Darrell Glenn

Who was Darrell Glenn?

Darrell Glenn made his mark in the music business with his 1953 recording of "Crying In the Chapel", written by his dad, Artie Glenn.

His early recordings appeared on the Valley Records label out of Knoxville, TN, produced by Floyd Wilson, who penned one of Glenn's best recordings,"I Think I'm Falling In Love With You". Darrell's recording was originally recorded as a demo in professional studios in Ft. Worth, TX for the purpose of his dad, Artie, placing the song with a publisher. After being turned down by several major publishers, including Hill & Range and Acuff-Rose, it was accepted by Valley Publishers, who agreed to release the same demo recording as their first Valley Records release in 1953. The recording was too long, however, to be released as a single, and a piano break was edited out, and the edited demo record was then released as the single.

"Crying in the Chapel" was "covered" in the Pop field by June Valli, Sonny Til & the Orioles in the R&B field and some ten or so years later by Elvis Presley; all versions becoming major hits. In 1959, Glenn re-recorded "Crying in the Chapel" for National Recording Corporation as the title track of an album of inspirational songs. Background artists who appeared on Darrell Glenn's NRC Records included Joe South, Ray Stevens, and Jerry Reed. The album has been re-released on CD by NRC. Glenn penned the Elvis release "Indescribably Blue".