ART Records

The ART record label 

Harold Doane's ART label out of Miami is mainly well-known for its Calypso/Goombay music releases during the 1950s. Mike Callahan has compiled an excellent overview of Art's complete longplay album output on "Both Sides Now Publications." What has been largely neglected by researchers is Art's 45rpm releases. 

Harold E. Doane set up his recording studio early in 1945  on 304 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach and called it "American Recording and Transcription Service, Inc." At first, Doane did not record music but weddings, funerals and parties for private use only. It was probably in the late 1940s, when Doane released his first 78rpm EP discs. Somtimes between 1949 and 1951, Doane moved his business to Miami on 2185 NW 79th Street. At some point in the 1950s, he again changed locations and settled on 1224 NW 119th Street in Miami. Also sometimes between 1952 and 1956, Doane renamed his company "Art Records, Inc." and eventually to "Art Records Manufacturing Company." In 1960, Doane changed locations one last time and moved his studio to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1951, Doane signed a contract with Charlie Freeman from the Royal Victoria Hotel in Nassau to record the local musicians that were appearing at the hotel. The first of those artists was Blind Blake Higgs, a black calypso musician that appeared regularly at the hotel. Two albums appeared in 1951 and 1952. In addition, Doane released "John B. Sails" by Blind Blake Higgs on a 78rpm single in 1952. Around 1955, Doane began releasing also 45rpm records from local groups and singers. Tommy Spurlin recorded his classic rockabilly sides in 1956 for Art, followed by Kent Westberry, Randy Luck, The Roxsters, and more. 

Doane also released discs for Panama's and Costa Rica's record markets. From the 1960s onwards until Art's close-down in 1979, Doane concentrated on recording local groups and releasing the results on LPs. A detailed view on Art's LP material can be seen on Both Sides Now Publications.

ART 45rpm (and 78 & 33 rpm) Discography

Art 2

Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos

John B. Sails (n.c.) / ?

Art 500

Blind Blake Higgs

My Name is Asta (n.c.) / Those Good Ol' Asta Boys (n.c.)
Presented by the Nassauu Bahamas Development Board Convention May 3-7, 1956

Art AEP-3
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
Run-Come-See, Jerusalem (n.c.) / Love Alone (n.c.)
2-A
Lord, Got Tomatoes (n.c.) / My Pigeon Gone Wild (n.c.)
2-B
"A Songs of the Islands Production, Nassau, Bahamas"

Art AEP-4
Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
Peas and Rice (n.c.) / Little Nassau 1891 (n.c.)
1-A
John B. Sail (Wreck of the John B.) (n.c.) / A Conch Ain't Got No Bone (n..c)
"A Songs of the Island Production, Nassau, Bahamas" 

Art AEP-4
 Blind Blake and his Royal Victoria Calypsos
Gin and Coconut Water (n.c.) / Sara Jane (n.c.)
2-A
Foolish Frog (n.c.) / Hold 'Im Joe-Jump in the Line-Wheel and Turn Me (n.c.)
2-B
"A Songs of the Islands Production, Nassau, Bahamas"   

Art AEP-14
George Symonette and his Calypso Sextette
Peas and Rice (n.c.) / Sponger Money (n.c.)
ART AEP 14 1-A
Delia Gone (n.c.) / Eight Babies (n.c.)
ART AEP 14 1-B
"A Bahama Records, Ltd. Production, Nassau, Bahamas"

Art AEP-26
Fifi Barton & Don Miller 
with the Sandpipers & the Three Thirds
Song of the Barefoot Mailman (Graff-Leach-Armentrout) / 100 Years from Today (Young-Washington-Young)
Why I Was Born () / Doodle Doo Doo ()    

Art LR-103
Frankie Anderson with Billy Cook's Calypsos
The Limbo Song (Rost)
ART LR-103-1
Harold (Digby) McNair with Billy Cook's Calypsos
Zombie Jamboree (Back-to-Back, Belly-to-Belly) (n.c.)
ART LR-103-2  

Art 45-C-109

Tommy Spurlin with the Southern Boys

Hang Loose () / One-Eyed Sam ()

1 / 2

1956

Note: Both songs were previously released on Perfect 45-C-109. The Art version feature overdubbed drums.

Art 45-C-157

Rudy Lewis and the Sputniks

Moonbeam (Rudasill) / Beer, Beer, and More Beer! (Rusasill)

1 / 2

Art 45-160

The Four Bits

Don't Call Me (I'll Call You) (Watson-Evans-Cary-Zadeh) / Trouble on the Cable To-Night (Watson-Evans-Cary-Zadeh)

Art 45-170

Randy Luck / Tommy Miles, Guitar

I Was a Teen-Age Cave Man (Luck) / Twelve O'Clock (Luck)

1 / 2

1958

Billboard pop review on June 9, 1958

Art 45-172

Kent Westberry and the Chaperones

My Baby Don't Rock Me (Westberry) / No Place to Park (Westberry)

1 / 2

1958

Note: Art 45-172 was re-released soon after on Trail A-103.

Art 45-174

Kent Westberry with the Chaperones

Turkish Doghouse Rock () / Popcorn and Candy Bars (Ruth Hardt)

1 / 2

1958

Art 175

The Roxsters

So Long (Ward-Johnson) / Goodbye Baby (Ward-Johnson)

1 / 2

1958

Art 178
The Short Cuts
Mi-Am-Mi Lonely for Miami (Smiley-McCord) / Muskrat Ramble (Gilbert-Ory)
178-1 / 178-2

Art 181
Sammy Walsh
The Lawyer (I Think He Tripped Me!) (Roberts-Fisher-Walsh) / I'm Breaking My Back for Beck ()
ART-181-1 / ART-181-2

Art 184

Rico Bertoni with the Dante Trio

Stay Here with Me (Modugno) / Ti Diró (Bracchi-D'Anzi)

ART 184-1 / ART 184-2

Art 191

The Danny Bridge Trio

All By Myself () / Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime ()

Art 198
The Echoes
Wild Mother (Makol-Lewis-Ahern) / Every Second of the Day (Kenny Ahern)
1 / 2

Art 200
Lucho Azcarraga y su Conjunto
La Bala (Arturo C. Hassan) / El Galope De Mi Caballo (L. Azcaragga)
200-1 / 200-2  

Art 210

 Bob Bellows

Chippewa Town (Sedaka-Greenfield)

1

Ronnie Kemper

The Doodle Bug Song (Kemper-Hillman)

2

Art 212

Bob Bellows

Stranger at the Fair () / Yes, You Can in Spokane ()

1974

Art 1003

Lucho Azcarrago y su Conjunto

Tengo Un Novio (Luis Séptimo Dominguez) / Guarare (Ricardo Fábrega)

Note: This was a Costa Rican release. 

Art 1004

Lucho Azcarrago y su Conjunto

Taboga (Ricardo Fábrega) / Dice Que Me Qiere (T. Plicet)

Note: This was a Costa Rican release. 

Art LLP-2009
Soroya
Miserlou (n.c.) / Is Kadara (n.c.)
Soroya's Dance (n.c.) 
"Arranged & Directed by: Mickey Farah"
 

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

• The Story of Perfect Records
• The Old South Jamboree
• Billy Eldridge on Vulco

• Mike Shaw on Regal

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat/78rpm entry

• 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.

Jim Morrison on Curley Q

  Jim Morrison and Band - Bill Bailey (Curley Q C.Q.-002), 1963   "Curley Jim" Morrison may be best known to most of you for his energetic and frantic performance of "Rock and Roll Itch" from 1958. A country singer in the first place and rock'n'roll only second, Morrison made several other recordings during his career, most of them are forgotten today. As much as his recorded work has to be unearthed, his life and story is largely obscure as well.

James "Curley Jim" Morrison was - according to music researcher Rob Finnis - active in the Miami music scene before 1958. Although no particular activies are documented, Morrison was said to perform country music during this time. By 1958, he switched to rock'n'roll for a couple of recordings. The first of those discs was "Rock and Roll Itch" b/w "Airforce Blues," released on the small Miami based Metro label in 1958 (Metro #100). Metro was run by two local country DJs but folded soon after the release due to a law suit with MGM Records. Morrison recorded new versions of both songs for Henry Stone's Mida label shortly afterwards, having the initial release on the label (Mida #100). Accompanied by the Billey Rocks on Meteor and Mida, it is unknown which recording location they utilized. At least for the Mida release, Henry Stone's recording studio seems to be a good bet.

In 1959, another rock'n'roll single with the Billey Rocks on Mida followed. "Sloppy, Sloppy Suzie" was mainly an instrumental with a verse sung by Morrison at the beginning and at the end of the recording. It was coupled with "Didn't I Tell You?" on Mida #108.

Morrison disappeared for about two years and then surfaced in Glenwood, Illinois, where he set up his own label Curley Q. Morrison recorded for this outfit steadily during the 1960s. The first single appeared in the spring of 1963 and comprised "Ace in the Hole" and the old folk standard "Bill Baley." Although he slipped into country music again, a certain rock'n'roll influence was still present. Especially "Bill Bailey" was an interesting blend between country and rock'n'roll with an organ in the background and Morrison's outstanding vocal performance. Billboard reviewed the single in its April 13, 1963, issue but it was rated with only limited sales potential. Surprisingly, the magazine had reported two weeks earlier on March 30 that "Ace in the Hole" was a regional break-out in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Probably a follow-up to his first Curley Q disc was "Campfire" b/w "(You Just) Made Me Happy Again," both Morrison originals. In 1964, he released on Curley Q #5707 "My Old Standby" (a Jack Rhodes composition) and "The Used Car Blues," the latter being only a variation of his "Airforce Blues." There were two different pressings of this release with different matrix numbers (pressed by Sound of Nashville) and a slightly different artist credit. Though, the recordings were obviously the same. A single on Major Bill Smith's Texas based Maridene label featuring "Old Man Honest" (Maridene #103) adds to the confusion. This record was approximately issued in 1963-1964.

"Ace in the Hole" must have been a good seller for Morrison despite the bad Billboard review. In 1964, he re-released it with "Bill Bailey" on Curley Q #5708 with wider distribution through Sound of Nashville. Curley Q #5709 was another re-release of "Campfire" b/w "You Just Made Me Happy Again." Two more records followed: "He Gave Me You" / "My Three Friends and Me" (Curley Q #5712) and "Oh Lonesome Me" / "West Virginia Love In" (Curley Q #BP-219).

After the mid-1960s, Morrison disappeared from the music scene. Information on what he did after the above descriped time period seems to have not survived.

The Glendale label

Glendale Records

"The Sound of the Sixty's"

I assume that the Glendale label was somehow connected to Buck Trail because a lot of his compositions were recorded by bands for the label. Glendale was located in Orlando, Florida, and started approximately in 1960. The first known record was by the Little Boppers, featuring the two Trail songs "Chattanooga Drummer Man" and "Something Special to Me." Other records on the label were by Jerry & the Capri's and the Flying Tornadoes.

Trail also recorded for the label with another singer under the name of "Buck and Tommy." The result was "Lady Friend" b/w "Beneath Miami Skies" from 1960. Trail often pitched one song to several different artists. "Beneath Miami Skies," for example, was recorded by Trail on two different occasions, Gabriel Denes, Norm Mello, and possibly some others. 

Similiar to Trail's previous label Trail Records, Glendale was a relatively short-lived venture. The last known recording was pressed in 1961 by Rite in Cincinnati, by 1962 Trail was recording a young teenage singer called Pat Parker for the Heartland and Skyland labels.

Discography

1001: Little Boppers - Chattanooga Drummer Man / Something Special to Me (1960)

1002: Buck and Tommy - Lady Friend / Beneath Miami Skies (1960)

1003: Karmone Gale - You're the Cutest / ? (1960)

1004: Dorinda Duncan - It's Christmas Time / Happy Little Star (1960)

1005:

1006:

1007: Jerry & the Capri's - Dancing Dan / I Still Love You (1960)

1008:

1009:

1010:

1011: Dorinda Duncan - Caddy Daddy / You're Something Special (1961)

1012: The Flying Tornadoes - Chattanooga Drummer Man / Make Believe Love (1961)

Thanks to the DrunkenHobo

Helen Thomas on Trail

Helen Thomas / The Rhythm Heirs - Chattanooga Drummer Man (Trail A-102), 1958 

Helen Thomas, also promoted as "The Singing Sweetheart" by label owner Buck Trail (real name Ronald Killette), remains a mysterious figure in the Miami rock'n'roll scene. She recorded that one record for Trail and then slipped into obscurity again.

Thomas recorded "Chattanooga Drummer Man" b/w "Young Sweethearts" in 1958 for Killette's short-lived Trail Records, which lasted only about half a year. Killette, who was a local promoter and songwriter, performed under the name of Buck Trail and also released a couple of records, including his version of "Chattanooga Drummer Man" that same year.

"Chattanooga Drummer Man," a knock-off of Red Foley's "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" written by Killette, is a rather chaotic version of the song. Thomas sings four about a minute, then the band keeps on jamming away for the rest of the song with hollers and shouts thrown in. Thomas' version was solely reissued on the Collector CD "Savage Rockin' Girls" in 1999.

Old South Jamboree

Happy Harold's Old South Jamboree was one of two country stage shows that originated from Miami during the 1950s. Only rivaled by the Gold Coast Jamboree on WMIE, the Old South Jamboree was at least on air around 1956 up to ca. 1958 on WMIL. Harold was one of the few country DJs in Miami and emceed the show from the porch of an old parking lot. The house band included Bill Phillips on vocals (recorded for Columbia), Charlie Justice on guitar, Bill Johnson on steel guitar (who had previously worked with Tommy Spurlin), and Johnny Paycheck on bass (later became a hit making country singer). Kent Westberry, also a local Miami musician, remembered that Happy Harold also recorded for Harold Doane's Perfect label.

Charlie McCoy, who also appeared on the show, recalls the Old South Jamboree:

I was a Chuck Berry singer. I was playing at a barn dance called 'The Old South Jamboree,' and my job was to get up onstage for fifteen minutes each hour, and play rock'n'roll for the young kids. 

If anyone has more info on this show, please pass it along.

Artists that appeared on the Old South Jamboree:

• Kent Westberry: back then still a local rockabilly singer, who recorded for Art in Miami. Had a band called the Chaperones (Westberry, Snuffy Smith, Wayne Grey, Louie Stewart)
• Carl Perkins
• Mel Tillis
• Charlie McCoy
• Bill Phillips
• Jimmy Voytek: recorded for Scott and Caper. Worked with Tommy Spurlin and Kent Westberry.