He was a songwriter and dance band leader born in Dickson, Tennessee, who later made Nashville his home.
He was a student in the Class of ’24 at Vanderbilt University and while he was there he formed his own band and wrote the University’s official fight song “Dynamite”.
He was later known for such hits as “Tennessee Tango” and “Beg Your Pardon” and his co-written “Near You” entered the Billboard Best Seller Chart in 1947, reaching the No. 1 spot and remaining there for 12 weeks. It stayed on the chart for 21 weeks, gaining a gold disc.
A piano maestro, he played for 25 years at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville and his own orchestra was the first one to play on WSM from 1926 to 1928 and then from 1935 to 1939. He then worked at Chicago’s WGN from 1940 and in 1947 went back to WSM as a DJ there on his Featured by Francis Craig show.
He died in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1966 when he was 66 years old.
Tony Alamo Recording
Near You (Francis Craig/Kermit Goell)
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