Country Music Singer. Known as 'The Hillbilly Heartthrob' he is probably best remembered for his song "Hello Walls" (1961) penned by the legendary Willie Nelson, that rose to No. 1 on Billboard's Country Chart and remained on the charts for 23 weeks. It would also become his only Billboard Pop hit, reaching No. 12. The youngest of six children, his family operated a dairy farm. He began singing at an early age and while performing at the local Optimist Club, he was noticed by singer Webb Pierce and invited him to perform on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show in 1951. In 1952 he signed a contract with Capitol Records and relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where he recorded his first Top Ten Country hit "Goin' Steady," reaching No. 2. Following a 2-year stint in the US Army, he resumed his singing career and also appeared in four low budget films, "Hidden Guns" (1956), "Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer" (1956), "Raiders of Old California" (1957), and "Country Music Holiday" (1958), from where he picked up the nicknames 'The Young Sheriff' and 'The Singing Sheriff'. In 1963 he switched to Mercury Records and remained with them until 1978 but lost some of his earlier success until 1969 when his song "Wine Me Up" reached No. 2 on Billboard's Country Charts. In 1971 he reached No. 1 again with "It's Four in the Morning" but after that his success slumped. His career spanned five decades and over that time he released 43 albums and over 90 singles. His other notable hits include "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" (No. 2 in 1954), "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" (No.1 in 1955), "Sweet Dreams" (No 2 in 1956), "Alone with You" (No. 1 in 1958), and "Country Girl" (No. 1 in 1959). In June 2000 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.