Big Al Downing

Big Al Downing (9 January 1940 – 4 July 2005) was an American entertainer, singer, songwriter, and pianist.

He was a guest performer in Hee Haw.

Career Highlights
Downing began his career doing piano and vocals in Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats, who were an early backing band for country entertainer Wanda Jackson. His piano contributed to the single "Let’s Have A Party", which was released in 1960. The song reached #32 on the UK charts and made the Top 40 on the U.S. pop chart.

Downing reached the U.S. Hot 100 with "You'll Never Miss the Water (Till the Well Runs Dry)", a duet with Little Esther Phillips. After the release of this single, he was signed by Warner Brothers. In 1974, Downing recorded the single, "I'll Be Holding On", which went to number one on the U.S. Disco charts for three weeks. In addition, "I'll Be Holding On" was a hit in Europe. On the other US charts, the single went to #31 on the soul chart and #85 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Al Downing's popularity continued to grow, and he had several hits on the country charts between 1978 and 1989. He compiled a list of his own songs, which he presented to his producer at Warner Brothers. In 1978, "Mr. Jones" reached the Top 20, followed by "Touch Me (I'll Be Your Fool Once More)" in 1979. That same year, Downing produced "Midnight Lace," which reached the 50s on the charts, and "I Ain't No Fool," which peaked at the upper 70s. In 1980, "The Story Behind the Story" reached the Top 40, and "Bring It On Home" reached the Top 20.

Two years passed before Downing created another hit, this time with the Team label. In 1982, "I'll Be Loving You" reached the Top 50, followed by "Darlene," which reached the lower 60s. The next year, "It Takes Love" reached the Top 40, followed by "Let's Sing About Love," which peaked in the mid-60s. In 1984, "The Best of Families" became a Top 50 hit; That same year, Downing released his final hit with the Team label, "There'll Never Be a Better Night for Being Wrong".

In 1987, "Big Al" was signed by the Vine Street label, which released the "Oh How Beautiful You Are" (To Me) and "Just One Night Won't Do", both of which hit the Top 70. Two years later, he was signed by Door Knob Records, with whom he produced the 1989 Top 100 hit, "I Guess By Now".

The popular entertainer Fats Domino recorded two songs written by Downing: "Mary, Oh Mary" and "Heartbreak Hill". Bobby "Blue" Bland and Tom Jones have also recorded Downing's songs.

Downing built a five-decade career around his powerful singing voice and his hard-driving rockabilly-style piano. Downing's compilations of earlier work have been released throughout the world. In Europe, Crazy Music obtained exclusive rights for the original Team label recordings and released these in the form of a two-CD compilation, Classic Collection. This also contained some of Downing's earlier hits, including "Mr. Jones". He was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and was a frequent performer at the Grand Ole Opry. Downing was nominated as Best New Artist by the Academy of Country Music.