Tommy Duncan

Thomas Elmer Duncan (January 11, 1911 – July 25, 1967) was an American Western swing vocalist and songwriter who gained fame in the 1930s as a founding member of The Texas Playboys. He recorded and toured with bandleader Bob Wills on and off into the early 1960s.

Biography Early life Duncan was born in Whitney, Texas, United States, on a large farm into a large and impoverished family of truck farmers. His father, Thomas Edwin Duncan, and mother, Maylene Pearl Bounds, were both amateur musicians and the family often played and sang together. He was one of 14 children. His most profound influences as a young singer were Jimmie Rodgers,

Thomas moved the family to Raymondville, Texas, when Tommy was 13; not wanting to move, he stayed behind to sharecrop on a cousin's farm, and by 1932, was surviving as a busker in Fort Worth singing at a root beer stand. That year, he won an audition against 64 other singers to join the Light Crust Doughboys, a popular local band, which featured Bob Wills on fiddle. The coroner's report said he was "lying...on the floor...Evidence victim had a heart condition, numerous pills for heart were found among personal effects." He is buried near Merced, California.

Legacy On his own and with Wills, Duncan's singing and songwriting were an influence on such artists as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison, Merle Haggard, Buddy Holly, Red Steagall, George Strait, Clint Black, Randy Travis, and Garth Brooks.

As a member of The Texas Playboys, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence in 1999, and was also inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame.

Singles Year Single US Country 1949 "Gamblin' Polka Dot Blues" 8

Discography Texas Moon (Bear Family BCD-15907, 1996) includes all 10 tracks recorded for Capitol Records, two tracks recorded for Natural Records, and eight tracks recorded for Intro Records; plus four tracks recorded by Glynn Duncan & His Bar B Boys. Beneath a Neon Star in a Honky Tonk (Bear Family BCD-15957, 1996) includes an additional 24 tracks recorded for Intro Records. Dog House Blues (Jasmine JASMCD-3585, 2008) includes all 12 tracks recorded for Coral Records; also included are five tracks by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys and seven tracks by Billy Jack Wills & His Western Swing Band.