Thomas Wayne | |
---|---|
Born | Batesville, Mississippi, U.S. | July 22, 1940
Died | August 15, 1971 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 31)
Genres | Rockabilly, rock and roll, R&B, pop |
Years active | 1958–1964 |
Labels | Fernwood,
Mercury Phillips International |
Thomas Wayne Perkins (July 22, 1940 – August 15, 1971) [1] was an American singer. He is best remembered as a one-hit wonder for " Tragedy".
Wayne was the brother of Johnny Cash's guitarist, Luther Perkins. [2] He released several singles between 1958 and 1964, primarily on the labels Fernwood and Mercury, including " This Time", which would later become a hit for Troy Shondell. He scored a major U.S. hit with the song "Tragedy" (credited to Thomas Wayne with the DeLons), which peaked at #20 on the R&B Singles chart and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. [3] It sold over one million copies, earning gold disc status. [4]
The song proved to be his only hit, however. Later, Wayne worked as a sound engineer, before he died in a car accident, at the age of 31, in Memphis in 1971. [4]