Minden

Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s. Houston was... born in Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. He was a descendant of Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. His godfather was 1920s pop singer Gene Austin, no relation to Stephen F. Austin, another founder of Texas. Like Austin, Houston lived briefly as a youth in a house at the intersection of Marshall and Goodwill streets in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. Houston was one of the earliest artists with National Recording Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1963, he rose to national stardom with the single "Mountain of Love"; the song, which was different from the tune made famous by composer Harold Dorman, Johnny Rivers, and Charley Pride, rose to number two on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. Another song, "Livin' in a House Full of Love" did just as well. In 1966, Houston recorded his breakthrough secular smash, "Almost Persuaded.
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Gene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and... "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards. Austin was born as Lemeul Eugene Lucas in Gainesville, Texas , to Nova Lucas and the former Serena Belle Harrell . He took the name "Gene Austin" from his stepfather, Jim Austin, a blacksmith. Austin grew up in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, located east of Shreveport. There he learned to play piano and guitar. He ran away from home at 15 and attended a vaudeville act in Houston, Texas, where the audience was allowed to come to the stage and sing. On a dare from his friends, Austin took the stage and sang for the first time since singing as a Southern Baptist choir boy. The audience response was overwhelming, and the vaudeville company immediately offered him a billed spot on their ticket. Austin joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 in hopes of being dispatched to Europe to fight in World War I.
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Billy Henry Robertson , known as Bill Robertson, is the Democratic mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern... Louisiana, United States, having served since his initial election on November 6, 1990. On August 9, 2008, Robertson was elected president of the Louisiana Municipal Association at the group's annual convention in Lafayette. He succeeded outgoing LMA President Clarence R. Fields, the mayor of Pineville. Robertson won his sixth consecutive four-year term on October 2, 2010. He polled 1,885 votes against the Republican candidate, Alton Monroe "Al" Hortman, who also ran in 2006, and two "No Party" candidates, Deric Tate and Larry Botzong. Hortman fnished with 737 votes; Tate, 749 , and Botzong, 170 . In the 2006 general election, Robertson polled 2,054 votes and carried nine of the city's fifteen precincts. Hortman then trailed with 1,596 ballots and led in the six other precincts. Hortman hence received less than half the support in 2010 as he had in 2006. Robertson was born to Mr. and Mrs.
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Percy Mayfield was an American songwriter famous for the songs "Hit the Road Jack" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love", as well as a successful... rhythm and blues artist known for his smooth vocal style. Mayfield was born in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana. As a youth, his talent for poetry led him into songwriting and singing. He began his performing career in Texas, and then moved to Los Angeles, California in 1942; success as a singer continued to elude him. In 1947, a small record label, Swing Time, signed him to record his song "Two Years of Torture." The song sold steadily over the next few years, prompting Art Rupe to sign Mayfield to his label, Specialty Records in 1950. Although his vocal style was influenced by such stylists as Charles Brown, Mayfield did not focus on the white market, unlike many West Coast bluesmen. Rather, he sang blues ballads, mostly his own songs, in a gentle vocal style. His most famous recording, "Please Send Me Someone to Love", a number one R&B hit single in 1950, was widely influential and recorded by many other singers.
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