Sovine's own early morning show was not popular, but he gained greater exposure performing on the famed KWKH radio program, Louisiana Hayride.
[1] One of his co-stars was Hank Williams, who steered Sovine toward a better time slot at WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama, and toward a contract with MGM Records in 1949.
That same year, Sovine was seriously injured in a car accident that claimed the lives of two of his band members, Douglas Nicks and Johnny Morris.
In 1963, Sovine passed on the helping hand given him by older performers when he heard the singing of minor league baseball player Charley Pride and suggested that he move to Nashville, Tennessee.
Sovine opened doors for Pride at Pierce's Cedarwood Publishing, but his own career had stalled: "Dream House For Sale", which reached number 22 in 1964, came nearly eight years after his last hit.
[5] On April 4, 1980, Sovine suffered a heart attack while driving in southern Nashville, causing him to run a red light and strike an oncoming vehicle.
According to a preliminary autopsy, Sovine sustained massive abdominal bleeding caused by a lacerated spleen and liver, and fractured ribs and sternum.