Johnny Rodriguez - The Height of His Career in The 1970s

The Height of His Career in The 1970s

After signing with Mercury, Rodriguez was soon on the way to becoming famous. His first single to be released for Mercury was 1972s "Pass Me By." This recording was a big success, going to No. 9 on the Hot Country Songs list that year, and making him a country star overnight. Rodriguez officially became the first Latin American country singer. (Freddy Fender came a couple years later).

In 1972 Rodriguez was voted the Most Promising Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music. The next year, he achieved his first No. 1 hit song, "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me." Another song that year, "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico," was also a No. 1 hit. Both his No. 1 hits charted on the Pop charts, but only moderately. Rodriguez wrote some of his own material such as the song "Ridin' My Thumb to Mexico." In 1973, his debut album was released, which rose to No. 1 on the "Top Country Albums" chart. He was nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year by the CMA Awards. In addition to his success in Country music, he also had a role on the television show Adam-12 and also made a guest appearance on The Dating Game in 1974. Since then, he has often appeared on talk shows and other television shows.

The year 1975 was probably his biggest year, in terms of chart success. That year all the singles he released (3 in all) soared to No. 1 on the country charts. These songs were, "I Just Can't Get Her Out of My Mind" "Just Get Up and Close the Door," and "Love Put a Song in My Heart."

Success on the country charts continued throughout much of the '70s. He recorded songs not only written by himself around this time, but also covers of others' songs such as Linda Hargrove's "Just Get Up and Close the Door," Mickey Newbury's "Poison Red Berries," and Billy Joe Shaver's "Texas Up Here Tennessee." These songwriters were also country music singers themselves. By 1975, Rodriguez was considered an "outlaw," representing the Outlaw Country market in country music, like fellow musicians, Bobby Bare and Tom T. Hall.