Shorty Long (3)

American singer, songwriter, musician, specializing in country & rockabilly. Noted for playing piano on some 1956 recordings by [a=Elvis Presley], as leader of [a=The Santa Fe Rangers], & for his Broadway stint in the 1956 musical [i]The Most Happy Fella[/i].

[b]Please do not confuse with: Hip-hop's [a=Shorty Long] or

Detroit Motown/Soul/Tamla labels soul / r&b singer [a=Shorty Long (2)][/b]

Born October 31, 1923 in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA.

Died October 25, 1991 in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA.

Long, at 14 years of age, was sent to study music at the College of Rome where he specialized on the violin & studied classical music. He also sang well with his tenor voice, played accordion, & preferred the country fiddle to the violin. Back in the U.S.A., he recorded many singles as a vocalist in the 1940's. Long spent many years in Santa Fe as the leader of [a=The Santa Fe Rangers], whom with he appeared in the 1948 movie [i]Powder River Gunfire[/i].

Long settled in Pennsylvania, where he and his wife, Dolly Dimples [ [a=Dolly Long] ], put on country-music shows. The couple appeared at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee; on local TV, and on radio stations WEEV, Reading, WPAZ, Pottstown, WVLV, Lebanon, and WWVA, Wheeling, West Virginia.