Sue Thompson

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Sue Thompson
Sue Thompson sheet music for the song "Norman". The song is one of her biggest hits and one of her signature song.
Background information
Birth name	Eva Sue McKee
Born	July 19, 1925 (1925-07-19) (age 82)
Origin	Nevada, Missouri
Genre(s)	Pop, Country
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1950– Present
Label(s)	Hickory Records, Mercury Records
Associated acts	Lesley Gore, Skeeter Davis
Website	Sue Thompson Unofficial Site

Sue Thompson (born Eva Sue McKee July 19, 1925 in Nevada, Missouri) is an American pop and country music singer. She is best known for the hits "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" and "Norman", both pop hits for her in the 1960s, featuring her breathy voice.

[edit] Early life

Sue Thompson is best known for her lighthearted pop singles of the 1960s.

She was born Eva Sue McKee in 1925 in Missouri. At the age of seven, she was already singing and playing the guitar on stage.^[1] When she and her family moved out west to San Jose, she appeared on the Hometown Hayride TV program. During World War II, she worked at a defense plant. She married when she was 20, and had a daughter, but the marriage failed and she and her husband split up after three years. To keep supporting herself after her divorce, she returned to the nightclub scene in California. In San Jose, she won a talent contest, thus catching the attention of bandleader and radio/TV host Dude Martin. Martin invited Thompson to sing with his band, and this eventually led to their marriage. They recorded some duets together, including "If You Want Some Lovin'", which helped her get her own solo contract from Mercury Records in 1950.

[edit] Recording career

Within only a year, Sue had divorced Dude Martin to marry Hank Penny, a comedian and singer. Penny and Thompson hosted a TV show in Los Angeles together before eventually moving to Las Vegas. Thompson recorded separately and also with her husband for Decca Records. However, none of their songs ever gained any real success. In 1960, Thompson signed on with Hickory Records. In 1961, "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)" became a top five hit on the pop charts, and she followed this up successfully with "Norman", which also made the top five. Both of these hit singles were written by songwriter John D. Loudermilk. In 1962, "Have a Good Time" was a Top 40 hit and in 1963, "Willie Can" was a minor hit. With her lighthearted and breathy voice, Thompson became a favorite among the teenage crowd of the time, even though she was in her late thirties. Two further hits, also written by Loudermilk, were "James (Hold the Ladder Steady)" and "Paper Tiger".

[edit] Later career

"Paper Tiger" in 1965 was her last Top 30 hit. In the late 60s, she went back to country music and released the album This Is Sue Thompson Country in 1969. In 1971 she worked with country music singer Don Gibson on some albums, and they had minor hits with "I Think They Call It Love", "Good Old Fashioned Country Love" and "Oh, How Love Changes". She recorded further solo singles for the country charts, like "Big Mable Murphy", which made the Top 50 in 1975 and "Never Naughty Rosie", her last chart single in 1976. She also performed mainly at the Las Vegas casinos and at clubs in Hollywood, like the Palomino Club. In the 1990s she settled in Las Vegas, and continues to perform from time to time.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Charted Singles

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Sue Thompson Discography at All Music Guide
• Sue Thompson Unofficial Site