He pursued his music career further when he settled in
Shreveport, Louisiana to work as a
deejay for the radio station
KTBS and later for KRUS. In 1954, Blake persuaded the Rhythm Rebels, a duo featuring Carl Adams (lead guitar) and Eddie Hall (bass guitar), to operate as his backing group as he began touring on the live circuit and appearing on Southern television programs to gain exposure. On one such program,
Louisiana Hayride, Blake closely observed the approach of
Elvis Presley whose momentous performance on the show convinced Blake to adopt characteristics of
rock and roll. To capitalize on the craze for
rockabilly that began to dominate the American charts, Blake recorded his debut single, "Koolit", in 1956. "Koolit" was issued by Young Records in April but it failed to chart. RCA's competitor
Columbia Records quickly released Horton's version in April 1957 under the title "The Woman I Need". Horton enjoyed a Top 10 hit on
Billboard's country charts while Blake's rendition was shelved. Under advisement from RCA executives, Atkins released the other two songs recorded from Blake's session, "Freedom" and "Mister Hoody", then nullified his recording contract. Undeterred, Blake accepted a deal with
Sun Records after
Sam Philips met him at a disc jockey convention in Memphis. Blake worked at the label's famous
RCA Studio B; he is the first recording artist to do so. Sun Records released Blake's single "Flat Foot Sam" on September 14, 1957: it sold well in regional markets and earned Blake his first brush with success. Furthermore, it instilled confidence in Sun Records to bring Blake back for a follow-up recording session that resulted in nine songs. Among the sides was "Ballad of a Broken Heart", his own self-penned composition that was later recorded by
Johnny Cash as "Story of a Broken Heart". "Sweetie Pie" and "I Dig You Baby" were paired together for a single in 1958 but it sold poorly. Sensing he had little hope with writing pop songs, Blake struck a songwriting partnership with
Jerry Ross to work for country artists. In 1959, Blake began collaborating with
Carl Belew, an already established songwriter who had his first major success with
Johnnie and Jack. Together, they achieved their biggest success with "
Tender Years". However, they sold the rights to Darrell Edwards who pitched it to
George Jones in 1961, taking the song to number one on the country charts. The Blake-Belew partnership is credited with a number of charting hits recorded by
Charlie Walker,
Stonewall Jackson,
Jim Reeves,
Del Reeves, and
Mel Tillis, among others. Nonetheless, Blake was disenchanted with the music industry, embittered by his inability to record a successful tune himself. He worked for minor labels in the late 1960s before retiring the following decade. == Personal life ==