May 9, 2008 — Jerry Wallace, nicknamed "Mr. Smooth" before he scored a No. 1 country hit in 1972, died Monday of congestive heart failure, the Associated Press reports.
A native of Guilford, Mo., Jerry made his first national impact 50 years ago with "How The Time Flies," a pop hit released on the Gene Autry-owned Challenge label. In 1959, he garnered a million-seller with "Primrose Lane," and in 1964, he added a Top 20 single with "In The Misty Moonlight."
His career was resuscitated during the early 1970s with a shift into country music, where he netted five Top 15 hits. His biggest came with "If You Leave Me Tonight I’ll Cry," a song that first appeared in an episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery in January 1972. Jerry got the chance to record it primarily because he sounded similar to Nat "King" Cole, who the producers wanted to emulate with the song. Viewers were intrigued by the tune and prodded its release as a single. It became the only No. 1 single of Jerry’s career.
He performed only occasionally in recent years, effectively retiring from show business in the late 1970s.
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