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.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Happy Harold

Remembering Happy Harold - A Miami Country Music Pioneer

Happy Harold Thaxton was one of the few country DJs in the greater Miami area and one of the most popular radio and TV personalities all over southern Florida back in the 1950s and 1960s. Although many people seem to remember him, his career has been largely obscure in the past years. I started documenting Thaxton's career in 2014, which resulted in a detailed article on him on American Music Magazine in December 2016. However, people keep sharing their memories with me and they will be added to this post frequently.


His full name was Harold J. Thaxton, born in 1918 in Georgia. He was married to Anna Thaxton, who was born in 1929 in Hungary as Anna Kreuter. She immigrated to the US in 1949. They had a son, who died in a car crash in the early 1980s. Anna died in 2022.

Thaxton spent his early lifetime in Georgia and served his country During World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, he moved to South Florida in order to work as a musician and DJ. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Thaxton was a member of Uncle Harve's Ragtime Wranglers, a group that performed on different radio stations and live shows in Miami. In 1948, the group began recording for the Red Bird label out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. How this Florida group ended up on a Indiana label is a mystery to me. The first record was "Rainbow of Roses" b/w "Montana Skies" with Harold (Lazy) Donelson on vocals and Thaxton doing the recitation on the A side. Two more records for the label followed in 1951.
 
Billboard July 18, 1953, review of the Ragtime
Wranglers' first Red Bird release. Although
the disc was originally issued in 1948,
Red Bird re-released its records over the years.

By the early 1950s, Thaxton set out on his own and formed his own band, the Dixie Millers, which also recorded for Harold Doane's local Perfect label around 1953. The band also played many shows and bars in the Miami area, at times with Uncle Harve's Ragtime Wranglers.

In 1954, Thaxton worked with "Uncle Martin" Wales, a radio announcer for more than 20 years back then. That year, Wales started a new television show called "Sunset Ranch" on WITV that featured local Miami singers and musicians. Thaxton, "the one with the painted freckles and blacked-out teeth," led the show's house band, as stated in an article published in "The Miami News" on April 11, 1954. The band also included Harold (Lazy) Donelson on fiddle. Thaxton
was one half of the comedy team "Happy and Slappy" on this show. He had developed this act with steel guitarist Billy Kenton while being a member of the Ragtime Wranglers. Artists that appeared on "Sunset Ranch" included Slim Somerville, Mrs. Henry Turner, James E. "Eddie" Thorpe, Johnny Burns, Molly Turner, Elaine Rouse, Rita Winters, and Jimmie Martin. Several of the artists were at one time or another members of Thaxton's band. Also Charlie McCoy and his group as well as Vulco recording artists Billy Eldridge and the Fireballs appeared on the show several times.

Happy Harold on stage, early 1950s
However,  by 1955, Thaxton produced his own barn dance show called "The Old South Jamboree", which was held Saturday evenings from the porch of an old parking lot. It was probably Mun. Auto Sales' lot on NW 36th Street, where he also had parked a Volkswagon bus. This venue possibly also housed the Sunset Ranch and was owned by William "Alabama Bill" Lehman, who would go on the be a US congressman. Thaxton would do a regular afternoon radio show from the back of that bus, too. The Old South Jamboree was on air as early as 1955 and was held at least until 1958. Another witness remembers he attended dances hosted by Happy Harold at the old Dade County Armory at 7th Avenue and NW 28th Street. "He was there every Saturday night for years," as he remembers. The armory building is now gone and was replaced by a seafood restaurant.

A couple of familiar names appeared on Happy Harold's Old South Jamboree, including Mel Tillis, Charlie McCoy, Kent Westberry, and Jimmy Voytek. The house band was made up of Bill Phillips, Bill Johnson, Charlie Justice, and Johnny Paycheck. Other band members at one time or another included the band's roadie called Shorty, Eddie Thorpe, Mollie Turner, Charlie McCoy, Mike Shaw, and Russ Samuel. Samuel, who had a record out on AFS Records in 1960 with his own band, the Vanguards, remembered: "I knew and worked with Happy Harold in the early sixties. I guess the first time I met him was probably when I stopped by his radio show one afternoon to get him to listen to a demo record my band and I had recorded. He not only listened but played it on the air right then on the spot, even though it was only a demo."

It is hard to list all the shows Thaxton did during his career but I try to include as much as I can. He had an evening TV show in the second half of the 1950s, an early morning radio show in the 1960s, and afternoon DJ show, too, and was probably heard on several more slots during the years. 
Thaxton was so well-known and popular that the pharmacy on Palm Avenue and 41th Street in Hialeah, where Harold would eat breakfast, had a sign on its restaurant counter telling people "Happy Harold Eats Breakfast Here." But his popularity was not limited to the Miami area. His radio/TV shows were broadcast all over southern Florida and he booked many artists on his stage shows across the Sunshine State's south.

In the early 1960s, Harold ran for city council but was defeated in the final election. One reason could have been the fact that everyone knew Happy Harold but no one knew Harold Thaxton, as he was presented during the election campaign. However, he gave it a second try and eventually served as a city councilman in Hialeah, Florida, for several years.

In 1964, Thaxton joined WIII in Miami along with another veteran country DJ, Cracker Jim Brooker. By 1968, Harold was working at WOAH on 71th Street in Miami, a country station previously known as WFEC. Harold recorded a lot of commercial spots at that time for such companies as "Mr. King's Pony Farm" and "A-1 King Size Sandwiches." WOAH shortly thereafter changed its format, aimed at a Latin American audience. 

By the 1970s, Thaxton ceased musical activities and split his time between Georgia and Florida. He passed away in 1985 at the age of 66 years in Miami Lake, Florida.

Recommended reading
• "The Deep Voice from the Deep South: Happy Harold - Remembering a Miami Music Pioneer" (American Music Magazine #143, December 2016)

See also

Sources
• Special thanks to Bill Spivey, Jack Blanchard, Russ Samuel, Alma Sexton, Dale Wasson, Jim Cran, Terry, Jack, Marie, and Les for sharing their memories with me and providing so much information.

14 comments:

Terry said...

I remember attending dances hosted by Happy Harold (I don't know if they were his "Jamboree") at the Dade Country Armory, 7th Avenue & 25th Street NW in Miami.
He was there every Saturday night for years.

Jack said...

When Happy Harold was on Sunset Ranch there was another member of the cast, sorta Happy's tv twin,
his name was Slappy. The two of them, Happy and Slappy, would dress alike when they played together. What a sight they were, big baggy pants with suspenders, plaid shirts, big (shoulder to shoulder) polka dot bow ties, freckles all over their faces and a few blacked out teeth.
And they could really play.

Marie said...

Dear Mellow,
Thanks for the great story on Happy Harold, I remember him well.
There is only one thing I would question, I don't believe there ever was a radio station WMIL in the South Florida market. Happy worked for a long time for WMIE in Miami, amoung other stations, WWOK is the first that comes to mind.
Great article though, I'll never forget Happy Harold. Thanks!

Mellow said...

Hello Marie,

thank you for your comment! I got that WMIL hint from this site: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/country-history/History-Country-Western%20-%200387.htm

It mentions Bill Phillips was on the Old South Jamboree on WMIL and a TV show called "Granada Club" on WMIL-TV.

Nevertheless, you are probably right. The only WMIL station I found was licensed in Milwaukee.

By the way, do you have any phots of Happy Harold?

Les said...

Happy Harold was a d.j. and did many commercial spots for station WOAH, 1220 on the dial, Miami, Florida, during 1968 when I was beginning my Miami radio career. The station was located on 71st Street, just off Biscayne Boulevard. I dont have air checks or photos, worse luck. The station was previously WFEC and after a short stint in the Country and Western format (six days a week with ethnic formatting on Sunday), it changed hands and format aimed at a Latin American audience. I remember spots Happy Harold recorded for "Mr. King's Pony Farm" and "A-1 King Size Sandwiches".

Anonymous said...

My name is Bill Spivey and I am Uncle Harve's son. I grew up knowing Happy and most of the people that you mentioned in this article. If you would like to contact me I can supply you with information and pictures back when Happy was in my Dad's band,"Ragtime Wranglers" and other picture's.
Bill Spivey
My email address is bts42@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Old south jamboree,my husbend jimmy sexton played there on 7th avenue with Charlie mc coy fro about 1958 to 1960 I went him there he was singing I was just a teen ,happy Harold offered Charlie mc coy and my husbend to go to Nashville together and my husbend being so young and didn't want to leave me said no,,we weren't married then ,,just dateing ,,,I have a picture of the whole band on stage will send it to u upon request,,we went to Charlie's going away party and graduation party in the sw section ,,I remember it was a pool party,,we had fun ,,so if u need more info or copy of the pic I will mail it to u upon request and a brief statement of why u want it ,,all rights to print of reserved by me ,,under my conditions ,,alma_sexton@comcast.net taken at the old armory on 7th avenue in Miami on Saturday ,night

jim crain sr said...

I remember my daddy bringing Happy Harold home one Saturday when I was about 12 years old in Miami. My dad's cousin played steel guitar with Happy Harold at the Black Cat Bar on southwest 8th st. and 57th ave back in the early fifties. I was just a small boy then but as I grew to a teenager I remember Kent Westbeery and his little teen band playing music on Sat. nights behind the Dairy Queen on Coral Way st. just down from the Coral Way drive in theater. This was about 1957 or so. Happy Harold was a great bass player and a great person too. He seem to always have the time to joke with everyone. I remember Cracker Jim's radio show coming from the Shell's market and we as kids would sneek off and go and watch while my mom and dad would shop. Such great memories. I am 81 now and live in Hamilton, New Zealand. My dad died 4 years ago at 97 and I hope to live at least as long as he did. I have heaps of memories and great times growing up in Miami, Fla where I was born. I graduated in 1954 from Tech High and Gables High schools. Thank you, jim crain sr. holyn1@outlook.com

Unknown said...

I was born in 1955. My dad was George "Tex" Barnes. He new Happy and day I met him many times. My dad played country music publicly for many years and told me he used to call square dances at the blimp base in Opa Locka. He also knew Eddie Thorpe who I also met many times. I believe another guy Johnny Norris knewsletter everyone as well. I also remember my dad being a sometime DJ at that same car lot you mentioned. I we talked with him on a few occasions. Good memories

BILL SPIVEY said...

MY NAME IS BILL SPIVEY MY DAD WAS UNCLE HARVE I REMBER YOUR DAD IN MIAMI I HAVE PICTURES OF HIM IF YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH ME @ BTS42@AOL.COM I WOULD LIKE TO HERE FROM YOU THANKS BILL SPIVEY

Unknown said...

My Uncle Joe was a friend of Happy Harold and I remember fishing with my uncle and Happy as a kid in the early 70's.

Mellow said...

Sure would like to know more about Happy Harold's later years. Please share your memories with us!

Dale W. said...

My dad was Dale Wasson, who played and sang regularly with Harold on his evening TV show from 1955-59. Harold introduced him as that "Big Long Tall Drink of Water". Dad also broadcasted a radio show for WMIE from his record shop on NW 7th Ave at 130th Street. Please feel free to get in touch at wasson4221@bellsouth.net

Mellow said...

Dale, I sent you a message!