AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mel Tillis

Artist:Mel Tillis

Song:Coca Cola Cowboy

Album:Greatest Hits

Country singer Mel Tillis had his greatest success in the 70s. He had a long string of country music chart toppers including the 1979 single Coca Cola Cowboys which was a hit after it appeared in the 1978 film Every Which Way But Loose. He was born Aug. 8, 1932 in Tampa, FL. but he grew up in Pahokee near West Palm Beach. A bout of malaria gave Tillis with a stutter and he used it as part of his act. Tillis learned to play drums and guitar and he won a talent contest as a teen. Tillis attended the University of Florida but left to join the US Air Force. While stationed as a baker in Okinawa, Tillis started the band The Westerners and played local clubs. After leaving the Air Force in 1955, Tillis got a job with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Tampa. He used his rail pass to go to Nashville and audition for Wesley Rose of Acuff-Rose Music. He moved to Nashville and after some success as a songwriter, Tillis signed with Columbia Records in 1958. He switched to Kapp Records in 1965 and that's when he started having chart success. Tillis also wrote the song Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town which was a big hit for Kenny Rogers & the First Edition. Tillis left Kapp for MGM in 1970 and scored his first #1 country hit with the 1972 single I Ain't Never. He had several top ten hits on MGM probably because they spent more money promoting him. But he switched again to MCA Records in 1976. And that's when Tillis had his greatest success. #1 hits included Good Woman Blues (1976), Heart Healer (1976) and I Believe in You (1978). The 1979 single Coca Cola Cowboy was probably the biggest of those hits because it appeared in the 1978 film Every Which Way But Loose starring Clint Eastwood. Tillis also appeared in the film. The song was written for the film by Steve Dorff, Sandy Pinkard, Sam Atchley and Bud Dain and appeared on the soundtrack album. After Coca Cola Cowboy was a hit, MCA put it on the 1979 album Mr. Entertainer. You can get the song on this Curb Records budget comp which covers Tillis' late 70s hits. Mr. Entertainer was Tillis' final album on MCA. He moved to Elektra Records. He had some success there including the 1980 #1 hit Southern Rains. But he returned to MCA and later recorded for RCA. Tillis continued to record and tour until he died on Nov. 19, 2017 at age 85. Here's Mel Tillis performing Coca Cola Cowboy on Austin City Limits 1979.