Ira Louvin

Induction Year: 1979

Birth Name: Ira Lonnie Loudermilk

Birth Date: 04-21-1924

Place of Birth: Henagar, Alabama

Death Date: 06-20-1965

Place of Death: Williamsburg, Missouri

Brotherly harmony. There's nothing sweeter and more emotionally stirring than the tight-knit sound produced by shared timbre, vibrato and DNA. And in country music, no one ever did it better than the Louvin Brothers.

Born Charles and Ira Loudermilk (they were cousins of fellow Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer John D. Loudermilk), the brothers grew up poor in the hill country of Alabama. Brothers, they began singing together. With Charlie on guitar and Ira on mandolin, the boys landed a job on a local radio station.

Their budding career would be interrupted over the next few years due to Charlie's service in both World War II and the Korean War. But after recording a few unsuccessful sides for Decca and MGM, they settled in Memphis, where they worked as postal clerks while sharpening their act. Along the way, they shortened their last name. Their big break came in 1952, after signing a publishing deal with Acuff-Rose Publications. That led to a record deal with Capitol and their first successful single, "The Family That Prays," which they wrote.

When they joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1955, the tobacco company that was one of the sponsors of the show told them "You can't sell tobacco with gospel music." This helped spur their first self-penned country hit, "When I Stop Dreaming" (1955).

With the seismic shifts of rock & roll, the Louvins soon sounded dated, eclipsed in popularity by their acolytes in harmony, the Everly Brothers. After producer Ken Nelson told Ira that his mandolin was hindering their sales, he sank into a depression. He drank. The brothers fought, and then split in 1963.

Subsequently, Charlie went on to have more than 30 country chart hits on his own, including "I Don't Love You Anymore" and "Something to Brag About." Ira's fate was an unhappy one. In 1963, after an alcohol-fueled fight with his third wife, she shot and nearly killed him. He finally got back to performing, but in 1965, he and his fourth wife were killed in a car crash.

The Louvin Brothers' co-written songs have proven to be as influential as their high-harmony sound, and their compositions have been kept alive by artists from the Wilburn Brothers to Gram Parsons to Emmylou Harris. The Louvins were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Charlie passed away in 2011.

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Song Catalog

 

"Are You Afraid to Die"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk, Eddie Hill)

The Louvin Brothers1959 
Nashville Bluegrass Band1987 
Ricky Skaggs1999 

"Are You Teasing Me"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Carl Smith1952 #1 country
The Louvin Brothers1958 
Hank Locklin1967 
Jim & Jesse1969 
Melba Montgomery1971 
Gail Davies1978 
Patty Loveless & Jon Randall2003 

"Cash on the Barrelhead"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1956 #10 country
Jim & Jesse1969 
Gram Parsons1973 
Ronnie Sessions1978 #72 country
Dolly Parton1999 
Joe Nichols & Rhonda Vincent2003 
 

"Come and Knock (On the Door of My Heart)"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Roy Acuff1959 #20 country
 

"Everytime You Leave"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1963 
Charlie Louvin1968 
Emmylou Harris1979 
 

"God Bless Her (Cause She Is My Mother)"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk, Eddie Hill)

The Louvin Brothers1958 
George Jones & Melba Montgomery1963 
 

"I Just Love the Way You Tell a Lie"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Don Gibson1953 
 

"I See a Bridge"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Porter Wagoner1966 
 

"I Take the Chance"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk))

The Browns1956 #2 country
Billy Walker1961 
George Jones1962 
Ernest Ashworth1963 #7 country
Ed Bruce1981 
Kathy Edge1987 #89 country
 

"I'm Just Blue Enough"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Jimmy Dickens1960 
George Jones1964 

"If I Could Only Win Your Love"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1958 
Emmylou Harris1975 #4 country
Tammy Wynette1976 
Ronnie Dunn & Rebecca Lynn Howard2003 
 

"Just as Long as You Love Me"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Browns1956 #11 country
 

"New Partner Waltz"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Osborne Brothers1963 
Linda Ronstadt & Carl Jackson2003 
 

"Plenty of Everything but You"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1957 #14 country
 

"The Angels Rejoiced Last Night"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1959 
Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris1976 
Nicolette Larson1978 
Emmylou Harris1996 

"The Christian Life"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1959 
The Byrds1968 
 

"The Family Who Prays (Never Shall Part)"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1952 
Porter Wagoner1966 
Roy Acuff1969 
The Browns1996 
 

"There's a Higher Power"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1959 
Porter Wagoner1966 
Norma Jean1967 
 

"Weapon of Prayer"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

Red Foley1951 
The Louvin Brothers1962 
The Browns1967 

"When I Stop Dreaming"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1955 #8 country
Skeeter Davis1965 
The Browns1965 
The Wilburn Brothers1965 
Don Gibson1966 
Hank Locklin1968 
Ray Charles1968 
Dottie West & Don Gibson1969 
Hank Williams Jr.1970 
Melba Montgomery1971 
George Jones & Tammy Wynette1973 
The Statler Brothers1973 
Debi Hawkins1975 #88 country
Glen Campbell & Leslie Satcher2003 
 

"You're Learning"

(written with Charlie Elzer Loudermilk)

The Louvin Brothers1961 
Emmylou Harris1980 

Other Media

Ira Louvin

Induction Year: 1979