3 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, Stafford was the only son of William Nathan "Bill" Stafford (1921-2011), a United States Navy veteran of World World War II and a construction worker, and the former Juanita J. Roach (1919-2001). He, like his mother, was born in rural Hollis in Harmon County in the southwestern corner of Oklahoma.
Stafford is best known for his Elvis Presley sound-alike voice. Standing 6 foot He had two sisters, Linda Williams of Amarillo and Judy Snead of Hendersonville, Tennessee. Mistress Stafford was a lens grinder for an optical company and worked in a laundry.
He then moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a musical career.
The song "Suspicion", which was released on the Crusader record label and had previously been recorded by Elvis Presley, made it to northern 3 in the United States. and northern
31 in the United Kingdom Chart. "Suspicion" had the distinction of being sixth on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1964, when the Beatles held down the top five spots.
The following week, "Suspicion" peaked at northern 3, with the Beatles holding three of the top five spots.
Stafford"s recording sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The song is notable for its synthesizer backing, one of the earliest uses in popular music His follow-up, "I’ll Touch a Star", rose to number 25 in America.
Both recordings were produced by Bob Summers (brother-in-law of Les Paul), who played all the instruments on the tracks as well as engineering and recording them, except for bass which was played by Ron Griffith.
Summers released his own version in the 1970s, as well as a remake with Editor Greenwald on vocals in 2008. In 1969, Buck Owens re-wrote Stafford"s "Big in Dallas", recording it as "Big in Vegas". Owens" version peaked at northern
5 on the Billboard Hot Country chart. and reached Number.
1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada. Stafford himself continued to record, but had no more hits.
His 1973 release/joint composition, "Amarillo by Morning", was later covered by George Strait on Strait"s 1982 album Strait from the Heart. The song was named "#12 country song of all-time" by Country Music Television.
Stafford lived most of his life between Los Angeles, California, and Amarillo, Texas, and died in Amarillo of liver failure, at the age of 54.
On April 11, 2015, the West Texas Historical Association, at its 92nd annual meeting held at Amarillo College in Amarillo, hosted Professor Joe Weldon Specht (born c 1944) of McMurry University of Abilene, Texas, in a presentation entitled, "Amarillo by Morning: The Life and Songs of Terry Stafford".
