Carl Robert Belew (April 21, 1931 – October 31, 1990) was an American country music singer and songwriter.
Belew recorded for Decca, RCA Victor, and MCA in the 1950s through 1970s, charting 11 times on Hot Country Songs.
He also wrote singles for Johnnie & Jack, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, and others.
Belew recorded for Decca, RCA Victor, and MCA in the 1950s through 1970s, charting 11 times on Hot Country Songs.
He also wrote singles for Johnnie & Jack, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, and others.
Carl Belew grew up as an Oklahoma and Texas farm boy, playing the guitar from an early age. He initially worked as a plumber and in construction. Born in Salina, Oklahoma, Belew's musical career began in the 1950s when he performed on the Louisiana Hayride.
He signed to Decca Records by the end of the decade, reaching number 9 on the country music charts with Am I That Easy to Forget, which was later recorded by Skeeter Davis, Debbie Reynolds, Esther Phillips, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jim Reeves, and others. Also in this period, Johnnie & Jack recorded Belew's Stop the World and Let Me Off, while Andy Williams recorded Lonely Street.
Belew's only other chart entry for Decca was the Number 19 Too Much to Lose, followed by the Number 8 Hello Out There, his first RCA Victor release, in 1962. He continued to write songs for others, including What's He Doing in My World by Eddy Arnold and That's When I See the Blues by Jim Reeves; both Waylon Jennings and Susan Raye charted in the 1970s with covers of Stop the World and Let Me Off.
Carl Belew was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976. In middle age, he was plagued with ill health. He eventually returned to his hometown and succumbed to cancer there at age 59.
He died of cancer on October 31, 1990 in Salina, Oklahoma. His survivors included his wife, Catherine; one son, the Rev. Robert Gene Belew; his mother, Leora Belew; one sister, Leona Sexton; all of Salina; and three grandchildren.
He signed to Decca Records by the end of the decade, reaching number 9 on the country music charts with Am I That Easy to Forget, which was later recorded by Skeeter Davis, Debbie Reynolds, Esther Phillips, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jim Reeves, and others. Also in this period, Johnnie & Jack recorded Belew's Stop the World and Let Me Off, while Andy Williams recorded Lonely Street.
Belew's only other chart entry for Decca was the Number 19 Too Much to Lose, followed by the Number 8 Hello Out There, his first RCA Victor release, in 1962. He continued to write songs for others, including What's He Doing in My World by Eddy Arnold and That's When I See the Blues by Jim Reeves; both Waylon Jennings and Susan Raye charted in the 1970s with covers of Stop the World and Let Me Off.
Carl Belew was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1976. In middle age, he was plagued with ill health. He eventually returned to his hometown and succumbed to cancer there at age 59.
He died of cancer on October 31, 1990 in Salina, Oklahoma. His survivors included his wife, Catherine; one son, the Rev. Robert Gene Belew; his mother, Leora Belew; one sister, Leona Sexton; all of Salina; and three grandchildren.