#198: Night Life by Rusty Draper

City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CJAD
Peak Month: November 1963
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #5
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #57
YouTube: “Night Life”
Lyrics: “Night Life”

Farrell Haliday “Rusty” Draper was born in 1923 in Kirksville (MO). Nicknamed “Rusty” for his red hair, he began performing on his uncle’s radio show in Tulsa (OK) in the mid-1930s. Draper moved on to work at radio stations in Des Moines (IA) —sometimes filling in for sports announcer Ronald Reagan —and in Illinois before moving to San Francisco. He began to sing in local clubs, becoming resident singer at the Rumpus Room in San Francisco. By the early 1950s, he had begun appearing on national TV shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show and Ozark Jubilee.

In 1952, Draper signed to Mercury Records and issued his debut single, “How Could You (Blue Eyes)”. That year he sang a duet with Patti Page titled “Wedding Bells Will Soon Be Ringing”. The following year, after a national club tour, his cover version of Jim Lowe’s “Gambler’s Guitar” made number six on both the country and pop charts, and sold a million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Earlier in 1953, Draper had his first Top Ten hit on the pop charts with “No Help Wanted”, a cover of the country tune originally recorded by The Carlisles. After a series of ten less successful follow-ups, he made the national charts again in 1955 with “Seventeen” which charted to #18 on the Billboard pop chart. Later that year he had his biggest success with “The Shifting, Whispering Sands” which reached #3 and sold a million copies. The song was a romantic and nostalgic appraisal of pioneer days in America. “Are You Satisfied”, written by Sheb Wooley, climbed to #11 in 1956. On the strength of this string of hits, and his appearances on TV variety shows, Draper became one of the biggest pop and country crossover stars of the period.

In 1956, he sang a song about a house where a the railroad ran through “The Middle Of The House”. The lyrics told that the trains all ran on time. The novelty tune peaked at #20. In 1957, he tried to pick up on the calypso craze, but “Let’s Go Calypso” stalled at #53 on the national pop charts. That year he returned to the Top Ten with “Freight Train” which peaked at #6.

Draper tried to cross over to rock ‘n roll. He released “Pink Cadillac”, trying to hitch onto the rock genre of songs like “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry, and “Speedoo” by the Cadillacs. But the song didn’t catch on with either his fan base or the teen set. The same with his cover of the Hollywood Flames “Buzz Buzz Buzz”. In 1958, “June, July and August” was a precursor to “Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer” by Nat “King” Cole in 1963. Draper’s single made the Top Ten in Boston and Toronto, but got little notice elsewhere, crowded out by the new teen idols of the time.

In 1960, Rusty Draper covered both Hank Lockin’s “Please Help Me, I’m Falling”, and The Fendermen’s “Mule Skinner Blues”. But most radio stations preferred to spin the original discs. In 1961, Draper had a Top Ten hit on CHUM in Toronto with a country-pop tune titled “Signed, Sealed and Delivered”. It was his last recording on the Mercury label.

In 1963, Rusty Draper got a new record contract, this time with Monument Records. His first single release was “Night Life”.

“Night Life” is a song written by country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. Nelson was inspired to write the song during one of his trips from his home in Pasadena, Texas, about his work, singing at the Esquire Ballroom in Houston. After his son Billy was born in 1958, struggling with financial issues, Nelson moved to Houston. On the way, Nelson stopped by the Esquire Ballroom to sell songs to house band singer Lary Butler. But Butler refused to purchase Nelson’s songs, giving him instead a $50 loan to rent an apartment and a six-night job singing in the club. Nelson rented an apartment near Houston in Pasadena, Texas, where he also worked at a local radio station as a DJ. While working at the club, Nelson used the time during the thirty-mile commute from his home to the club to write songs. One night he was inspired after thinking of the line “When the evening sun goes down, you will find me hanging ’round.” Nelson’s inspiration was completed on his way back, with the line “The night life ain’t no good life, but it’s my life.”

Due to financial issues, Nelson sold the song to guitar instructor Paul Buskirk for $150. The recording of the song was rejected by Pappy Daily, owner of Nelson’s label, D Records. Daily believed that the song was not country. Encouraged by the amount of money he received for the song, Nelson decided to master it at another studio. To avoid legal actions, it was recorded as “Nite Life” under the artist name of “Paul Buskirk and the Little Men featuring Hugh Nelson.” In 1963 Bellaire Records reissued the single under the original title of “Night Life,” recrediting it to “Willie Nelson.”

Nelson’s original 1960 recording of “Night Life” was released in 1963. Soon after Ray Price recorded a version which reached #28 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Doris Day also released a cover of the song, along with Rusty Draper. “Night Life” was a song many recording artists who performed at night clubs, concert halls, and on tour, could relate to.

Composer, Willie Nelson, was born in 1933 in Abbott (TX). His parents split up and he was raised by his grandparents, who taught singing back in Arkansas. He was given a guitar at the age of six and began to learn how to play. And the following year he wrote his first song. When Nelson was nine, he played guitar for local band Bohemian Polka. From childhood, he learned to pick cotton in Abbott. But since he didn’t like the work, he started earning an income from the age of 13 playing in taverns, honky tonks and dance halls. During high school, Willie was a shortstop in baseball, a guard in basketball, and a halfback on the football team. He joined a band while in high school called The Texans. As well, he had a gig on Sundays mornings on KHBR in Hillsboro (TX). He left high school in 1950 and joined the United States Air Force. After eight months he was discharged due to back issues.

Willie Nelson worked as a DJ at KBOP in Pleasanton (TX), KDNT in Denton (TX), and KCNC in Fort Worth (TX). In 1956, he took a bus to Portland (OR) and got a job as a DJ at KVAN in Vancouver (WA). He released his first single in 1956. He struggled to make a career out of music, and variously sold encyclopedias, vacuum cleaners and Bibles door-to-door. In 1960, he wrote “What A Way to Live” which Johnny Bush recorded in 1967 and charted into the Top 30 on the Hot Country Singles chart. In 1961, he wrote a song titled “Family Bible” which became a #7 country hit for Claude Grey. That year he wrote “Crazy” which became a huge crossover country-pop hit for Patsy Cline. He also wrote what became a number-one country hit for Faron Young titled “Hello Walls”.

In 1962, Willie Nelson and Shirley Collie recorded a duet titled “Willingly”. It reached #10 on the Hot Country Singles chart. That year, Nelson’s “Touch Me” peaked at #7 on the country charts. When “Night Life” was a minor hit for Rusty Draper in 1963, Willie Nelson was still getting established as a singer and songwriter. In 1964, Roy Orbison took Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper” to #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1962 and 1975 he only charted three songs in the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. But this changed in 1975 with his number-one hit “Blue Eyes Crying in The Rain”. It became his first single to crack the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached #21.

In 1964, Joe Hinton took Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” to number-one on the R&B chart.

Over the decades, Willie Nelson has charted 33 singles to number-one on the Hot Country Singles chart in the USA. These include “If You’ve Got the Money (I’ve Got the Time)”, “Georgia On My Mind”, “Blue Skies”, “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”, “On The Road Again”, “City of New Orleans”, and “Living in the Promiseland”. Among his number-one hits are duets with Waylon Jennings that include “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and “Luckenbach, Texas”; “Mind Your Own Business” with Hank Williams Jr., Tom Petty, Rev. Ike, and Reba McIntyre; “Beer For My Horses” with Toby Keith; “Seven Spanish Angels” with Ray Charles; and “To All the Girls I’ve Ever Loved” with Julio Iglesias, among others. In all, he’s released 132 singles, and 76 albums.

In 1974, Willie and Tracy Nelson were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. But they lost out to the Pointer Sister’s “Fairytale”. In 1976, he won Best Male Country Performance for “Blue  Eyes Crying in The Rain”, and in 1977 was nominated in the same category for “I’d Have to Be Crazy”. That year he also received a nomination for Best Inspirational Performance with his recording of “Amazing Grace”. Over the decades Willie Nelson has won 14 Grammy Awards, and has received an additional 45 nominations. His most recent Grammy award was for his 2022 album A Beautiful Time (Best Country Album). While his last Grammy Award nomination was in 2024 for Bluegrass in the Best Bluegrass Album category.

Willie Nelson has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1964. He has also received the Gershwin Prize from the National Library of Congress. At the time of this writing, Willie Nelson is 92.

“Night Life” peaked at #5 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Montreal, #9 in El Cajon (CA), #10 in Modesto (CA), and San Jose (CA), and #12 in Cincinnati (OH). The single stalled in Hamilton (ON) at #40. On the Billboard Hot 100 it peaked at #57.

In 1964, Al Hirt recorded his version of “Night Life”. The song has been covered by Lawrence Welk, Julie London, Wanda Jackson, Bobby Vinton, Marvin Gaye, Claude Grey, Jane Morgan, George Jones, Jimmy Witherspoon, Roy Clark, David Lee Roth, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Dottie West, Don Ho, B.J. Thomas, and many others. In 1980, Willie Nelson and Danny Davis sang a duet which sent their recording to #20 on the Hot Country Songs chart in the USA.

From the mid-60s until 1980, Rusty Draper released 16 more singles. These included a cover of the Junior Parker R&B hit from 1953, (also popularized by Elvis Presley), and “My Elusive Dreams” which was a minor hit for Bobby Vinton in 1970.

Rusty Draper remained a steady concert draw in years to follow, and also appeared in stage musicals and on television, including his duties as one of the hosts of NBC’s short-lived 1966 daytime TV series Swingin’ Country.

His final release was in 1980 with a cover “Harbor Lights” first popularized by Rudy Vallee in 1937. It was a number-one hit for Sammy Kaye in 1950, but in 1980 Draper’s treatment of the song was off the radar of DJs in the waning days of disco and emergence of the new wave genre.

Rusty Draper died in 2003, of pneumonia, at the age of 80.

August 23, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
Rusty Draper, “No Help Wanted“, Mercury Records, 1953.
Rusty Draper, “Gambler’s Guitar“, Mercury Records, 1953.
Rusty Draper, “The Shifting, Whispering Sands“, Mercury Records, 1955.
Rusty Draper, “The Middle Of The House“, Mercury Records, 1956.
“Willie Nelson’s had a ‘Crazy’ career IN CONCERT — Willie Nelson and Family,” Vancouver Province, June 28, 2007.
Marvin Gaye, “Night Life“, Motown, 1966.
Aretha Franklin, “Night Life“, Atlantic Records, 1967.
Julie London, “Night Life“, Liberty Records, 1964.
Willie Nelson, “Night Life“, Bellaire Records, 1964.

CJAD, 800 AM – Montreal (PQ), November 9, 1963