I was working in Winner, South Dakota at KWYR radio when a song topped the country music singles chart called "9,999,999 Tears". It was a great catchy sing-along song by Dickey Lee. That song was written by a guy named Razzy Bailey and it wasn't long before Razzy himself would sit atop that same country music singles chart.

The Alabama native would achieve country music fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s with chart-topping hits like "Loving Up A Storm", "I Keep Coming Back", "Friends" and my personal favorite "Midnight Hauler".

In fact, Razzy had three double-sided number one hit's in succession, a feat never accomplished by any other artist. (For the younger folks that don't know what a "double-sided" hit is, ask your folks...or grandfolks).

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With over a dozen Top 10 hits in the 1970s & 1980's Razzy was a mainstay of the country music scene. His country music had a strong R&B influence which made it unique. He recorded and released the Wilson Pickett classic "In The Midnight Hour" which illustrates that influence.

Sadly, we learned that Razzy passed away on August 4th, 2021 at the age of 82.

But thankfully we have those great Razzy hits. Do yourself a favor and head on over to Youtube and listen again (or for the first time) to all those great Razzy Bailey classics. When I hear them now, it brings me back to a time I was in my early twenties and a place called Winner.

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