Fred Stobaugh (August 22, 1917 – November 23, 2016) was a retired truck driver from Peoria, Illinois who became a viral sensation as a songwriter. A documentary video about the making of the song Oh Sweet Lorraine, based on a text that Stobaugh wrote for his wife of 72 years, became a viral video in September 2013. The song based on his text subsequently entered the Billboard Hot 100 as well as other international charts.
Fred Stobaugh | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1917 |
| Died | November 23, 2016 (aged 99) Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Known for | Writing Oh Sweet Lorraine |
| Spouse |
Lorraine Dinquel
(m. 1940; died 2013) |
| Children | 3 daughters |
Life and work
editStobaugh first met his future wife Lorraine Dinquel in 1938.[1] The couple married in 1940 and later had three daughters.[2] His wife died on April 26, 2013, only two months before the couple's 73rd wedding anniversary.[1]
A few months later he wrote the song Oh Sweet Lorraine and entered a singer-songwriter competition hosted by Green Shoe Studio. The video of their recording sessions attracted more than seven million hits on YouTube and Vimeo.[3][4][5]
In September 2013 the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 42, making him the oldest artist to appear on the Hot 100.[6] It also entered the Swiss Hitparade and the Ö3 Austria Top 40. On August 22, 2014, his 97th birthday, Stobaugh released a second song, Took Her Home.[7] The next week, Green Shoe Studio posted several follow-up documentary videos on Fred's story and the public's response.[8] He died in November 2016 at the age of 99.[9]
Discography
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] |
BEL (Fl) [10] |
CH [11] |
AT [12] | ||
| "Oh Sweet Lorraine" | 2013 | 42 | 42 | 31 | 14 |
| "Took Her Home" | 2014 | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b Danielle Hatch: Peorian's song to late wife goes viral, Peoria Journal Star, August 27, 2013
- ^ Lorraine Stobaugh – Obituary, legacy.com
- ^ "96-year-old widower Fred Stobaugh becomes YouTube sensation with song 'Oh Sweet Lorraine'". Fox News. 28 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ^ A Letter From Fred on YouTube
- ^ A Letter From Fred, vimeo.com
- ^ a b Fred Stobaugh, 96, Becomes Oldest Artist To Appear On Hot 100
- ^ "Hot 100 Record-Breaker Fred Stobaugh, 97, Returns With New Song". Billboard. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ A Letter From Fred: The Complete Story, a 6-part series, greenshoestudio.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "Fred Stobaugh Obituary - Bartonville, IL".
- ^ "Discography Fred Stobaugh". ultratop.be. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
- ^ Green Shoe Studio feat. Jacob Colgan & Fred Stobaugh – Oh Sweet Lorraine, hitparade.ch
- ^ Ö3 Austria Top 40 Single Charts Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine, oe3.orf.at
External links
edit- A Letter From Fred at greenshoestudio.com