Mel Street
20 Greatest Hits
Gusto/TeeVee TV-0728-2
Digitally remixed and remastered, Gusto Records (the
company also includes King & Starday Records) has released
20 Greatest Hits of one of
country music's greatest vocal stylists…Mel Street. The
early demise of the 70s honky tonk, pure country singer
Mel Street was a great loss to country music. King Malachi
Street was born near Grundy, West Virginia in 1933.
During 1963 Street found regular TV work on Country
Jamboree. In October 1970 Street and DJ Joe Deaton made
the trip to Nashville to cut Streets first single, with
Deaton's 'House Of Pride' on
the A-side and Street's own 'Borrowed
Angel' the B-side. Unfortunately the record did nothing,
but 18 months later the recording came to the notice of
Dick Heard, of Nashville's Royal American Records who reissued
'Borrowed Angel' on the A-side.
With its lyrics of illicit love it is notably considered
to be the greatest all time cheating song making #7 on the
country charts in August 1972. This was the start of Mel
Street's rather successful career, but a career that Street
finally found unable to cope with.
This same year Dick Heard moved to the label Metromedia
Country, taking Mel with him. In November 72, Street made
#5 in the charts with 'Lovin' On Back
Streets'. His increasing popularity subsequently
led to extensive touring by Street. Recordings were making
the charts and 1973 saw the recording of the album Mel Street
with singles 'Walk Softly On the Bridges'
making #11, 'Town Where You Live'
written by Street at #38 and the Heard/Eddie Rabbitt  composition
'Lovin' On Borrowed Time' at
#11.
In 1974 Mel released the album Two Way Street
and had two hits 'You Make Me
Feel More Like a Man' reaching #15 and 'Forbidden
Angel' at #16. Still touring extensively
Street's career was well on track, but unfortunately
the strain was beginning to tell. Street turned to the
bottle to help him cope with the long periods on the
road away from his family. It was this that was
pushing this talented artiste nearer and nearer to the
edge of a precipice he was soon to fall over.
1975 'Smokey Mountain
Memories' by Heard/Earl Thomas Conley make #13,
'Even If I Have To Steal'
saw #17 and '(This Ain't Just
Another) Lust Affair' also by Conley, managed
to reach #23. In 1976 Street made the Top Ten with 'I
Met A Friend Of Yours Today', which was later,
recorded by George Strait in 1994. 1977 saw Street
release 'Rodeo Bum', his
last record for GRT and changing labels to Polydor.
After the closing of Polydor's office in Nashville,
Street secured a contract with Mercury. When Mercury
arranged a special concert at his idol George Jones
Possum Holler Club to promote Street joining their
label, he said that he couldn't make the show. The
following day Saturday 21st Oct 1978, Streets latest
record was released. This same day was Mel Streets
45th birthday and all seemed well, though he was a
little withdrawn. He had breakfast with his wife and
brother Cleve at his home. Mel later went back
upstairs and after a short time a shot rang out, Mel
Street had put a .38 revolver in his mouth and ended
his life. Ironically his current single was aptly
named 'Just Hangin' On'.
Mel Street was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park
attended by hundreds of people, with his good friend
George Jones singing a heart-shattering version of
`Amazing Grace'.
This sad loss robbed country fans of one of the
finest hard country honky tonk singers of all time.
After his death Mel had posthumous hits with, 'The
One Thing My Lady Never Puts Into Words', 'Who'll
Turn Out The Lights' with his Greatest Hits
album selling over 400,000 copies. Do not miss this
wonderful collection chronicling the career of one of
country music's legends…
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