Henry Earl Sinks

Henry Earl Sinks, age 77 of Goodlettsville passed away Saturday, May 13, 2017 at his residence. Austin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier is in charge of arrangements. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, May 17, 2017 from 3 pm to 7 pm and on Thursday from 10 am to 12 pm at Austin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier. The funeral will be at 12 pm on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at the funeral home with Dr. David Royalty and Rev. Bob Old officiating. Burial will follow in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. He was born January 1, 1940 in Levelland, TX to the late William Earl and Vera Mae Johnson Sinks. He was also preceded in death by sisters, Joann Clift and Larell Treadway. He was a multi-talented singer/songwriter, actor, producer and entrepreneur. He was one of the lead singers with the Cricketts. He and Bob Montgomery came to Nashville in 1959 as writers for Acuff-Rose. Sinks was performing with Bob Wills at age 12 before recording publicly in 1957 on Dot Records. After Buddy Holly split with his band, The Crickets, Sinks was brought in by Norman Petty to fill his spot. He recorded and performed with the Crickets in 1959 contributing to the album In Style With The Crickets, singing on songs such as “I Fought the Law”, “Loves Made a Fool of You”, Deborah”, and “When You Ask About Love”. He recorded for Decca Records, in addition to Hickory, Capitol, Coral, Brunswick, United Artist, Warner Brothers and Ace of Hearts Records. He and Norro Wilson, along with Bill Fernez, recorded as the band the Omegas (country music) in October 1958. He recorded under the names of Earl Sinks, Sinx Mitchell, Earl Richards and Earl “Snake” Richards. He wrote songs for artists such as Sue Thompson, the Everly Brothers, the Newbeats, Ernie Ashworth, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison and Mell Tillis. He would either play guitar or sing harmony over a majority of the sessions with artists such as Mel Tillis, Del Reeves, Mel Street, Charlie pride and others. When filmmaker Ron Ormond started looking for a star for his low-budgeted films in the mid-1960s he was recommended to have parts in the productions. Earl was recording for Warner Brothers record label as well as appearing in some of the Warner Brothers television shows, such as Cheyenne, Sugarfoot, and Surfside Six. The nickname “Snake” Richards was given to him by Ormond when he was in his first Ormond film, Girl From Tobacco Row. From that time all the DJs started calling his Snake Richards. As well as Girl From Tobacco Row he was also in White Lighting Road. He later was in the 20th Century fox film by Richard Ball, That Tennessee Beat. By the 1970s Sinks was tuned in more to the business end of things and ran Ace Of Hearts Records as producer for notable artists such as John Anderson, Faron Young, Joyce Cobb, Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Mark Dinning, The Remingtons, Bobby Lewis, Mel Street and more. Sinks stated that although “it was great being an entertainer as well as singing and or playing on 60% of sessions during the early 60sand 70s, Im glad I gradually drifted over to the business side. He served in the US Army and was a member of Joelton First Baptist Church. He was also a member of John B. Garrett Lodge. He is survived by his devoted wife of 55 years, Rita Faye Wilson Sinks; son, Brandon Earl Sinks (Jessie Obert); daughter, Renetta Sinks Moran; sisters, Latrell Pritchett, Nita Palmer; grandsons, 1LT Robert Cody Moran, his wife Rhonda and daughter, Lola; Houston Earl Moran, his wife Bethany and children, Adrian and Zachary. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Music Cares, 1904 Wedgewood Ave., Nashville, TN 37212 or The Alheizmers Association, 4825 Trousdale Dr., Suite 220, Nashville, TN 37220. Online condolences may be made at www.austinandbell.com Cemetery Forest Lawn Goodlettsville TN US Visitation Wednesday, May 17, 2017 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM Austin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier 2619 Hwy 41 S Greenbrier TN 37073 US 615-643-4000 615-643-4004 Visitation Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Austin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier 2619 Hwy 41 S Greenbrier TN 37073 US 615-643-4000 615-643-4004 Funeral Service Thursday, May 18, 2017 12:00 PM - Austin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier 2619 Hwy 41 S Greenbrier TN 37073 US 615-643-4000 615-643-4004 Funeral HomeAustin & Bell Funeral Home Greenbrier 2619 Hwy 41 S Greenbrier TN - 37073 US 615-643-4000 615-643-4004

Henry Earl Sinks

January 1, 1940 - May 13, 2017