Billy Wayne Craddock was born in Greensboro in 1939. He earned the nickname "Crash" while playing high school football. Craddock, the youngest of thirteen children, was born into a musical family and his family encouraged his pursuit of music. One brother taught him to play the guitar; another paid him a nickel for every song he sang without missing any lyrics. While Craddock's influences were many, Elvis was just four years older and one of Craddock's role models. After touring for over fifty years, this country/rockabilly singer is still delighting fans. Unfortunately, the only thing we could find named for this hometown hero is the bridge at 16th street, near where he grew up. Since Craddock still lives in the area, we're hoping to interview him. In the meantime, does anyone know what high school he graduated from?
On December 11th, Billy "Crash" Craddock performed at the Liberty Showcase in Liberty, NC-- just southeast of Greensboro. The above photo was taken at the concert by one of our readers, Mitch Luther, who reports that the concert was great!
See an early Craddock video here:
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