Eddie Dean (singer) - Musical Career

Musical Career

During the 1930s, Dean frequently sang on radio with Judy Canova. Beginning in 1941, he recorded a string of singles for Standard, American Record Company, Just Film, Decca, and Radio Recorders. He joined Mercury Records in 1948, when he released "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)," written with his wife, Lorene Donnelly Dean (October 4, 1911—July 12, 2002), whom he married in 1931 and called "Dearest". The song became Billboard's No. 1 country hit as recorded by Jimmy Wakely and, later, Jerry Lee Lewis, Nat King Cole, Willie Nelson and over 30 other artists.

In 1955, Dean and Hal Southern released "Hill-Billy Heaven". Southern claimed that a dream inspired the song and that the name of the song is derived from the nickname that a West Coast disc jockey, Squeakin' Deacon Moore, had given to Bell Gardens, California, because of its considerable number of country music fans.

Dean continued recording for small labels and was a founder of the Academy of Country Music. One of Eddie's last records, recorded in the 1990s and released on The Bradlley Brothers record label was a country song entitled 'Cold Texas Beer' which harkened back to Eddie's West Texas roots. The song was written by Bill Aken (The Hall Of Fame Guitarist), the adopted son of actors Frank and Lupe Mayorga who had worked in a few films with Eddie in the 1940s. Eddie asked Bill for the 43 year old song because he remembered it from the early days when Aken performed the song himself on Cliffie Stone's 'Hometown Jamboree' in the 1950's. Eddie's recording of it turned out to be one of the very best of his last records and received a lot of radio airplay.

He was also a member of the Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Western Music Association Hall of Fame. Two weeks after his death, his star was added to the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Dean is represented on albums "Eddie Dean In Concert" (also on video) on the BGR label and "Eddie Dean Collectors' Edition" on Simitar Records. Dean had album released in the mid-1950s on Sage & Sand records entitled "Hi - Country" It featured a few hit's including "Way Out Yonder"