Song:Suspicion
Album:Oldies But Goodies Vol. 11
Raise your hand if you think that Terry Stafford's 1964 top five hit Suspicion sounds a lot like Elvis Presley. Guys like Ral Donner have built singing careers around sounding like Elvis. But not only does Stafford sound like Elvis but Elvis originally recorded Suspicion in 1962. Terry Stafford was born Nov. 22, 1941 in Hollis, OK and grew up in Amarillo, TX. After graduating from high school in 1960, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a singing career. He got together with Bob Summers at Crusader Records and recorded Suspicion. Summers produced the record and played all the instruments and he even recorded his own version of Suspicion in the 70s. Suspicion was written by the legendary team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. They wrote many songs for Elvis and others. It appeared on the 1962 album Pot Luck With Elvis but it was never released as a single until after Stafford's version reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. The other five songs at the top of the charts at the time were all by The Beatles. So Terry Stafford held his own against Beatlemania. Stafford's only other top 30 hit I'll Touch A Star preceded Suspicion but he didn't chart afterwards. You can get Suspicion on this various artists comp. Terry Stafford released singles for A & M, Mercury and Warner Bros. with no success. He even tried acting and appeared in the 1969 biker film Wild Wheels with Casey Kasem. In the 70s, Stafford signed with Atlantic Records and tried to reinvent himself in the country music market. He charted with songs like Amarillo By Morning but was ultimately unsuccessful. Stafford's song Big In Dallas was reworked by Buck Owens as the top five country hit Big In Vegas in 1969. And George Strait had a top five country hit with Amarillo By Morning in 1982. Terry Stafford continued to tour as a nostalgia act until his death from liver failure on Mar. 17, 1996 at age 54. Here's Terry Stafford performing Suspicion in Arizona 1986.
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