Джордж Гамильтон IV: Американский кантри-музыкант

American country musician (1937–2014)

George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s.

Hamilton was born in Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States, on July 19, 1937, the son of Moravian parents George Hege Hamilton III and Mary Lilian (née Pendry). He was introduced to country music by his paternal grandfather, a railroad worker. His great grandfather, the first George Hege Hamilton, was a farmer, of a family that came from Scotland to America in 1685. George Hamilton IV attended Richard J. Reynolds High School, and is among several notable singers and songwriters to have attended that school, including Peter Holsapple and Greg Humphreys. While a 19 year old student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton recorded "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" for a Chapel Hill record label, Colonial Records. The self penned B side of the record, "If You Don't Know, I Ain't Gonna Tell You", revealed Hamilton's ambitions to be a rockabilly country singer. On February 8, 1960, Hamilton officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Later that same year, he began recording for RCA Records, having been signed by Chet Atkins. In the 1970s, Hamilton was the first American country singer to have his own British TV series on BBC. He also hosted a successful TV series in Canada for six years in the late 1970s. In the 1990s, he played himself in the West End musical Patsy, based on the life of Patsy Cline. In the 1980s, Hamilton appeared with Billy Graham on Ministry Tours throughout the United States and Canada, and including the UK tour "Mission England". Until the very late years of his life, Hamilton was a regular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and in country shows throughout the U. S. and the UK. Hamilton celebrated his 50th year as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2010. He mainly concentrated on gospel tours both at home and abroad. In 2007, he collaborated with Live Issue, a group from Northern Ireland, to record a live album based on the life of Joseph Scriven, who wrote the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus". The two also toured together again in 2009. In 2008, at the height of the soaring U. S. gas prices, Hamilton released "Gasoline", a parody of his classic hit "Abilene". The acoustic single featured "The Oil Spots" (a. k. a. the Moody Brothers & George Hamilton V) and became a hit with audiences during Hamilton's Opry appearances. Hamilton was also a regular participant in the Country's Family Reunion video series. In 2010, Lamon Records released the album Old Fashioned Hymns, recorded transatlantic with producers Dave Moody in Nashville and Colin Elliott in Ireland. Hamilton was joined on the 28 track collection by a number of musical guests, including Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Gail Davies, Pat Boone, Del McCoury, Bill Anderson, Connie Smith, Tommy Cash, Cliff Barrows, and George Beverly Shea, among others.

Hamilton married his high school sweetheart Adelaide "Tink" Peyton and had two sons, George and Peyton, and one daughter, Mary. When he was seven years old, Hamilton's elder son, George Hege Hamilton V, found one of his father's guitars and began writing songs. He became a singer, using the name Hege V, because his father as well as the actor, George Hamilton, were already using the George Hamilton name. The younger Hamilton said his father "never pushed me", but he eventually began playing in nightclubs. On tours, which sometimes included his father, Hege V played rhythm guitar and sang harmony and occasionally the lead, including some of his father's songs. George has four grandchildren including George Hege "Nash" Hamilton VI, On September 24, the Ryman Auditorium hosted a memorial service, which included performances by Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, the Whites, Jett Williams, Gail Davies, Connie Smith, Dave Moody, Jimmy Capps, Barry and Holly Tashian, the Babcocks, Andrew Greer, and Cindy Morgan. Those who shared stories of Hamilton's life and career at the memorial service included English music historian and journalist Tony Byworth, music writer and author Frye Galliard, artists and songwriters John D. Loudermilk and Bill Anderson, Grand Ole Opry general manager Pete Fisher, and WSM announcer Eddie Stubbs. The service concluded with "Amazing Grace" performed on bagpipes by Nashville Pipes and Drums Pipe Sergeant David Goodman. George Hamilton IV is buried in God's Acre Cemetery in Old Salem, North Carolina. The George Hamilton IV Collection is located in the Southern Folklife Collection of the Wilson Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Hamilton was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010. The North Carolina Board of Transportation voted to name a bridge on Business 40 for Hamilton. The ceremony naming the bridge was held on July 19, 2016, which would have been Hamilton's 79th birthday.