Updates

• Added info on Jimmy Ford, thanks to Volker Houghton. • Extended and corrected the post on Happy Harold Thaxton (long overdue), thanks to everyone who sent in memories and information! • Added information to the Jim Murray post, provided by Mike Doyle, Dennis Rogers, and Marty Scarbrough. • Expanded the information on Charlie Dial found in the Little Shoe post.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Bo-Kay label

"Each Record a Bouquet of Music"

Bo-Kay was founded by business man Jesse Smith in 1956 in Lamesa, Texas, but later moved first to nearby Odessa and eventually to Fort Worth. Smith also owend Mary Kaye and Ector labels. Active from 1957 to around 1967, the label mostly released country material but is also famous for releasing Elroy Dietzel's rockabilly sides. Dietzel's "Rock-N-Bones" (composed by Don Carter) was later covered by Ronnie Dawson. Smith had discovered Dietzel and his band, the Rhythm Bandits, in late 1956 while they were playing a club in Lubbock, Texas, and signed them.

Other artists on the label included Billy Thompson and his band, who was the brother of famous western swing singer Hank Thompson. Another western swing band leader who recorded for Bo-Kay was Hoyle Nix, a very popular act in West Texas. Patsy Elshire also cut a single in 1963 for the label, released as by "Patsy Blane." She had been a regular on the Houston Hometown Jamboree (KNUZ, Houston) back in 1956 and had previously recorded for Capitol and Starday. Red Hayes, who was also part of Billy Thompson's band, had a release on Bo-Kay, too, as well as Cecil McCollough and Dee Mullins.

Many singles were cut in Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Songwriter Howard Hausey, also known as Howard Crockett, worked with the label as a producer and composer.


Promo picture for Billy Thompson and his Melody Ramblers (!). The Bo-Kay record acutally showed Melody Cowboys as backing group. Thompson played in the Midland/Odessa area and performed at the Golden Nuggetin Las Vegas during the late 1960s. His Bo-Kay release was recorded at Norman Petty's studio in 1957.
Discography
Singles
K-101: Elroy Dietzel / The Rhythm Bandits - Precious Desires / Teenage Ball (1956)
K-102: Johnny Lynn - Pancho Villa / Love Me Brown Eyes
K-103: Elroy Dietzel and the Rhythm Bandits - Rock-N-Bones / Shang-Hai Rock (1957)
K-104: Billy Thompson and the Melody Cowboys - Waltzing with Sin / Love Gone Blind (1957)
K-105: The Welch Brothers - Blue Eyes and Golden Curls / Thoughts of the Past
K-106: Doug Bowman - Dis-Conted / From My Lover to My Friend
K-107: Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys - The Kind of Love I Can't Forget / The Lady in Red (1959)
K-108: Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys - Ida Red / La Golondrina Waltz (1959)
K-109: Red Hayes - Away to Free Myself / Next to Jimmy
K-110: Hoyle Nix and his West Texas Cowboys - Please Don't Bother Me / I Don't Lov'a Nobody (1960)
K-111: Sunshine Travelers - Calling You / Kneel Down and Pray
K-112: Patsy Blane - Things Look Different Now / Feeling (1963)
K-113: Johnny Wood and the Rhythm Aces - Valley of Blue / That's the Way It Has to Be
K-114: Jay Lang - Crazy Kind of Love / Someone I Thought I Knew
K-115: Billy Thompson - Oh Lonesome Me / Worried Over You
K-116: The Lambert Brothers - Dig a Hole in the Meadow / Good Times are Past and Gone
K-117: Ray Chaney - You Wouldn't Cross the Street / Where's That Forever
K-118: Dee Mullins - Riverboat South / Prison Grey
K-119: Terry White - Arms of Memory / The Things That Count
K-120: Cecil McCollough - Pages Blue / Toys
K-121: Johnny Golf - Paradise / Paradise
No.#: Red & Betty Stewart - ? / Love's Gonna Live Here
45-991/2: Morine & the Zircones - Let a Woman Through / Show Me Where It's At

Note: The Bo-Kay single as by Morine and the Zircones is probably not on the same label. This release probably originated from the Gulf Coast.

Albums
LPM-101: Billy Thompson - Big Balls in Cowtown

Thanks to: DrunkenHobo, Westex

8 comments:

Apesville said...

Bo-Kay 45 - 991/992 - Morine & The Zircons :Let A Woamn Through / Show Me Where Its At

WESTEX said...

The Red/Betty Stewart disc is probably the most common on the label. Followed by, locally at least, Elroy Dietzel's "Teenage Ball". I've seen 6 or 7 copies here around town and owned at least 3. That's just in the past 12 years or so. I've seen "Rockin' Bones" just once though. NEVER seen the Welch Brother's disc. That's a rare one. The Hoyle Nix discs turn up with some regularity, too.

Smith also had the Mary Kaye label. And the Ector label.

WESTEX said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
WESTEX said...

Three other things...

Bo-Kay began in 1956 with Elroy's first record.

And the Morine/Zercons record is likely not related. As noted elsewhere that's probably an Eddie Bo thing and of Gulf Coast origins.

There is also a Billy Thompson lp... "Big Balls In Cowtown", Bo-Kay LPM-101.

Rocky Lane said...

Now ... if we could just get an .RAR file with MP3 files of all those Bo-Kay 45's, it sure would be nice since we never heard any Bo-Kay disc up here in Canada.

Mellow said...

Sorry Rocky but at the moment, I have no Bo-Kay recordings on my PC. You can find some of Elroy Dietzel's songs as well as Hoyle Nix' cuts on Youtube.

Anonymous said...

Any ideas of where I could get a copy of The Welch Brothers - Blue Eyes and Golden Curls / Thoughts of the Past?

Apesville said...

Rocky yyou wanted mp3 go to https://unclegil.blogspot.com/2018/12/thoughts-of-past.html