Who was/is Don Deal ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more
Don Deal
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on March 21, 1938, Donald D. Deal had a long career in music that ended with his death in the Branson, Missouri area on June 12, 2009. For most rock 'n' roll fans, he basks in a little reflected glory from having worked with Eddie Cochran. 'So What' is one of the latest recordings on this set, dating to around 1967 (Doye O'Dell recorded it shortly beforehand). By then, Deal had already been on Cash, Era, Capitol, Don-Jim, and MGM. He was an able, if not always reliable, chronicler of his life.
By his account, his parents were farmers who moved to Bell, California in 1952. After school, he worked in a record store owned by Bert Keefer. In the back, Keefer operated a little studio, and many of the local country artists demo'd their songs there, including Wynn Stewart, Freddie Hart, Carl Belew, and the Cochran Brothers (Eddie and Hank). In Deal's self-written biography he said that a songwriter named Tom Reeves hooked him up with an R&B label, Cash Records, although some sources say that Eddie Cochran's pal, Jerry Capehart, made the connection.
Either way, Don made his first recordings for Cash in 1956 with Eddie and Hank on the session, and made several more records for Herb Newman's Era Records (Eddie Cochran played lead guitar on 'My Blind Date' and 'Don't Push'). Smokey Rogers heard Deal singing in Keefer's Music Store and took him to San Diego to work at the Bostonia Ball Room and on a live television show from Tijuana, Mexico. Johnny Cash took Deal on the road as his opening act on west coast dates, but the hits remained elusive. Nik Venet brought Don to Capitol, where he recorded the original version of Hank Cochran's 'A-11'. When Venet moved to MGM, Deal moved with him. Deal became a songwriter with 4-Star Music and worked the Nevada lounges, then spent years in Nashville writing songs (recorded by Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Hank Snow and Sonny James) before moving to a farm near Branson, Missouri, where he died.
Various That'll Flat Git It Vol.27 (Sage & Sand)
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