Shorty Long

Motown Singer-Songwriter and Pianist

American singer, songwriter, musician, specializing in country & rockabilly. Noted for playing piano on some 1956 recordings by Elvis Presley, as leader of The Santa Fe Rangers, & for his Broadway stint in the 1956 musical The Most Happy Fella. Born October 31, 1923, in Reading, Pennsylvania, 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 The Santa Fe Rangers, whom with he appeared in the 1948 movie Powder River Gunfire. Long settled in Pennsylvania, where he and his wife, Dolly Dimples [ Dolly Long ], put on country-music shows. [born]: October 31, 1923 [died ]: October 25, 1991. ------------------------ please do not confuse with: - Detroit Motown/Soul/Tamla labels soul / r&b singer Shorty Long (2) - Hip-hop's Shorty Long