SOVINE, RED
(1918–1980)
SOVINE, RED (b. Woodrow Wilson S. , Charleston, W. Va., July 17, 1918–April 4, 1980) Sovine was a 1950s honky-tonker who later gained fame thanks to his touching country recitations, culminating in the million-seller Teddy Bear, which should win an award as an all-time hanky soaker. Raised in West Virginia, Red had his first professional job on his hometown radio station, playing with Jim Pike's Carolina Tar Heels in the mid-1930s; later he performed on radio out of Wheeling. After World War II…