Terry LaVerne Stafford (November 22, 1941, Hollis, Oklahoma, USA – March 17, 1996, Amarillo, Texas, USA (liver failure) ) was an American singer and songwriter
Born to William Nathan Stafford and Juanita J. Stafford in Hollis, Oklahoma, Terry Stafford grew up in Amarillo, Texas, and graduated from Amarillo's Palo Duro High School in 1960. After high school he moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in music.
His most famous song, "Suspicion", which was released on Crusader Records and which had previously been recorded by Elvis Presley, made it to #3 in the US and #31 in the UK singles charts. "Suspicion," with a vocal by Stafford that reminded many listeners of Presley, had the unusual distinction of being at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1964, just below The Beatles when they made history by holding down the entire top five. The following week is when "Suspicion" topped out at #3, with The Beatles holding the other four spots of the top 5. Stafford's recording sold over one million copies. His follow-up, "I'll Touch a Star", made #25 in America. Both recordings were produced by Bob Summers (brother-in-law of Les Paul), who played all the instruments on the tracks as well as engineering and recording them. Bob released his own version in the 1970s as well as a remake with Ed Greenwald on vocals in 2008.
Stafford continued to record, but had no more hits, although his 1973 release/joint composition, "Amarillo by Morning", was later covered by George Strait on Strait's 1982 album "Strait from the Heart". The song was named "#12 country song of all-time" by Country Music Television. Another hit for Stafford was "Big in Vegas", recorded by Buck Owens. "Big in Vegas" was recorded by Terry as "Big in Dallas".