HENSON CARGILL

Birth: Feb. 5, 1941, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
Death: Mar. 24, 2007, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma

Oklahoma-born country singer Cargill dies at 66

Funeral set Thursday for ‘Skip a Rope’ singer 

Funeral services for Oklahoma City-born country music star Henson Cargill will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Highland Hills Baptist Church, 7900 Devore.

The singer died Saturday in Oklahoma City from complications following surgery. He was 66. 
Cargill graduated from Northwest Classen High School. 
He was best-known for his million-selling 1968 hit “Skip a Rope.” 

Cargill also owned and operated Henson’s in the 1980s, a west-Oklahoma City country music showplace that hosted such acts as Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, Glenn Campbell, Waylon Jennings and Cargill’s friend and mentor, Johnny Cash. 

Cash became Cargill’s friend and adviser. Cash urged Cargill to go to Nashville, Tenn., and record. His first hit, “Skip a Rope,” topped the country charts for five weeks and was also a crossover success in the pop music charts. 
Cargill’s other hits included “None of My Business” and “The Most Uncomplicated Good-Bye I’ve Ever Heard.” 

Cargill is survived by two sons, Cash Cargill of Edmond and Clayton K. Cargill of Eagle Rock, Mo.; daughter Nicole Duran of Edmond; five sisters, Carol Lash of Oklahoma City, Christy Best of Santa Cruz., Calif., Angela St. John of Montrose, Colo., Jennifer Cargill of Chicago, and Kima Cargill of Seattle; one brother, John R. Cargill of Santa Cruz, Calif.; and four grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by his older brother, O.A. Cargill III. 

Daily Oklahoman, The
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
March 27, 2007, page 16A

Henson Cargill, age 66, national country music recording artist, died in Oklahoma City Saturday, March 24, 2007 from complications following surgery earlier in the week. Henson was born at in Oklahoma City, February 5, 1941. 

He was born into a prominent Oklahoma family, as his grandfather O.A. Cargill was a longtime attorney and former Mayor of Oklahoma City. His father was O.A. Cargill Jr., also a longtime attorney, and his mother was Nadine Henson. Both preceded him in death. Henson went to Lynwood Elementary, Taft Junior High, and graduated from NW Classen High School.

Henson married his high school sweetheart, Marta DuPree in 1959 and soon after, they moved together to Fort Collins, Colorado where Henson attended Colorado State University where he planned to study Veterinary Medicine. He was a member of the nationally acclaimed rodeo team as a calf roper. While in school, he sang at many of the local dances and became a very popular act with the college crowd. His rediscovered joy of performing before people and his longing for the family and ranch back in Oklahoma, made him decide to leave his studies and come back home. After arriving back home in 1962, the young couple had their first son, Cash who Henson named after one of his heroes in the music business, Johnny Cash who would later become his good friend, advisor, and godfather to his son. Henson worked for the Oklahoma County court clerk's office, was a private investigator and eventually ended up working for the sheriff's department. Although he enjoyed his work, performing was his real love. A high school friend and musician Johnny Johnson introduced him to a musical group called the Kimberleys who were playing nightclubs and television around the country. Henson went on the road with them and eventually formed his own group to tour with. He became wildly popular in the northwest part of the country and soon was offered and accepted a hosting job for a nationally syndicated television show called "The Country Hayride". Although making a good living for his now growing family with second son, Clayton and daughter, Nicole, born in 1966 and 1967, he was told by his friend Johnny Cash to go to Nashville and record. After several disheartening trips to Nashville, Henson met a veteran producer named Don Law who believed in him and vowed to find him some good material to record. In 1968, Henson recorded "Skip The Rope" which became a smash hit quickly selling over 1 million copies and being the first song to ever cross over from country to pop charts. His career skyrocketed and he became a real national music figure. He was nominated most promising male vocalist, was a Grammy award nominee and won numerous ASCAP achievement awards. For the next decade, Henson was everywhere from being the spokesman for the original 7-up the "Uncola" campaign to headlining in Las Vegas where critic Joe Delaney said "Henson Cargill may be one of the best entertainers ever to set foot on a Las Vegas stage" and the NY Times said "Henson is sensational! His superb stage presence and down home humor has made him a show stopper!"

In 1981, Henson told his family he was coming off the road and going to build a county music showplace in Oklahoma City. The night club called HENSONS was a fabulous first class show place. He would be proud to ask top entertainers to perform in. Fans could see him as well as all the major country acts of the day. Some of the artists that performed there included Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, Glenn Campbell, Waylon Jennings, and many more. Henson Cargill's career spanned some 35 years with some 15 national chart records, 9 LP's, 12 National TV appearances, Reno Nevada's Entertainer of the Year and his own record label.

He is survived by his son, Cash Cargill, of Edmond; son, Clayton K. Cargill, of Eagle Rock, MO; daughter, Nicole Duran and her husband Johnny of Edmond; four sisters, Carol Lash of Oklahoma City, Christy Best of Santa Cruz, CA, Angela St. John of Montrose, CO, Jennifer Cargill of Chicago, IL and Kima Cargill of Seatle, WA; one brother, John R. Cargill of Santa Cruz, CA. He has four grandchildren, Henson Christopher Duran, Savannah Nicole Cargill, Calli Nicole Duran and Katie Renee Cargill, all of Edmond, OK and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his older brother, O.A. Cargill III. Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 19, 2007 at Highland Hills Baptist Church at 7900 Devore (just north of NW Expressway on Council) with interment at Memorial Park Cemetery. Services are under the direction of the Matthews Funeral Home, Edmond, OK.

Diddy Wah
http://diddywah.blogspot.com 
viewed May 31, 2007

The Uncomplicated Henson Cargill ~ Henson Cargill hails from Oklahoma City where, after following in his father's footsteps and studying law, he worked as a deputy sheriff before heading to Nashville to become a country music star. Cargill sings in a timbre similar to Elvis without the southern drawl...

CMT
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/cargill_henson
viewed May 31, 2007

Henson Cargill had tried his hand at being a lawyer, rancher, and deputy sheriff before settling on country music as a career after returning to Oklahoma from Colorado State University...

During the 1980s and '90s, Cargill was a fixture on the Las Vegas/Reno casino entertainment circuit. In 2003, he issued All American Cowboy through his website.

monroenews.com
http://www.monroenews.com
viewed May 31, 2007

Henson Cargill, whose 1968 hit "Skip a Rope" topped the country charts with its understated take on social problems, has died. He was 66.

Cargill died Saturday following complications from surgery, Matthews Funeral Home in Edmond, Okla., confirmed.

"Skip a Rope" made it to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart and was a top 25 crossover success in the pop music chart.

A New York Times review in 1968 called the song "a little morality lesson within the context of a child's skip-rope rhyme.

The verses refer to marital discord, tax cheating and racial prejudice, with the refrain: "Skip a rope, skip a rope. Oh, listen to the children while they play. Ain't it kind of funny what the children say, skip a rope."

Written by Jack Moran and Glen Douglas Tubb, "Skip a Rope" was nominated for 1968 song of the year by the Country Music Association awards, according to the CMA Web site.

Cargill owned and operated a west Oklahoma City country music showplace in the 1980s called Henson's. It featured such performers as Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, Glenn Campbell, Waylon Jennings and Cargill's friend and mentor, Johnny Cash.