Thomas Wayne
Thomas Wayne Perkins (July 22, 1940 – August 15, 1971) was an American singer. He is best remembered as a one-hit wonder for "Tragedy".
Thomas Wayne
- Name
- Thomas Wayne
- Born
- 22 July 1940
- Birthplace
- Batesville, Mississippi, U.S.
- Place of death
- Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
- Died
- 15 August 1971
- Full name
- Thomas Wayne Perkins.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- musician · singer
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Thomas Wayne Perkins (July 22, 1940 – August 15, 1971) was an American singer. He is best remembered as a one-hit wonder for "Tragedy".
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identity unresolved · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
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wikidata · Q2428042
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Thomas Wayne • Born — 22 July 1940 • Birthplace — Batesville, Mississippi, U.S. • Place of death — Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. • Died — 15 August 1971 • Genre — Rockabilly, rock and roll, R&B, pop • Label — Fernwood, Mercury Phillips International • Years Active — 1958–1964 Thomas Wayne Perkins (July 22, 1940 – August 15, 1971) was an American singer. He is best remembered as a one-hit wonder for "Tragedy".
Career
Career
Wayne was the brother of Johnny Cash's guitarist, Luther Perkins. He released several singles between 1958 and 1964, primarily on the labels Fernwood and Mercury, including "This Time", which would later become a hit for Troy Shondell. He scored a major U.S. hit with the song “Tragedy" (credited to Thomas Wayne with the DeLons), which peaked at No. 20 on the R&B Singles chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning gold disc status. The song proved to be his only hit, however. Later, Wayne worked as a sound engineer, before he died in a car accident, at the age of 31, in Memphis in 1971.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ken Burke, Dan Griffin: The Blue Moon Boys: The Story of Elvis Presley’s Band. Chicago Review Press, 2006, ISBN 1-55652-614-8, S. 124
- 2.Ken Burke, Dan Griffin: The Blue Moon Boys: The Story of Elvis Presley’s Band. Chicago Review Press, 2006, ISBN 1-55652-614-8, S. 126
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