Farrell H. "Rusty" Draper (born 25 January 1923, Kirksville, Missouri – died 28 March 2003, Bellevue, Washington, D.C.) was an American country and pop singer who achieved his greatest success in the 1950s. Nicknamed "Rusty" for his red hair, he began performing on his uncle's radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid 1930s. He moved on to work on radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa - sometimes deputising for sports announcer Ronald Reagan - and in Illinois before settling in California. There 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. In 1952 he signed to Mercury Records and issued his debut single, "How Could You (Blue Eyes)." The following year, after a national club tour, his cover version of Jim Lowe's "Gambler's Guitar” made #6 on both the country and pop charts, and sold a million copies. After a series of less successful follow-ups, he made the national charts again in 1955 with "Seventeen" (#18), "The Shifting, Whispering Sands" (#3) and "Are You Satisfied?" (#11), becoming one of the biggest pop and country crossover stars of the period. In 1956, he returned to the Top 20 with "In the Middle of the House" (#20), followed up by his version of Chas McDevitt’s UK skiffle hit "Freight Train" (#3). In 1960 his version of "Muleskinner Blues" became his only UK Singles Chart success, although several of his U.S. hit songs reached the UK chart in cover versions by British artists. In 1962 he left Mercury to sign with Monument Records, with diminishing chart success as his style became more old-fashioned. However, he continued to have minor hits in the country charts through the 1960s. He remained a steady concert draw in years to follow, and also appeared in stage musicals and on television.
