Ten Favorite John D. Loudermilk Compositions: James (Hold the Ladder Steady) (#5)

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Happy Friday! This may be my last Friday off for the summer, because things are starting to pick up at work. Oh, well, if so, it’s been a fun summer. Speaking of “fun,” here’s today’s song on my countdown of favorite songs written by the great John D. Loudermilk. #5: James (Hold the Ladder Steady) Today we feature Sue Thompson, who had a successful but “blink and you missed it” career. She was popular in the early 60s with a string of hits, such as “Sad Movies (Make Me Cry),” “Paper Tiger,” and her biggest hit, “Norman.” Hey, guess who wrote all of ‘em! That’s right, Mr. Loudermilk. This is my favorite Sue Thompson song, a fun number about eloping to get married. The parents object (“My poor little baby you must be crazy to think of such a thing”), so she takes her father’s advice (“dad said, ‘nope, you’ll just have to elope’ and laughed as he went to bed”) and runs off to get married. This is another one of those “hey, my dad had the 45 so it must be country” songs. Thompson was on Hickory Records, which was started by “King of Country Music” Roy Acuff, so that must’ve been what made my dad buy it. Whatever, I’m glad he did. I love this song. James (Hold the Ladder Steady) Written by John D. Loudermilk Recorded by Sue Thompson Released as a single, 1962 She’ll be feeling faint: