Born on This Day in 1939, the Songwriter Who Wrote Timeless Hits for the Likes of George Jones, the Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard, and Brenda Lee

On this day (October 27) in 1939, Dallas Frazier was born in the small town of Spiro, Oklahoma. He recorded his first single as a teenager, and later saw some success as a recording artist. However, he is best remembered as a highly sought-after Nashville songwriter. Frazier penned and co-penned some of the genre’s most memorable hits. The long list of artists who had success with Frazier’s songs includes the Oak Ridge Boys, Charley Pride, Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, and many more.

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Like many families in the 1940s, Frazier’s family relocated from Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl era. There, the “Okies” lived in ramshackle camps and scratched out a living doing whatever work they could find. Frazier was musically gifted at a young age and, at 12 years old, won a talent show run by Ferlin Husky. This led to a regular gig on Husky’s road show, as well as a regular slot on the Bakersfield, California-based TV show Hometown Jamboree. By that time, Frazier had already been writing songs for over two years.

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He released his debut single, “Space Command,” in 1954, at the age of 15. Over the course of his recording career, he released four studio albums. None of those LPs, nor their singles, cracked the top 40. Instead, Frazier found enduring success as a songwriter.

Dallas Frazier May Have Written Your Favorite Song

The list of songs Dallas Frazier wrote is long and full of major hits. For instance, he wrote “Alley Oop,” which became a No. 1 hit for the Hollywood Argyles in 1957. Frazier also penned “Timber I’m Falling” and “There Goes My Everything.” Those songs were major hits for Ferlin Husky and Jack Greene, respectively.

He released his debut solo album, Elvira, in 1966. The Oak Ridge Boys’ version of the album’s title track became a massive crossover hit in 1981. It went to No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on the Hot 100, according to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A long list of country artists had multiple hits with songs written or co-written by Dallas Frazier. Some highlights from his long career are below.

Charley Pride

• “(I’m So) Afraid of Losing You Again” No. 1 (1969)
• “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)” No. 1 (1969)
• “I Can’t Believe That You’ve Stopped Loving Me” No. 1 (1970)
• “Then Who Am I” No. 1 (1970)

George Jones

• “I Can’t Get There From Here” No. 5 (1967)
• “I’m a People” No. 6 (1966)
• “If My Heart Had Windows” No. 7 (1967)
• “Say It’s Not You” No. 8 (1968)

Connie Smith

• “Ain’t Had No Lovin’” No. 2 (1966)
• “Ain’t Love a Good Thing” No. 10 (1973)
• “If It Ain’t Love (Let’s Leave It Alone)” No. 7 (1972)
• “Just for What I Am” No. 5 (1972)

Jack Greene

• “Back in the Arms of Love” No. 4 (1969)
• “There Goes My Everything” No. 1 (1966)
• “Until My Dreams Come True” No. 1 1969

Featured Image by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum