Indio Records

The Indio label was founded by country and rockabilly singer Bill Carter in 1961. It was first located in Modesto, California, but moved to Emeryville soon after the first two releases.

Born on December 11, 1929, in Eagleton, Arkansas, Carter's family moved to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, when Carter was eight years old. A couple of years later, in 1943, the Carters once again changed homes and settled down in Idaho, California, where they made their living as farmers. At that time, Carter started his career as a singer and landed a spot on KREO in Indio (hence probably the name of his label).

From 1950 up to 1953, he served the US Air Force and upon his return, he made a guest appearance at Cottonseed Clark's TV show "Hoffman Hayride" and started his recording career. His first disc was released in 1954 on the 4 Star label ("Making Believe" / "More Than a Man Can Stand," 4 Star X 91). During the next years, he would record for such labels as Republic (1956), Tally (1957-1958), Black Jack, Showboat and Challenge (all 1959), Ozark, Honey B (both 1960), Checker (1960), D (1961) and others.

Cal Veale (left) and Bill Carter holding a Jim Reeves record,
penned by Veale.

Carter was also a DJ. He was on KBOX (Modesto) as well as KPIX (San Francisco) and appeared regularly at the Riverbank Clubhouse in Riverbank, California, in 1956. Around the time he recorded "Shot Four Times and Dy'in" / "Stranger, Shake Hands with a Fool" for D in 1961, he also founded Indio Records. One of Carter's business partners was Cal Veale, who acted as a producer and songwriter for the label. Veale had tried his luck in the recording business unsuccessfully in 1956, when he recorded one single with the Howard Reading Trio ("Don't Cry Baby" / "Standing on the Edge of Nowhere," Las Vegas #1237). Veale owned a recording studio in Modesto, where probably most of the Indio recordings were cut. Larry McGill, who had one release on Indio under his own name, also appeared on a couple of Indio releases as a songwriter. As Carter remembers, he played bass on many of the Indio recordings. Del Reeves was also at some point part of the studio band.

It appears almost all known releases were issued in 1961, as many Billboard reviews document. However, one disc is certainly from 1969 ("Camille" / "Now I'm a Star" by the Stage Hands, Indio #8692), judging from the Southern Plastics matrix code. At that time, Carter had already left the business, as he confirmed to me. The Stage Hands, which included Clyde Arnold, simply took label name and design from him. Arnold also wrote one of the songs, "Camille" and had recorded the classic "Black Smoke and Blue Tears" in 1961 for Indio. He was once described by Carter as a "leather jacketed hoodlum." This 1969 release, however, shows the label's location as Newark, California.

Nevertheless, Indio was a  short-lived affair for Carter. He became a Christian in October that same year and turned to Gospel music. Nowadays, he is retired but has recorded some sides with his wife.

An interview with Bill Carter can be found here. 

Discography

Indio IN-1 

Jimmy North / Jack Mashburn Band 

Leavin' Town (Jim Hostetter) / I Know I'm to Blame  ()

A / B

1961

Indio IN-2

Ray Smith and his Oklahoma Outlaws 

You've Heard About Texas (Ray Smith) / Bluer Than Blue (Ray Smith)

A / B

1961

Indio IN-3

Dave Miller with Joe Richie and the Impossibles

Froggy Went A'Rockin' (Arr. Dave Miller) / With You (Dave Miller)

A / B

1961

Indio IN-4

Bob Gordon with Slim Williams and the Blue Valley Boys

Why Make Believe (Bob Gordon) / It's Not Easy to Forget (Bob Gordon)

A /  B

Indio 605
Ralph Hill with Roy Henderson and the Arkies
There Goes My Baby () / Sweet Love ()

Indio IN-606

Clyde Arnold

Black Smoke and Blue Tears (C. Arnold; C. Veale) / Livin' for Your Lovin' (C. Arnold; C. Veale; McGill)

A / B

1961

Indio IN-607

Larry McGill with the Echo-Tones

I Want a True Love () / I Only Wish ()

A / B

1961

Indio IN-608

Clint Marrs and the Saddle-ites

Love and Money (Clint Marrs) / A Million Memories (Bob Morphew)

A / B

Indio IN-609

Ruthe Dee

I Want a True Lover (Bill Carter; McGill) / Tears on the Rocks (Ruthe Dee)

A / B

Indio 8692

Stage Hands

Camille (Clyde Arnold) / Now I'm a Star (Nancy Tester)

SO: 7398 / SO: 7399 (Southern)

1969

Thanks to DrunkenHobo, Svein Martin Pedersen

Billy Riley - Wouldn't You Know

  Billy Riley / The Little Green Men - Wouldn't You Know (Sun 289), 1958
"Wouldn't You Know" was penned by famous songwriter John S. Marascalco (born 1931 in Grenada, Mississippi). Before his affiliation with Art Rupe's Speciality label, Marascalco tried his luck as a songwriter first with Sam Phillips and his Sun Records - unsuccessfully, though. He saw Elvis Presley performing in 1955 and presented him his composition "Rip It Up" backstage. Although Presley wouldn't record it after Little Richard's hit version came out, it was through this connection that Marascalco came to Sun. 

Unable to come to an agreement with Phillips about a songwriting contract, the only two songs Marascalco penned for Phillips were "Wouldn't You Know" and "Dance with Me Honey." Both songs were recorded by Billy Riley but only "Wouldn't You Know" saw release on the yellow Sun label. It was recorded by Riley and his Little Green Men on November 25, 1957 at the Sun Studio with Riley on vocal and guitar, Roland Janes on lead guitar, Martin Willis on sax, James Paulman on piano, and Jimmy Van Eaton on drums. Released in February 1958 with Riley's own "Baby Please Don't Go" on the flip (Sun #289), it was his next single after his claim to fame "Red Hot" b/w "Pearly Lee" (Sun #277). Unfortunately, it sold less than "Red Hot," which had been dropped by Phillips in order to finance the promotion of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire."

Craig Morrison wrote in his book "Go Cat Go!" about "Wouldn't You Know":

'Wouldn't You Know,' the fourth single, never quite seem to gel, at times veering to one style and then to another. "

Marascalco began a new relationship with Specialty Records and penned such hits as "Ready Teady," another version of "Ript It Up," "Good Golly Miss Molly" and others. In the early 1960s, he owned a couple of record labels and worked as a songwriter and producer.

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.

Sid Elrod on Summer

  Sid Elrod - The Slow Rock and Roll (Summer 503), 1959
I'm pretty sure "Sid Elrod" was a pseudonym for musician Macy (Skip) Skipper. This 45 came to me a couple of weeks ago and it is the only copy I've seen so far. The label on one side is not in best shape but it plays great, nevertheless. This is a follow-up on my Summer Records post last week.

Macy (Skip) Skipper
Picture credit: 706unionavenue.nl

Macy "Skip" Skipper was born on September 2, 1920, in St. Louis, Missouri. He started his musical career as a bass player for the Swift Jewel Cowboys. In 1943, Skipper and his wife Marie moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and they began to work as a duo around Memphis in 1951. Sometimes in the 1950s, he founded his own band and appeared at different venues in Memphis with this outfit.

In 1956, Skipper and his band cut three tracks for Sun Records, including an earlier version of "The Slow Rock and Roll." The band consisted of Skipper on vocals and bass, Sun studio musician Brad Suggs on lead guitar, Nelson Grilli on sax, Melton McNatt on piano, and Slick Grissom on drums. Since Sam Phillips showed no interest to release anything from that session, Skipper moved on and recorded "Quick Sand Love" b/w "Who Put the Squeeze on Eloise?" for M.A. Lightman's Light record label (exact date unknown), followed by a second single under that same brand.

After that, Skipper probably recorded the single featured today. Summer Records was founded by Jack Clement early in 1959, who had just parted ways with Sun before. How Skipper ended up on Summer as "Sid Elrod" remains a mystery, though it is likely that Skipper and Clement knew each other before. The two instrumentals "Slap Happy Bass" b/w "The Slow Rock and Roll" were possibly recorded with his own band. The Sun files list Skipper as the composer of "Slow Rock and Roll," the Summer label lists also Melton McNatt as composer.

In 1960, Skipper followed up with another single on Stax ("Night Rock" / "Goofin' Off", Stax #117). Skipper kept on performing locally while holding down his regular job until his death on April 17, 2001.

Discography

Summer 503: Sid Elrod - Slap Happy Bass / The Slow Rock and Roll (1959)
Light 2020: Macy (Skip) Skipper - Who Put the Squeeze on Eloise? / Quick Sand Love
Light 3030: Macy Skipper and his Orchestra - At the Movie / Girl-Firl
Stax S-117: Macy Skipper - Night Rock / Goofin' Off (1961)

Summer Records

Summer Records was a very short-lived venture by Sun producer and songwriter Jack Clement. It was his first own label after leaving Sun Records in 1959.

Jack Clement was born on April 5, 1931, in Memphis, Tennessee, and was interested in music at an early age. After he was discharged from the Army in 1953, he began to work with bluegrass musician Buzz Busby and his band in Washington, D.C. They were seen regularly on the Hayloft Hoedown show in Washington. But already in 1954, Clement returned to Memphis and became friends with Ronald "Slim" Wallace and Clement joined Wallace's country band as a steel guitarist.

Jack Clement at Sun, ca. 1956

Wallace set up a small recording studio in his garage and together, Clement and Wallace produced Billy Lee Riley's first recordings "Trouble Bound" and "Rock with Me Baby," which were intended to be the first single on their new label Fernwood. Since they had no possibility to master the tapes on their own, Clement took them to Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis. Phillips was impressed with singer Riley and instead released both songs on his own Sun label in on September 1, 1956 (Sun #245). Phillips not only snatched away Riley from Wallace but also Jack Clement, who began work for Sun in July 1956 as an engineer and producer. Fernwood didn't come into existence until December 1956, when Wallace finally released its first single (Ramon Maupin with "Love Gone" b/w "No Chance," Fernwood #101).

Clement became an influential figure at Sun during the next months. Phillips assigned him with more responsibilities, for example producing Johnny Cash's recordings from December 1956 onwards. Also in December 1956, Clement supervised Jerry Lee Lewis' audition at Sun and conviced Phillips later to sign the young piano player to Sun.

In March 1959, Clemet was fired by Phillips and branched out on his on with the founding of his first publishing firm Jack Music Inc. The first song published by Jack Music was "Motorcycle Michael" by the Archers on May 1, 1959, which became Summer's second release.

Along with the founding of Jack Music came Clement's record label Summer, located on Main Street in Memphis. The label's first release was by Cliff Gleaves with "Love Is My Business" b/w "Easy Goin' Guy" in 1959. Gleaves, who was a longtime close associate of Elvis Presley, had recorded an earlier version of "Love Is My Business" for Sun in either 1958 or 1959 with Charlie Rich at the piano. This session had been produced by Clement, who took Gleaves to Summer after his break-up with Sun. Later in 1959, Gleaves followed Elvis to Germany. He died in 2002.

The third release was made up of two instrumentals by a certain Sid Elrod (Summer 503). I'm pretty sure this was a pseudonym for Macy "Skip" Skipper (1920-2001), who was a steady performer in Memphis from 1951 on. Judging from the sound of "Slap Happy Bass" / "The Slow Rock and Roll," I believe this was recorded at Sun Studio. Skipper had recorded an earlier version of "Slow Rock and Roll" at Sun in 1956, which remained unissued. 

Summer Records did not last very long. No other singles are known after Summer #503 and probably folded soon after its founding in the spring of 1959. Clement, however, kept busy producing records for Pepper, Hi, and Echo (which he co-owned with Clyde Leoppard and Stan Kesler). In the fall of that year, he left for Nashville before moving to Beaumont, Texas, shortly afterwards. He became a highly successful songwriter and record producer. Clement died in 2013.

Discography

Summer 501 

Cliff Gleaves

Easy Goin' Guy (Jack Clement) / Love Is My Business (Quinton Claunch; Bill Cantrell)

S-101 / S-102 (Sheldon)

1959

Summer 502

The Archers

Motorcycle Michael (Clement; Nelson; Burch) / Golden Girl (Clement; Nelson; Burch)

S-103 / S-104 (Sheldon)

1959

Summer 503

Sid Elrod

Slap Happy (McNatt; Suggs; Skipper) / The Slow Rock and Roll (Skipper; McNatt)

S-105 / S-106 (Sheldon)

Apache Records

Apache Records was founded by John Bowers and Brady Ward in 1960, located on 106 N. Main Street in Crestview, Florida. It is not to be confused with Apache Records from New York City or another company of the same name from Los Angeles. The first two releases came out on March 1, 1960, with Crook Jr. "Wiggle It Baby" / "Please Believe Me Darling" (Apache 1786) and Clifford King "Chicken Shack Boogie" b/w "I Want to Jump with You Baby" (Apache 1788), both backed by the Rockin' Aces. Artists that recorded for Apache were mainly local singers and bands that recorded at the label's own studio in Crestview. Bowers and Ward offered auditions to "any local group who feel they have musical talent."

Apache records were pressed by RCA in Indianapolis, Indiana. The label had no actual numerical system, RCA simply assigned records with a number, taking the last four digits of the A side matrix number.

Record collector Jay Ball visited one of the owners in the 1970s, living in a trailer in poor condition. When he went back later, he found the trailer burned down without any traces of the owner.

Apache advertising for Clinton Brooks' record in Billboard (November 14, 1960)

Discography
Apache 1786: Crook, Jr. - Wiggle It Baby / Please Believe Me Darling (1960)
Apache 1788: Clifford King - Want to Jump with You Baby / Chicken Shack Boogie (1960)
Apache 1818: Stanley James - Alligator Man / I Need You So
Apache 1820: Lee Daugherty and Offbeats - My Babe / Please Never
Apache 1828: Clinton Brooks and the B's - If You Go Know / Tom Duley Rock (1960)
Apache 1830: Big Jesse and the Blue Ace's - Come On Baby / Rugged (1960)
Apache 1834: Red Riley and the Sunset Driftors - Teachers's Pet / Tropical Waltz
Apache 1836: Rex Qual (Guitar, Jr.) - Going Rocking Tonight / Tranquilizer Boogie (1960)

Sources: "Local Recording Company Issues First Discs Here", The Okaloosa News-Journal, Crestview, Florida, March 3, 1960, Bob, Steve, The DrunkenHobo, Steve Gronda

Jimmy C. Newman and Weldon Myrick R.I.P.

Two country music legends passed away last month. Jimmy C. Newman died at the age of 86 on June 21. He suffered from cancer. Steel guitar virtuoso Weldon Myrick died June 2 at the age of 76. Both were very influential in the development of country music and have been performed at the Grand Ole Opry for many decades.

Ernie Barton on Phillips Int.

  Ernie Barton - Stairway to Nowhere (Phillips Int. 3528), 1958
Ernie Barton always seemed to be a highly interesting figure in the history of Sun Records to me, although Sun experts are discordant. It is assured that Barton was a recording artist and worked as a session musician as well as producer for Sam Phillips. Though, it is controversial how important he was.

The son of a sea captain, he was born Ernest W. Barton in the year of 1930 in Tallahassee, Florida. When Elvis Presley bursted onto the scene, Barton decided sell his house in Daytona Beach and moved to Memphis. How Barton got in touch with Sam Phillips is not known but he was hired in early 1957 to work at the Sun Studio. His first session took place on April 6, 1957, of which nothing was released.

In March 1958, he was back in the studio and tried his hand at "Stairway to Nowhere" and "Raining the Blues," two rockabilly tunes Al and Jo Ann Wingate had written. On this day, Barton (rhythm guitar) was backed by Roland Janes (lead guitar), Sid Manker (guitar), and Jimmy Van Eaton (drums) with an additional male vocal chorus. Both songs were released in the summer of 1958 (Phillips Int. #3528), less than one year after the Phillips International label came into existence.

Co-writter Allan Wingate, who recorded under the name of Allen Page for Cordell Jackson's Moon label in Memphis, was a talented songwriter and had previously auditioned at Sun - unsuccessfully, however.

Barton's second single for Phillips Int., "Open the Door, Richard" b/w "Shut Your Mouth" (Phillips Int. #3541, 1959), is heavily discussed by collectors and researchers. Recorded on February 25, 1959, with Roland Janes (lead guitar), Billy Lee Riley (bass, vocals), Martin Willis (sax), Charlie Rich (piano), and Jimmy Van Eaton (drums) and Sun secretary Regina Reese doing some vocals on "Shut Your Mouth", no one has ever seen a copy of this single. Though, Barton later insisted it was released. It added to the confusion that "Open the Door, Richard" was re-released on a compilation as by Billy Lee Riley, who supposedly also recorded a version of that song in 1957. Riley later stated that both he and Barton sang on the 1958 "released" version and that it was one of those party sessions that took place at Sun often.

Things will possibly never clear up completely. However, this was Barton's last Phillips Int. single. He recorded several more songs at Sun but Sam Phillips refused to release any further material from Barton. Nevertheless, he agreed to record Barton's wife Bobbie Jean Farrabee, a lawyer from Little Rock, Arkansas. When Jack Clement and Bill Justis dropped out of the Sun staff in 1959, Barton slipped in as a producer, arranger, and studio musician. He worked with Phillips until 1961 and then left the Sun Studio.

After his affiliation with Sun, Barton recorded two Cash sound-a-likes on the Memphis based Honesty label, "The Ballad of Earl K. Long" b/w "The Man with a Heart of Gold" (Honesty #605). Barton had recorded two earlier versions at Sun before. In 1965, another disc followed on Earl Fox' E&M label from Little Rock, "Ain't I'm a Mess" b/w "Walk with Me" (E&M #1651).

Barton eventually moved to Midland, Texas, and dropped out of sight. In 1987, he was tracked down and interviewed by Colin Escott. Since then, he has again slipped into obscurity and may have died already. The Social Security Index lists a certain Ernest W. Barton (* November 21, 1930; † May 1, 2001 in Montezuma, Colorado).

Jackie & Arlen Vaden

  Jackie and Arlen, the Southern Gospel Singers - O Come Angel Band (Vaden EP-104),  ca. 1958
"Angel Band" is one of the most beautiful gospel hymns ever written. I first heard it by the Stanley Brothers years ago and their version remains my favorite one. Many other artists, including Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter Davis, among others, have recorded this tune during the years. And Jackie and Arlen, the Southern Gospel Singers, of course.

Arlen Vaden was born ca. 1930 in Trumann, Arkansas, and was also raised there. He married Jackie in 1951 and it turned out they harmonized well together when singing gospel tunes. So they decided to try out a career in music. Jackie and Arlen began to travel all over Northeast Arkansas and sang mostly in churches. Then, the couple landed a spot on KOSE, a small radio station on Osceola, Arkansas.

Their popularity grew and soon, they found themselves singing over KLCN in Blytheville. They were now called "The Southern Gospel Singers" and taped their shows, so other stations all across the country could broadcast them. As one of the most popular gospel duos during that era, they could be heard on WCKY (Cincinnati), WLAC (Nashville), KXEN (St. Louis) and border town stations XERF (Del Rio, Texas) and XEG (Fort Worth, Texas), among many others. They also began selling song books on their shows and got so much requests and fan mail from their shows that it got Trumann a new and larger post office.

By 1958, Arlen had replaced popular DJ Nelson King at WCKY. King hosted the popular "Hillbilly Jamboree" show and sold countless mail-order budget records on air. This pattern and the advent of rock'n'roll music led Arlen to his decision to found a record label: Vaden Records in Trumann, Arkansas. It had neithern own recording facilities nor a wide distribution. But it soon had artists that became well-known in rockabilly collector circles later in the 1970s: Bobby Brown, Larry Donn, Joyce Green, Bobby Lee Trammell, Teddy Redell and a couple of other local Arkansas singers recorded for Vaden from 1958 up to 1961. In addition to producing rock'n'roll records, Jackie and Arlen also recorded many gospel EPs for the label, which were sold over WCKY.

One of those gospel recordings is featured today. "Oh Come Angel Band" was a popular gospel tune by the time Jackie and Arlen recorded it. Its lyrics were written by Jefferson Hascall, originally entitled "My Latest Sun is Sinking Fast." Because of the common metre of his poem, the lyrics could be set to many hymn tunes. The first to put a melody behind the words was J.W. Dadmun in 1862 but the song is today associated with William Batchelder Bradbury's melody. In my opinion, Jackie ruins the chorus on this version here - she sings too high. It could have been a pretty nice rendition with just Arlen singing it.

Arlen closed down his record label in 1961 because of disappointing record sales and divorced from Jackie around the same time. Arlen Vaden died on May 10, 2003, in Memphis, Tennessee, and is buried on the Jonesboro Memorial Park Cemetery.

Bill Haney on D-B

SFC Bill Haney - On the Loose (D-B 6-6714), 1966
Here's my signed copy of Bill Haney's "On the Loose." "Good Luck - Bill Haney" - good luck for what? Finding him? Haney is still succssful at not being tracked down, that's for sure. By the way: for those of you who are not fimiliar with militaric shortcus, the "SFC" means "Sergeant First Class," which they probably used to do justice to the patriotic flip side "Call to Colors."

Bill Haney from Columbia, South Carolina - the Dixie Buddy
There has been some confusion about Bill Haney as there were several artists performing under this name. This one was born in the Carolina mountains, moving to Union, North Carolina, first and then after his marriage with Marriane Farmer to Columbia, South Carolina.

Haney played with Curtis Lee and his Dixie Buddies by 1957, including spots on WRVA's New Dominion Barn Dance in Richmond, Virginia. They toured the southern East Coast and by the early 1960s, it seems Haney had taken over leadership of the Dixie Buddies. Probably his first record was on the Dee-Bee record label in 1962 ("Wild Party Twist" b/w "My Time to Laugh," Dee Bee #RCR-69). That same year, Haney had two releases on the Newberry, South Carolina, based Jim Dandy label in 1962, including a superb version of "Crawdad Hole" entitled "Craw Dad Song".

In 1966, he appeared on the reactivated Dee-Bee label, now known simply as D-B. It coupled "On the Loose" b/w "Call to Colors" (D-B #6-6714), which is featured today. This disc was manufactured at Kay Banks' Charlotte, North Carolina, pressing plant. There was another version of this release, this time manufactured by Sound of Nashville's pressing plant but released the same year.

Dee Bee or D-B apparently stood for "Dixie-Buddy", which leads me to thinking this was Haney's own label. The Sound of Nashville pressed version of Haney's single was distributed by Richland Custom Recording from Columbia, South Carolina, which could have been Haney's operation as well. There are at least two more releases known on the Dee Bee/D-B label.

In 1967, Rural Rhythm released an album of Haney and the Dixie Buddies entitled "Rural Rhythm presents Bill Haney & the Dixie Buddies" (Rural Rhythm #2109). This is the last hint we find for this Bill Haney.

Bill Haney from Clyde, North Carolina - The Atlanta Guy
There were several other artists working under the name of Bill Haney. Probably the best known among the many Bill Haneys was the one hailing from Clyde, North Carolina, who was a cousin to bluegrass legend Don Reno. In the late 1950s or early 1960s, Haney and his wife Edwina moved to Atlanta, where he recorded for the Super label in 1961.

He eventually went into the production side of music business, working mainly in the soul and R&B music fields with such artists as Arthur Alexander. He founded his own music publishing firm Edwina Music, Down South Productions as well as his record label Chant Records. He also owned the Gilded Edge club with Jerry Ford in Peachtree, Georgia. Haney also recorded for Dot and Briar Int. in the 1960s. He eventually divorved from Edwina and married again. At some point, he served in the US Army, spending time in Vietnam and eventually left as a SFC, too.

From what I researched, he could have been the one recording with the Zassoff Boys, changing his own style to bluegrass. According to Steve Leatherwood, who knew Haney since his childhood days: "In the late 1950s, Bill and Edwina Haney lived in my mother's garage apartment in Clyde, North Carolina, and I was about 8-9 years old. I remember sitting in the yard on summer nights listening to Bill (and others) play music. [...] They [Bill and Edwina] separated and divorced and Bill moved somewhere (Nashville? Columbia? Atlanta?). I heard different places but I know he played guitar, fiddle and mandolin and recorded in Myrtle Beach. I have the Zassoff Boys LP and Don Reno signed the back with 'Good luck Cus!'." This was released in the early 1980s on the Buffalo label. As promo single with the Zassoff Boys appeared in 1981 on the Country Int. label, "Magic Mountain Fiddle" (#117).

Haney died in 1997 in Dallas, Georgia. Kent Soul Records released two volumes with Haney's productions entitled "Bill Haney's Atlanta Southern Soul Brotherhood" in 1999.

The fact that both Bill Haneys came from the Carolinas, both left the army as SFCs, and both had an affection for bluegrass music made it hard for me to tell them apart. But thanks to many visitors who have commented on my original music, I fell I succeeded in seperating their stories.

Bill Haney from Arkansas - the Elvis guy
There was another Bill Haney active in music - this time it is easier to set him apart from the other persons, however. Born in Arkansas, Haney was the pianist of a rock'n'roll group known as "The Flairs". They made a guest appearance on California's famed TV show "Town Hall Party" in 1959.

Part from his Jerry Lee Lewis styled piano playing, Haney was also adept at singing Elvis songs and had his own Elvis impersonation act in Memphis during the 1970s. He performed as an Elvis impersonator throughout the years and also did several recordings. He eventually moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he passed away on March 12, 2020, at the age of 79 years.

Another Bill Haney?
In the 1970s appeared a disc on the Nashville based Bayou label featuring "When I Wake Up in the Morning" b/w You Can't Stop My Loving You" (#112) by Bill Haney. Bayou was a subsidiary of Delta Records, a song-poem label with dubious methods. If this Bill Haney was connected with one of the other three performers or if this was another, fourth artist of the same name, is not known to time right now.

See also
• The Jim Dandy label

Sources:
• 45cat entry
• Bill Haney (Arkansas) obituary
• Thanks to Derik, Hank the Smoker, Terry, Linda Sanders, Steve Leatherwood for all your comments and input!