Johnny Dollar

Johnny Dollar (March 8, 1933 in Kilgore, Texas, USA - April 13, 1986) was an American Rockabilly singer, guitarist and songwriter. Member of the KRLD Big D Jamboree and also the WWVA Original Jamboree. He was the son of Creek Indians who had relocated from Oklahoma to East Texas. Johnny attended schools in Kilgore, Fredericksburg, Crab Apple Creek, and Junction. About 1948 he lived with an older brother in Sheridan, Texas, and attended Schreiner’s Military Academy. At seventeen he joined the Marines and left home permanently. After the service, he worked in the oilfields of West Texas and as a truck driver and lumberyard hand while performing occasional singing jobs. At his own expense, Dollar recorded a single (“Walking Away”) for D Records in 1952. Then he worked as a deejay in Louisiana and New Mexico. He started a band called the Texas Sons and for a while performed regularly on Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. He also recorded another single (“Lumberjack”), on Slim Willett’s Winston label. By the late 1950s he was in Dallas and playing rockabilly. With a ready-made stage name, Johnny Dollar got in touch with Ed McLemore, owner and promoter of Big D Jamboree, and became a regular member of the cast. NOTE! For the UK trip-hop / pop-dance producer, please use Jonny Dollar.