Terry Stafford

In the early 60s Terry Stafford (Born 1941) was marketed as an Elvis Presley sound-alike. He actually recorded an Elvis tune called "Suspicion" which made it to #3 on the US charts in 1964. Interestingly it peaked during a week when The Beatles held every other spot in the Top-5. Stafford had another hit with "I'll Touch a Star" (#25). After many years without another hit or even an LP he signed to Atlantic's new country division in 1973. The fine country-pop album Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose was released the same year and includes two hits: the title song, previously a hit for Tony Orlando & Dawn, and the Stafford composition "Amarillo By Morning", ten years later a big hit for George Strait. The latter made it to #12 when the country channel searched for the 100 Greatest Country Songs in 2003. Stafford himself only had one other Top-40 hit in 1974 - "Captured" - then faded into obscurity. He died in 1996 of liver problems just months after he was planning to return to recording. A few months before Stafford had talked with a label in Dallas about possibly releasing his music.