One of country's most enduring songwriters, Dallas Frazier was born on October 27, 1939, in Spiro, OK. Raised in Bakersfield, CA, he was skilled on a number of musical instruments by the age of 12; while still in his teens, he became a featured member of Ferlin Husky's band, cutting his first solo single, "Space Command," in 1954. Soon after, he was named a regular on the Hometown Jamboree program, where he was often paired with fellow teen star Molly Bee.

In 1957, Frazier scored a hit with a cover of the Hollywood Argyles' "Alley Oop." When Hometown Jamboree was canceled at the end of the decade, he moved to Nashville to work as a songwriter, composing Husky's 1964 hit "Timber I'm Falling." Two years later, his career caught fire; in addition to releasing his own debut album, Elvira, he penned three huge hits