Hoyt Johnson

Country & Western singer and songwriter from Arley, Alabama (30 November 1935 - 9 August 1989). He was discovered and managed by deejay Jim Atkins (2). Atkins connected Hoyt with Erwin Records, a Memphis label owned by Marshall Erwin Ellis. Johnson's first record for the label (September 1957) was a song he co-wrote with Atkins, originally called "Where You Are", but released as "It's A Little More Like Heaven (Where You Are)". In late 1958, Johnson landed a contract with a major label, RCA, where his records were produced by Chet Atkins. He was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1959, but his heavy drinking caused the Opry to drop their offer. Hoyt went on to record country and gospel music in the 1960s for small labels like Zone, Satellite, Allstate and Gold Standard before he returned to his native Arley, raising chickens on a farm.