Johnny Preston dies aged 71
Written by admin on March 5, 2011 – 8:42 pm -| American singer Johnny Preston died on Friday (March 4) of heart failure at Baptist Beaumont Hospital in Beaumont, Texas. He was 71.
Preston was best known for his international hit “Running Bear” which was a million seller and reached number one in the US and the UK in 1960. |
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Johnny Preston was born in Port Arthur, Texas on August 18, 1939. His break came when J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) saw him performing with his group The Shades at Lamar University in 1957. Richardson helped Preston get a deal with Mercury Records and also wrote his signature song “Running Bear.”
Johnny Preston – “Running Bear”
“Running Bear” was Preston’s first hit and easily his biggest, but he did also reach the top 20 with “Cradle of Love” and “Feel So Fine” in 1960.
Preston’s son, Scott Preston, told KFDM News:
| “He was my best friend in the world. We were just friends. He was a great family man. He was the moral compass for the whole bunch of us. His persona was always pretty cool. That was him in real life, too. He never got rattled. He had one of the greatest voices in the world. It got better with age. Anyone who heard him in the past few years will attest to that.” |
Tags: Johnny Preston, Running Bear
Posted in 60s pop, Obituaries |
One Comment to “Johnny Preston dies aged 71”
September 28th, 2011 at 12:29 am
Johnny was one of the most underrated voices in popular music. So many people never heard anything beyond “Running Bear” and he had so much more to offer. I play many of Johnny’s other tracks on my radio show often. Great voice, great style, great fun!