Dallas Frazier
Musician · 1939–2022 · Spiro, Oklahoma
Best known for
Songwriter
Dallas Frazier was an Oklahoma-born, Bakersfield-raised country songwriter whose four-decade Nashville career produced hits across genres — from the 1960 novelty “Alley Oop” to Jack Greene’s 1966 country No. 1 “There Goes My Everything” and the Oak Ridge Boys’ 1981 crossover smash “Elvira.” The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted him in 1976.
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- Born October 27, 1939, in Spiro, Oklahoma; raised in Bakersfield, California after his family joined the Dust Bowl migration to the San Joaquin Valley.
- Performed as a teenager on Ferlin Husky’s television show Hometown Jamboree and released his first single, “Space Command,” in 1954 at age fourteen.
- Wrote “Alley Oop” in 1957; the Hollywood Argyles’ 1960 recording reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Moved to Nashville after Hometown Jamboree ended and built a long catalog as a Music Row staff writer.
- Wrote “Timber I’m Falling” for Ferlin Husky (1964) and “There Goes My Everything,” a 1966 No. 1 country hit for Jack Greene that earned a Grammy Best Country Song nomination.
- Wrote “Elvira” on his own 1966 debut album; the Oak Ridge Boys’ 1981 cover spent two weeks at No. 1 country and reached No. 5 on the Hot 100, earning Frazier his third Grammy nomination.
- Wrote “Beneath Still Waters,” a 1980 country hit for Emmylou Harris.
- Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976.
- Died of complications from a series of strokes on January 14, 2022, at age 82.