Elmer Laird
Musician
Best known for
Songwriter
Elmer Laird is the credited author of the honky-tonk standard “Poison Love,” written with Tillman Franks and introduced by Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys on RCA Victor in 1950. The song reached No. 4 on the Billboard country chart in January 1951 and has since been recorded by Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Grateful Dead.
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- Wrote “Poison Love” in collaboration with Louisiana-Hayride bassist and songwriter Tillman Franks.
- Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys cut the song on RCA Victor in 1950; it became their first country-chart hit, peaking at No. 4 country in January 1951.
- The publishing credit was carried by Laird’s widow after his death, an indication that he did not live to see the song’s chart success.
- “Poison Love” has since been recorded by Bill Monroe, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others, and remains a country and bluegrass standard.