club. In the 1990s, she settled in Las Vegas, and continues to periodically perform.
Sue also appeared on American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, The Buddy Deane Show, and The Lloyd Thaxton Show (1966 visit and performance of Paper Tiger).
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | ||
| 1961 | Meet Sue Thompson | — | — |
| 1962 | Two of a Kind | — | — |
| 1963 | Golden Hits | — | — |
| 1965 | Paper Tiger | 134 | — |
| The Country Side of Sue Thompson | — | — | |
| 1966 | Sue Thompson with Strings Attached | — | — |
| 1969 | This Is Sue Thompson Country | — | — |
| 1972 | The Two of Us Together (with Don Gibson) | — | — |
| 1974 | Sweet Memories | — | — |
| And Love Me | — | — | |
| 1975 | Oh How Love Changes (with Don Gibson) | — | 43 |
| Big Mable Murphy | — | — | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [3] |
US Cashbox |
US Country | US AC | AUS | |||
| 1961 | "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" | 5 | 5 | — | 1 | 6 | Meet Sue Thompson |
| "Norman" | 3 | 4 | — | — | 4 | ||
| 1962 | "Two of a Kind" | 42 | 37 | — | 8 | 40 | Two of a Kind |
| "It Has To Be" (flip side) | — | 150 | — | — | — | ||
| "Have a Good Time" | 31 | 31 | — | 9 | 45 | Golden Hits | |
| "If Only the Boy Knew" (flip side) | 112 | 143 | — | — | 45 | ||
| "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" | 17 | 22 | — | — | 6 | ||
| "Willie Can" | 78 | 77 | — | — | 44 | ||
| 1963 | "What's Wrong Bill" | 135 | — | — | — | — | Paper Tiger |
| "Suzie" | — | 127 | — | — | — | ||
| "True Confession" (flip side) | — | 148 | — | — | — | ||
| "I Like Your Kind of Love" (with Bob Luman) | — | 142 | — | — | 26 | Non-album single | |
| 1964 | "Big Daddy" | 132 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Paper Tiger"A | 23 | 18 | — | — | 3 | Paper Tiger | |
| 1965 | "What I'm Needin' Is You" | 115 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Stop Th' Music" (flip side) | — | 135 | — | — | — | With Strings Attached | |
| 1966 | "Put It Back (Where You Found It)" | 131 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "What Should I Do" | — | 148 | — | — | — | ||
| 1972 | "What a Woman in Love Won't Do" | — | — | — | — | — | Sweet Memories |
| "Candy and Roses" | — | — | 72 | — | 76 | ||
| 1973 | "Find Out" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Making Love to You is Just Like Eating Peanuts" | — | — | — | — | — | And Love Me |
| "And Love Me" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975 | "The Very Thought of You" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Any Other Morning" | — | — | — | — | — | Big Mable Murphy | |
| "Big Mable Murphy" | — | — | 50 | 40 | — | ||
| 1976 | "Never Naughty Rosie" | — | — | 95 | — | — | Non-album single |
- A"Paper Tiger" peaked at No. 8 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.
Singles with Don Gibson
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1971 | "The Two of Us Together" | 50 | — | The Two of Us Together |
| "Did You Ever Think" | 71 | — | ||
| "I Think They Call It Love" | 37 | — | ||
| 1972 | "Cause I Love You" | 64 | — | |
| "Go With Me" | 52 | 49 | ||
| 1973 | "Warm Love" | 53 | 52 | |
| 1974 | "Good Old Fashioned Country Love" | 31 | 29 | Oh, How Love Changes |
| 1975 | "Oh, How Love Changes" | 36 | — | |
| 1976 | "Get Ready, Here I Come" | 98 | — | |
Trivia
Thompson is the mother of record producer Greg Penny.
References
- After her family moved to San Jose, California, where she appeared on the local Hometown Hayride TV show during her teens. Sue Thompson biography at Allmusic
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 140. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 893. ISBN 0-89820-188-8.
External links
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