Sue Thompson

Sue Thompson (born Eva Sue McKee; July 19, 1925 – September 23, 2021) was an American pop and country music singer. She is best known for the million selling 1961 hits "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" and "Norman", "James (Hold The Ladder Steady)", and "Paper Tiger" (1965).

Early life Thompson was born in Nevada, Missouri in July 1925. By the age of 7, she was singing and playing the guitar on stage. She later moved with her family to live in San Jose, California.

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, now using the name Sue Thompson. In San Jose, she won a talent contest, thus catching the attention of a bandleader and radio/TV host named Dude Martin (real name John Stephen McSwain), who invited her to sing with his band. This led to their marriage. They recorded duets together, including "If You Want My Lovin'", which helped her get a solo contract from Mercury Records in 1950 She released numerous singles on Mercury between 1951 and 1954, with no chart action.

Recording career Within a year, she divorced Martin, and married Hank Penny, a comedian and singer, in 1953.

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 30s but with a much younger-sounding voice, a favorite among the teenage crowd and briefly a rival to the much younger Connie Francis and Brenda Lee. Her singleThoughts with Roy Acuff Jr. reached No. 39 on the Canadian Country charts, November 8, 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 continued to periodically perform. The demo was given its radio premiere during her 2010 interview on the South Australian radio show "The Doo Wop Corner" by Carmen Kaye.

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 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"5249 1973 "Warm Love"5352 1974 "Good Old Fashioned Country Love"3129Oh, How Love Changes 1975 "Oh, How Love Changes"36— 1976 "Get Ready, Here I Come"98—