Red Simpson born 6 March 1934

Joseph Simpson was born in Higley, Arizona to John and Lille Simpson, migrant farmworkers born in the South and driven west by the Dust Bowl. He was the youngest of 12. His father played the banjo, his sisters sang harmony. Music was ever-present in the home. The Simpsons arrived in Bakersfield in 1937. Young Red (nicknamed for his red hair) mowed lawns and shined shoes. He graduated from Bakersfield High. 

Simpson was just 18 when he shipped off to Korea. Aboard the U.S.S. Repose, a hospital ship, he met some fellow sailors who played music. They formed the Repose Ramblers, and every night aboard ship, right before the evening movie, they sang and picked for 30 minutes. Simpson mustered out of the Navy in 1955 and went to Bakersfield College on the G.I. Bill to learn sheet-metal work. What he really wanted to do was get on stage and pick guitar in the Bakersfield area’s many nightclubs. He eventually started studying piano, getting tips from Buck Owens, George French, and Lawrence Williams, and in 1956, when Williams left Fuzzy Owen’s band at the Clover Club, Owen offered Simpson the job. After working for next to nothing for so long, Simpson was finally playing for what the boys called “whiskey money.” 

He then got a job replacing Buck Owens at the Blackboard Club on weekends. Simpson who was influenced by Owens and Merle Haggard, helped forge a more twangy, edgier alternative to the then-dominant Nashville country sound. The Bakersfield sound, as it came to be called, channelled the distinct agri-industrial working culture of the Central Valley and incorporated flourishes of rock and Latin music. Simpson epitomized the working-class elements of this classic California music. Simpson began writing songs with Owens in 1962, including the Top Ten hit "Gonna Have Love." 

In 1965, Capitol Records producer Ken Nelson was looking for someone to record some songs about trucking. His first choice was Haggard, who wasn't interested, but Simpson readily agreed. In Bakersfield, working-class life revolved around State Route 99. Although Simpson never drove a truck, big rigs were the lifeblood of his highway hometown. His first record, Tommy Collins'"Roll, Truck, Roll," became a Top 40 country hit and Simpson recorded an album of the same name. That year he offered up two more trucking songs, both of which made it to the Top 50 or beyond. As a songwriter, he scored his first number one hit with "Sam's Place," recorded by Buck Owens. After that, Simpson decided to become a full-time writer. He returned to performing in 1971 with his Top Five hit "I'm a Truck," which had been written by postman Bob Staunton. 

In 1972, he debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and had two more "truck" hits for Capitol. In 1976, Simpson signed to Warner Brothers and released "Truck Driver's Heaven." The following year, he teamed up with Lorraine Walden for a series of duets that included "Truck Driver Man and Wife." In 1979, Simpson appeared for the last time on the charts with "The Flying Saucer Man and the Truck Driver." Haggard recorded his song "Lucky Old Colorado" in 1988. Later that year Simpson was diagnosed with skin cancer and underwent surgery. He fully recovered and continued his writing and performing career. 

In the 1995, Red re-entered the studio to record a pair of duets with Junior Brown  "Semi Crazy" and "Nitro Express". Simpson performed frequently in the Bakersfield area, including a regular Monday night gig at Trout's in Oildale. Simpson's most recent release is "Hey, Bin Laden". He was also working on a project with Windsor Music tentatively entitled The Bard of Bakersfield. Simpson also appeared alongside Bakersfield business owner Gene Thome on his ode to Simpson, Haggard, and Owens "It's a Bakersfield Thing" released in early 2015. 

He performed up until the last weeks of his life, making twice-weekly regular appearances at Bakersfield clubs to appreciative and mostly elderly audiences especially on Monday nights at Trout’s nightclub in Oildale. Simpson had suffered a heart attack on the 18^th December 2015, after returning from a concert tour of the Pacific Northwest. Many friends and well-wishers had hoped he was on the mend and might even return to his familiar Monday night gig, but he died on January 8, 2016, at a hospital in Bakersfield. He was 81. He was 81 years old. 

Simpson completed his most recent album in December 2015 entitled Soda Pops and Saturdays with Mario Carboni. The album was recorded in Portland, Oregon, and featured 12 tracks. Simpson plays guitar and sings lead and backup vocals on this album. Carboni plays piano, strings, and backup vocals. The album was scheduled to be released on February 4, 2016; instead, it was released on January 9, 2016, after his death. Simpson was posthumously honoured at the 2016 Ameripolitan awards. His son David Simpson accepted the "Founder of the Sound" award on his behalf. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Los Angeles Times & The Bakersfield Californian)