lp discography - covers & lyrics

Anyone who has ever added a recording by this artist to their collection or listened to him on the radio has no need to refer to liner notes for a recommendation of the contents of this album. The magic world Dave Dudley, Mercury Record, and produced by Jerry Kennedy are always sufficient to send any prospective record buyer scurrying to the cash register. For the uninitiated, the titles of the songs contained herein make the package sufficiently attractive to take home to give 'Ravin' Dave' a listen. One More Mile penned by Tom T.Hall (of Harper Valley P.T.A. fame) is a song portraying one man's views of his life, his love affair and his job...'One more mile, one more detour that's the way life goes, tears and smiles.' ...It is performed with authority by this great entertainer whose mileage to the top covers many detours, many tears and many smiles. In high school Dave excelled in sports, especially baseball, and turned pro. As fate would have it, however, it wasn't until a couple of weeks after Uncle Sam had young Dave under contract in the South Pacific that a baseball scout visited that Dudley homestead offering a bonus to Mr. Dudley, Sr. if he would sign his son with the Yankees. Due to his prior commitment, Dave regrettably had to sit that one out but after his discharge he lost no time in signing with the Chicago White Sox. Again, fate threw Dave a curve. "It was one of those typical Texas nights," he recalls, "the grass was wet where I had been warming up before going out to the mound to pitch. I hadn't kicked my spikes real clean and when I reared back to deliver a pitch one of my feet slipped and I tore loose a muscle in my back." The years that followed were not easy ones for Dave Dudley. He returned to his native state of Wisconsin, working as a disk jockey and later branched out into the entertainment world, singing whenever and wherever possible. However, as fate would have it, another, and this time nearly disastrous setback confronted the now ambitious young singer. Dave stepped in front of a fast moving vehicle and was hospitalized 4 months, critically injured. "Those were the most depressing days of my life," he recalls. "It seemed at times that I would never be able to walk again and then when I was able to hop around on crutches, there wasn't anyone who wanted a cripple on stage !...It's my way and it's the nature of my mind, I've gotta keep doggin' it, one more mile..." Fortunately, for country music fans, it WAS Dave's way, it WAS the nature of his mind, and eventually casting crutches aside, he kept right on doggin' it along many hard miles right to the top of the nation's charts, smashing both pop and country with the sensational Six Days On The Road. Since then, Dave has never looked back - scoring with hits including Mad, Two Six Packs Away, Truck Drivin' Son Of A Gun, What We're Fighting For, and There Ain't No Easy Run, all of which are available on current Mercury albums. Please Let Me Prove, from One More Mile, a tender love song, and another recent hit for Dudley, is done here with a gentleness that would be hard to surpass. Other highlights are two of the year's most successful songs, Wichita Lineman and Ballad Of Forty Dollars, both of which showcase the versatility of this truly outstanding artist. On the personal side, Dave is married to a very beautiful young lady who, incidentally, is rated by many as the top basset Hound breeder in the country. Even when he takes a few days relaxation from his heavy schedule, Jeanne Dudley will often have him routed to some hound competition...still doggin' it..one more mile!

- Dixie Hall (Mrs. Tom T. Hall) -

DAVE DUDLEY

ONE MORE MILE