Whatever Happened to Classic Country Star Dick Curless?
If you were to ask a classic country music fan if they remember Dick Curliss, they might answer "Hmm, the name sounds familiar".
If you were to add, "He's the guy with the eye patch", they'd respond "Oh yeah, I remember him, the truckin' song guy".
Well, while that may be true, Dick Curliss was much more than "The truckin' song guy with the eye patch". Dick Curliss had many Top 40 country hits. But yes, it was his first in 1965 that most people remember best.
Dick Curliss was one of the few country stars born in Maine, back in 1932 and while he began his music career at the tender age of 16 it was interrupted (like many others) by the Korean War. After he came back, he first gained national attention appearing on one of the biggest television shows of the day, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. From the late 1950's and into the early 1960's, Dick spent most of his time playing in clubs "out west" in California as well as Las Vegas.
And then it was 1965. And Dick Curless' career went up, up, up. That was the year of the release of his first national hit (and the biggest of his career), "A Tombstone Every Mile".
In the late 1960's Dick toured with Buck Owens and, largely, fell off the country charts by the 1970's. However, he remained a major star in Europe, particularly in Norway and Germany.
Dick passed away in 1995 at the age of 63 from stomach cancer. He had health issues throughout his life and yes, the eye patch was real, not a gimmick.
Oh, and a final note before we listen to Dick's signature song. Dick's 1968 song "Bury The Bottle With Me"? While it wasn't a major hit, it was mentioned in Stephen King's best selling novel "Salem's Lot". Interesting.
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