Johnny Darrell (July 23, 1940 - October 7, 1997) was an American country music artist. Darrell was born in Hopewell, Alabama on July 23, 1940 and grew up in Marietta, Georgia.AMG Biography [LINK: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fpfixqr5ldhe~T1] [1] After a stint in the army, he moved to Nashville and began managing a Holiday Inn near Music Row when he was discovered by Kelso Herstin, a producer working for United Artists, on the recommendation of Bobby Bare. In his recording career, Darrell established a trend of introducing "lyrically adventurous" songs that would later become major hits for other artists. His first single, a version of Curly Putman's "Green Green Grass of Home" was issued in 1965, to be followed by "As Long as the Wind Blows" in 1966. He was the first to record the Mel Tillis song "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", which became a top ten hit for him in 1967