CARROLL, JOHN LEWIS [JOHNNY] (1937–1995). John Lewis (Johnny) Carroll, rockabilly guitarist, composer, and singer, was born in Cleburne, Texas, on October 23, 1937. Carroll bought his first guitar at age nine with money he had earned by working as a waterboy at a World War II^qv POW camp. His mother, who played the fiddle, taught him basic music skills. By listening to the radio, he learned to play country music.^qv Carroll later was introduced to rhythm and blues^qv when a cousin in the jukebox business gave him some old 78 RPM R&B records. By 1955 he had formed his own high school band, the Moonlighters. His group sometimes shared the stage with the South's newest singing sensation, Elvis Presley, as they performed on the "Big 'D' Jamboree"^qv and the "Louisiana Hayride"^qv circuit. During a performance with Ferlin Husky, Carroll gained the attention of local radio operator Jack "Tiger" Goldman, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records. In 1956 Carroll recorded for Decca in Nashville. During this two-day recording session he was encouraged to sing in a dark and husky voice, a trademark he carried throughout his career. At the session he recorded his own "Crazy, Crazy Lovin'" along with "Hot Rock," written by Goldman. With moderate sales, Carroll embarked on a series of tours.

In 1957 he appeared in the motion picture Rock, Baby, Rock It, in which he performed several songs with his old high school band. After a dispute with Goldman, Carroll left him and rejoined the "Louisiana Hayride." He enlisted Ed McLemore as his new manager in 1958 and recorded two singles for Warner Brothers, including his biggest hit, "Bandstand Doll." In 1962 he recorded his last single for more than ten years. Beginning in 1958 until the early 1970s, Carroll was music director for a series of nightclubs known as the Cellar. Originally opened in Fort Worth, the club also opened branches in other Texas cities. In 1974, after leaving the nightclub business, Carroll returned to performing and recorded "Black Leather Rebel." Three years later he re-released three of his Decca singles, the success of which led to several tours across Europe, where he was a rock-and-roll^qv icon. A year later Carroll rekindled his 1950s rock-and-roll sound with the release of Texabilly, an album recorded in a twenty-eight-hour marathon session. By the 1990s he had completed eleven European tours and was a popular draw on the American music festival circuit. He died of liver failure in Dallas on February 18, 1995.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Craig Morrison, Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and Its Makers (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996).

Juan Carlos Ridriguez