Billy Crash Craddock

After an aborted career as a ’50s teen idol, Billy “Crash” Craddock returned to his first love, Country music, and earned the nickname “Mr. Country Rock” with a string of popular hits during the ’70s. Born in Greensboro, NC, in 1939, Craddock earned his nickname as a running back on his high-school football team, and grew up a huge fan of the Grand Ole Opry. He signed with Columbia in the late ’50s, but instead of marketing him as a Country singer, the label tried to make him a teen idol, and had him record a mix of Elvis-style rockabilly tunes and Pop ballads. Craddock did manage to land three hit singles in Australia, but none in his home country, and aside from a lone album for King in 1964 (I’m Tore Up), he was largely missing-in-action afterwards. That all changed in 1971, when Craddock signed with Cartwheel Records, this time as a Country artist. His first five singles, a remake of “Knock Three Times,” “Dream Lover,” “You Better Move On,” “Ain’t Nothin’ Shakin’ (But the Leaves on The Trees),” and “I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door”, all made the Country Top Ten over 1971-1972. He subsequently moved to ABC and scored his first chart-topper with 1974’s “Rub It In,” which also crossed over to the pop Top 20. More hits followed, including a second number one in 1975 with a remake of the Drifters’ “Ruby Baby,” and a third in 1977’s “Broken Down in Tiny Pieces.” All told, Craddock landed in the Country Top Ten a total of 18 times from 1971-1979, with his final entry being “If I Could Write a Song as Beautiful as You.” He recorded for Capitol during the late ’70s and early ’80s, by which time his commercial momentum had finally slowed.