Marvin Rainwater, a square-jawed, buckskin-wearing country music baritone who had several hit records in the 1950s, died of heart failure Sept. 17 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. He was 88.
Rainwater was best known for the songs he penned and performed including "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird," which was a No. 5 country hit in 1957, but also crossed over to the pop charts, cracking the Top 20 and selling more than 1 million copies.
He also had a tougher rockabilly side, scoring a No. 1 hit in Britain with "Whole Lotta Woman," which was later sung by Lynn Redgrave in the 1966 film "Georgy Girl."
Born July 2, 1925, in Wichita, Kan., he grew up in Depression-era Oklahoma. He later retired in 1974 to garden and enjoy the woods of Aitkin in central Minnesota, though he continued to perform until several years ago.
Rainwater's lifelong affair with music began when his mother took in washing so he could take classical piano lessons. After the tip of his right thumb was lopped off in a garage accident, he switched to the guitar while serving in the Navy during World War II.
In a 1998 interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Rainwater said the accident, "wrecked all that fancy playing. … But when I went in the Navy, I was so lonesome for my music, and I couldn't have it, see, because of my thumb."
Although Rainwater majored in math at Washington State University, his career in music took off after he placed first on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scout" show in 1955. He won national exposure and a recording contract as a result.
He became a regular on Red Foley's series "Ozark Jubilee," and appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show," "American Bandstand," and at the Grand Ole Opry.
