Norville Dollar (21 November 1936 – 25 August 2021) was a country western artist and a prolific song writer.
Norville Paul Dollar was born in Hematite, Missouri, the third of Robert and Celeste Vinyard Dollar's five children. He was raised in the Festus, Missouri area, which is just south of St. Louis. He was an early and enthusiastic fan of country music. He got his first guitar when he was just fourteen years old. A friend showed him how to play a few chords; but he learned the rest on his own and never did have a formal music lesson. For the next few years, like an old bluesman of days past, he diligently picked his guitar under the comfort of a family shade tree. In due time, Dollar became proficient enough to land paying gigs at honky-tonks around Jefferson County.
Years rolled by and Dollar continued to ply his trade, doing his best to channel the achingly-beautiful compositions of Hank Williams and other purveyors of "traditional country." He toured regionally, in Missouri, Arkansas and Texas, making use of his voice, a rumbling baritone carrying more than a hint of George Jones. After years paying dues as a musical vagabond, playing a traditional country sound that has long left the charts, his career trajectory took a decidedly upward swing. He began recording in the studio, cutting a pair of tracks, "Continental Queen" and "Lonely Man," that began showing up on the local radio with regularity.
Cruising down the highway in a white 1965 Pontiac Bonneville, Dollar heard his voice broadcast over the airwaves for the first time. Soon he was hearing himself belt out songs about "raven-haired" beauties on multiple stations. In 1966, Dollar prepared to take the biggest stage yet — a shot on the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary country stage that has been graced by country royalty for decades. Along the way, Dollar played radio stations, televisions and concerts with luminaries like Loretta Lynn and the old "Possum" himself, George Jones. After two dozen appearances on the Grand Old Opry, and a mega-bill at a sold-out Kiel Auditorium backing Lynn and headliner Marty Robbins, Dollar was riding the crest of a wave of popularity.
Just a short time later Dollar formed his first band and soon got the attention of KPLR-TV, Channel 11, in St. Louis. They signed him up to do a weekly show in the mid-1960's. The Norville Dollar Show was an immediate hit, and soon he was playing host to many of the stars from Nashville at that time. His show gave audiences their first exposures to such stars as Barbara Fairchild and Helen Cornelius, and to Dave "Lonzo" Hooten. Mr. Hooten went on to become "Lonzo" of the famed Grand Ole Opry comedy team Lonzo and Oscar. He had another run on KPLR-TV, which by this time was being aired over cable television as well as over the air - in the mid-1970's. This gave him a much wider audience and consequently opened many doors for his music career. Among these were several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.
Norville has always been a prolific song writer, and his songs have been produced and recorded by artists on labels such as Nugget Records, Chart Records, and Saturday Records. All have done well, but one in particular, Lonely Man, reached the Number 5 spot on the charts at radio station WJJD in Chicago. The popularity of his songs led to many live appearances throughout the East. Then, fed up with the strain on his family, he decided to end his career while still a young man and founded the Norville Dollar Construction Company in the Festus area.
He died at his home in Festus, Missouri, on Aug. 25, 2021, at the age of 84 years.
(Edited from Ron Vinyard’s bio @ Hillbilly-Music & St. Louis Post Despatch)