Portrait of Billy "Crash" Craddock

Birthday profile

Billy "Crash" Craddock

Billy "Crash" Craddock, American singer-songwriter

Born
June 16, 1939
Age in 2026
87
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1939

About Billy "Crash" Craddock

Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock (born June 16, 1939) is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number-one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961, respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with a string of top-10 country hits, several of which were number ones, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "the King of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his up-tempo, rockabilly-influenced style of country music. == Biography == === Early life === Billy Wayne Craddock was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. He learned how to play guitar from his oldest brother when he was six. At age 11, he entered a local television talent contest and was voted top winner for 15 consecutive weeks. Craddock received the nickname "Crash" while playing running back for the Rankin High School football team. After he left high school, he formed a rockabilly band with one of his brothers called the Four Rebels.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Billy "Crash" Craddock timeline

  1. Craddock's first release was "Smacky-Mouth", which was recorded in 1957 for the local Greensboro Sky Castle label.
  2. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number-one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961, respectively.

The world when Billy "Crash" Craddock was born

Billy "Crash" Craddock was born in 1939. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1939

  • #1 song"Over the Rainbow" – Judy Garland
  • Top movieGone with the Wind
  • Best-selling bookThe Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentLou Gehrig delivers his "Luckiest Man" farewell speech
  • Top headlineGermany invades Poland — World War II begins
  • Technology milestoneFirst regular television broadcasts in the US (NBC)
  • Defining fadThe Wizard of Oz mania
  • Notable inventionNylon stockings
  • World population2.30 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population130.9M

1939 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Billy "Crash" Craddock's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19392026
Gas$0.19$3.45/gal
Average home$5,200$435,000
Average income$2,900$67,500
Minimum wage$0.30$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population130.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.