Biography
21 April 1931, Salina, Oklahoma, USA, d. 31 October 1990. Belew left school at 15 and became a plumber, but he was intent on becoming a musician. Marvin Rainwater arranged a recording session for Four Star Records in 1955 and then, in 1958, he wrote Johnnie And Jack’s hit single ‘Stop The World (And Let Me Off)’. He also recorded rockabilly (‘Cool Gator Shoes’ and ‘Folding Money’) but eventually found success with his self-penned ‘Lonely Street’, a maudlin country ballad with a lyrical nod to ‘Heartbreak Hotel’. It made the US Top 10 for Andy Williams and was subsequently recorded by Gene Vincent and Rex Allen Jnr. Another country hit, ‘Am I That Easy To Forget?’, was a 1960 US pop entry for Debbie Reynolds, but he did not have UK success until Engelbert Humperdinck recorded it in 1968. The song, now a country standard, has also been recorded by Jim Reeves, Don Gibson, Leon Russell and, once again,...
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