North La. Hayride

The North La. Hayride, ca. 1960s
Tom Ruple (drums), Brian Ritter (steel guitar), Governor Jimmie Davis (vocals),
Coy Bohannon (guitar)

Rural Entertainment in Louisiana

The North La. Hayride

My record collecting friend from Southwest Arkansas, Mark Keith, has brought the spotlight to another local stage show. After he brought the Columbia County Hayride and the Arkansas Hayride to my attention, we now spotlight the North Louisiana Hayride (always spelled North La. Hayride) from Homer, Lousiana. Mark, who is also a multi-instrumentalist and still plays shows today, started playing the North La. Hayride in the late 1970s.

The show was started by musicians Coy Bohannon, Durwood Gathright, and Omar Volentine and its first show staged at the American Legion building in Homer in November 1962. By then, the original Louisiana Hayride from Shreveport, which is actually also located in the northwestern corner of Lousiana, had ended. For the North La. Hayride's first show, country music star Margie Singleton was brought in as a special guest. Singleton's aunt was living in Homer then and through her, the show's management was able to book Singleton.

The show featured music from a variety of acts every Saturday night. The first portion of the show featured the stage show, lasting for an hour to an hour and a half. After a break, during which the chairs were removed, a dance began which usually lasted until midnight. "There was no drinking, it was a family show," remembers Mark. "I only saw one fight there and it was people in their 70s - and it was wild," he adds with a grin.

Carl Lowe on stage

About a year after its inauguration, Volentine left the show and was replaced by Theron "Chief" Deloach, who became the emcee and booking agent. Coy Bohannon functioned as the house band's leader, a position he held for about 24 years. The early line-up of the house band included Carl Lowe on bass, whose family was a regular act on the show from 1964 until the late 1970s. Mark Keith started playing the Hayride in 1977 and appeared with the show on and off until its end. Carl Lowe quit playing bass the same year, followed by Kenny Shelton, who in turn was replaced by Mark in 1978. In the 1970s up to the 1990s, the house band consisted of musicians like Wayne Mattox, Sammy Lawrence, Jerry White (all three piano), David Butler and Larry Taylor (both on saxophone), Perry Moses, Brian Crittenden, and Shelia Lynn (all on drums), Brian Ritter (steel guitar), Larry Mozingo, Benny Shelton, and Tom Ruple.

Regulars and guest artists throughout the early years included Bill Bohannon, Ray Langston, Ginger Kelley, Ray Frushay, Gene Wyatt (of "Lover Boy" fame), Joe Stampley (drawing a crowd of approxiamtely 1,200 people), and Johnny Russell . Performers during later years included Jackie Martin, Cathy Denmon, Benny Shelton and the Shelton family, Angela Allen, Ken Lewis, among others. Regarding Johnny Russell's appearance on the show, Mark recalls: "Years ago, I interviewed Johnny Russell and I asked him if he remembered playing it [the North La. Hayride]. He said he sure did. He said the guy that booked him, 'Dearwood Gaythright' (that's how he pronounced it) told him 'now nobody will come in until I go out and sing a couple of songs'. Russell said there was virtually no one inside but Durwood sang and people poured in!"

Larry Monzingo, Billy Lowe, and Coy Bohannon
on stage

Although the Hayride never hit the airwaves, it was a major source of entertainment in the area and popular not only among the artists but also among the audiences. "It was a big deal. It was a step up from the Columbia County Hayride and it was a going Jessie. I played in the staff band from 1978 to 1980, then played with someone else, came back and played from 1982 to 1989. Then, after I joined the Sounds of Gold in 1990, we played there every four to six weeks until Claiborne Country opened in 1995. It was a major part of my life."

In 1972, local entrepreneur Dooley Peterson decided to built a hall for the North La. Hayride and rented it out to the show's management. Deloach retired from managing the show in the early or mid 1980s, a few years prior to his passing, and Coy Bohannon left in 1986 or early 1987, leaving Durwood Gathright as the sole manager of the show. He operated it during the show's last ten years of existence.

In 1994, a snow and ice storm damaged the roof of the show's building so much that it couldn't be used anymore. Gathright moved the North La. Hayride into the American Legion building in Minden, a little southwest of Homer. Dooley Peterson was reluctant to reconstruct the building but gave in in the end. It then featured shows known as "Claiborne Country" for some time, becoming a rival to the Hayride, which ended its run finally in 1995. The original building in Homer is abandoned nowadays.

Sources
• Thanks to Mark Keith for sharing his memories, information and photo material for this post.

Paul & Roy on Mercury

Paul & Roy, the Tennessee River Boys - Spring of Love (Mercury 6374-X45), 1952
When I first posted this record in 2012, I had no idea who the duo of Paul & Roy were. The internet was no help back then and it's still not today. This duo seems to be forgotten, although they recorded a slew of singles throughout the 1950s, the majority of them even for the big Mercury record label.

Paul & Roy were blind singer/guitarist Paul Boswell and mandolinist/singer Roy Pryor. They performed together for at least over a decade, starting likely in the late 1940s. They went on tour with Cowboy Copas through Canada around that time and it seems that they were quite cross-linked in the Nashville music scene. Philip Pryor, son of Roy Pryor, remembered so many now famous musicians that hung around with his father, it is astonishing the duo remained so obscure. Musicians like Benny Martin and Little Jimmy Dickens or radio personality/producer Noel Ball were only some of those names. Boswell also worked as a session musician.

Paul & Roy gained a recording contract with Mercury in 1951 and their first disc comprised "Every Dog Must Have His Day" b/w "You're All Alone, Tonite" (Mercury 6360). I once compared their sound to those of popular duo Johnnie & Jack, whose bluegrass-country-gospel melting was successful and influential as well. It is no surprise that Pryor and Boswell were friends with one of their brothers.

From their second release for Mercury, we feature their own composition "Spring of Love" from early 1952. This is another fine example of their sound and songwriting talent. Apart from writing most of their own material, Pryor also wrote or co-wrote songs performed by other artists. Country comedy duo Lonzo & Oscar used to sing Pryor's "Mama's on a Diet" at the Grand Ole Opry until they were told to omit the song as Pryor was not in the Musicians' Guild at that time. Pryor also co-wrote "I'll Keep Your Name on File" with George McCormick, who recorded it for MGM in 1957.

Paul & Roy continued to record for Mercury until 1953, releasing a total of six discs over two years. They would not record until 1959 when they made ties with Nashville entrepreneur called Mr. Pace, who was originally active in the pinball machine business, before starting out as a record label and publishing firm owner. Paul & Roy's two releases for Pace were two of the label's earliest releases but also remained their last sides.

Pryor and Boswell drifted into obscurity in the 1960s and only few seem to remember their recordings now. The British Archive of Country Music has released a CD in 2013 comprising their complete recorded output.

Discography
Mercury 6360: Every Dog Must Have His Day / You're All Alone, Tonite (1951)
Mercury 6374: Spring of Love / You’ve Been Cheating on Me, Darling (1952) 
Mercury 6406: Only Pretending / The Shape My Heart’s In (1952)
Mercury 70027: You Made the Break / The Way You Lied to Me (1952)
Mercury 70121: Don’t Ever Tell Me / Wicked Love (1953)
Mercury 70197: The Flower of Old Tennessee / I'm Lost Without You (1953)
Pace 1003: Meet the Lord Half Way / There Will Be No Disappointments (1959)
Pace 1004: Free, Twenty-One and Ambitious / I Wish You’d Be a Country Girl (1959)

See also

• BACM CD on Bear Family

Sources

• Thanks to Roy Pryor's son, to Paul Boswell's son and to Bob for sharing their knowledge and memories with me.

• Entries on 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

Music Mountain Jamboree

Music Mountain Jamboree cast, 1980s or 1990s
From the autographs, I can only read Ron Castleberry
(possibly a relative of Hot Springs singer Leo Castleberry?)

The Music Mountain Jamboree in Hot Springs, Arkansas, was one of many, local, family-friendly music shows that were held all around the United States. Following the golden age of radio and the demise of big live stage shows that aired over radio, many smaller shows emerged. These were often operated by a single person or a family, often held at small theaters, and were not broadcast over radio. One of those later shows was the Music Mountain Jamboree in Hot Springs.

The actual founding and persons behind the shows are unclear to me. There was Ted Mullinax, entrepreneur and politician, who claims to have founded the Music Mountain Jamboree in 1982. Also, there were Tony Rex and Geraldine Crabtree from Hot Springs, a couple who also dabbled in various business affairs, who claimed to have opened the Music Mountain Jamboree. It is unclear to me at the moment, who of them were the first or if these were even separate shows.

There are several hints to artists that appeared on the Jamboree. David Ray Altom, "Granny" Messenger, Bruce Allen Smith, Ronnie Neighbors, and Ted Mullinax himself pop up as musicians that have performed on the show. The theater was located on 1555 East Grand Avenue (U.S. Highway 70) in Hot Springs.

According to Mullinax, he operated the show for two decades, which means it came to an end around 2002. If anyone has more info on the Music Mountain Jamboree or can set things straight, feel free to leave a comment!

Sources
• Obituaries for Geraldine Crabtree and Tony Rex Crabtree
• Interview and article on Ted Mullinax
• David Ray Altom obituary
• Ronnie Neighbors obituary
• Bruce Allen Smith obituary
• Granny Messenger Find a Grave entry

Jim Atkins on Coral

Jim Atkins and the Pinetoppers - I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas) (Coral #64147), 1953
(courtesy of Western Red of If That Ain't Country podcast)

Jim Atkins' "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas)" is one of my all-time favorite "hot country" songs with its twangy lead guitar, fast pace, and catchy tune. There has never been a comprehensive overview of Atkins' career, so I thought I'd change this. Although Atkins had a long run in the music industry, and with his brother Chet Atkins an even more famous relative, there were likely different men of the same name active in the business and it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. Therefore, as I went deeper and deeper into Atkins' life and career, there appeared mentions of men named Jim Atkins where it is not clear if it's the same man or simply another musician of the same name.

James "Jim" Atkins was born as the oldest son of James Arlie Atkins, a Tennessee native, and grew up in Luttrell, Tennessee. He and his wife had three more children, Nancy Niona (born 1918), Lowell Sylvester (born 1921), and Chester Burton "Chet" (born 1924). It was of course Atkins' younger brother Chet, who rose to fame as a guitarist and later as a producer and music industry giant, being one of the persons making Nashville what it is today. Their parents divorced at some point and married other partners, both giving birth to several half-siblings of Jim and Chet.

While their brother Lowell lived a civilian life, operating his own electric motor repair shop in Kokomo, Indiana, for many years, "Jim was the first to 'make it' in the music business," as Chet later recalled. Jim Atkins got his start as a professional musician in the mid 1930s on Chicago's WLS station and its famed National Barn Dance. Although he started out as a country music performer - old-time or mountain music, as it was then rather called - he was no stranger to other music genres. In 1939, still being based in Chicago, Atkins teamed up with guitar maestro Les Paul and Atkins became part of Paul's jazz trio, playing rhythm guitar on Paul's nationwide network broadcasts. He later also had a radio show with another guitar legend: Leo Fender.

Probably starting in the late 1930s, Atkins was the featured vocalist with Fred Waring's dance orchestra and remained with that group for about ten years. During World War II, the orchestra performed countless war bond rallies and entertained troops across the country. In addition, Atkins was heard on Waring's Chesterfield Time radio show that was broadcast widely through different networks. In the 1940s, Atkins also had his on radio show on WNEW in New York City.

Though, Atkins returned to country music and we find Atkins recording as part of his brother Chet's group in November 1947. Two sessions were recorded for RCA-Victor that month. Atkins would accompany his brother again in September 1951 during a session in New York City. A certain Jimmy Atkins recorded for the independent Continental label in 1949. If this is the same Jim Atkins is unknown to me at the moment.

By 1954, Atkins had moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked for radio WBRC, sometimes billing himself as "Uncle" Jim Atkins and accompanied by an all female group known as the "Barnyard Sweethearts". During his time in Birmingham, Atkins wrote several songs and was part of many country music shows, playing alongside such Alabama veteran performers as Jack Turner, Hardrock Gunter, or Happy Wilson.

Previously, Atkins had signed a recording contract with Decca's subsidiary Coral Records and his first disc for the label had appeared in 1950, featuring "T-E-X-A-S" b/w "When Evening Shadows Fall" (Coral #60136). It was not until March 1953 that his next release appeared. It coupled covers of Lattie Moore's "Juke Joint Johnnie" and Jay C. Flippen's "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas)" (Coral #64147). Although this was "hot" music, at least for country music terms, Billboard wasn't too pleased with the performances and they passed without much notice and it became Atkins' last disc for the label.

Billboard C&W review March 7, 1953

In October 1954, Billboard reported that Atkins had become associated with Fairway Music Corporation and further, Atkins set up his own record label, Alfa Records. The first and only release comprised Atkins' recording of his own "This Doggone Fiddle" backed by "Two Ton Mama" by Tex Dixon, a singer that appeared on Atkins' radio show during this time. The record apparently sold well enough, at least in the Birmingham area, to prompt Coral to resign Atkins. In February the following year, it was announced that his recording of "That Doggone Fiddle" along with "You Can't Help Being Ugly" was scheduled for release on Coral but in the end, the release was cancelled to unknown reasons. Coral discontinued its country series that same year, which may have been a reason.

Billboard October 23, 1954

Atkins remained with WBRC in Birmingham at least until late 1955. Then, suddenly, Billboard stops to mention his name in its "Folk Talent & Tunes" column. By 1957, we find mention of Atkins working at WARF in Jasper, Alabama (just a little northwest of Birmingham). He had discovered a young singer named Hoyt Johnson, began managing him and connected Johnson with record producer Marshall Ellis in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson went on to record for Erwin and RCA-Victor but the big success eluded this young singer. Atkins and Johnson even wrote songs together ("It's a Little More Like Heaven (Where You Are)", later recorded by Hank Locklin and, differently, by Johnny Cash as "You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven"). 

Atkins was probably also involved in bringing Tex Dixon to Marshall Ellis' attention. Dixon, an Alabama native, was part of Atkins' radio show at one time and recorded for several Memphis based labels during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. 

There was a Jim Atkins, spinning records for WAPE in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1958, who was possibly the same Jim Atkins that operated Arlingwood Records in Jacksonville. In May 1959, there appeared a Jimmy Atkins on a recording by Barry Etris on the Atlanta based Leo's label plus a certain Jimmy Atkins on the Verve label in 1967. However, I found no evidence that any of these men were the same Jim Atkins.

Atkins recorded again with brother Chet in 1958 and an album was planned to be released the following year on RCA-Victor, which didn't happen though. The recordings saw release in 1963 on a Canadian RCA Camden album entitled "The Guitar Genius", which was reissued by Sundazed eventually. The recordings were also included on Bear Family's large Chet Atkins box set.

What seems to be secure information is that Jim Atkins left the performing side of the music business but remained active with radio work. He surfaced in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s, where he worked as program director of KOA as early as 1963. He retired in 1968 and not too long afterwards, an interesting record appeared on the Mountain of Colorado label in Denver featuring Big Jim with support by Jimmy Atkins' Hustlers. Coincidence? I'm not sure. The record seems to have been pressed around 1968/1969.

However, following his retirement, Atkins moved to Nashville in 1969 in order to work with his brother Chet again. In the spring of 1971, Jim Atkins was co-founder of FAME, "Famous American Musicians and Educators, Inc.", a company dealing with music education that introduced a special guitar teaching system. While Chet served as a chairman, Jim Atkins was named vice president of the company. The company lasted at least until 1973 and one of the last mentions we find of Jim Atkins is from October 1974, when Billboard reported that Atkins had appeared on the "Sunday Down South" show in Nashville. In March 1975, the Country Music Hall of Fame conducted an interview with Atkins, speaking about his career in music.

Jim Atkins died on January 6, 1977, from a heart attack while visiting his son in Denver. He was 64 years old. 

Discography

This discography shows records credited to "Jim Atkins" or "Jimmy Atkins". However, it is not assured that all of them are by the same artist. 

Continental C-1253: Scotty MacGregor - It's Santa Claus / Jimmy Atkins - Auld Lang Syne (1949)
Continental C-5115: Jimmy Atkins - An Old Christmas Card / Auld Lang Syne (1949)
Continental 11002: Jimmy Atkins with the Billy Mure Trio - (The Gang That Sang) Heart Of My Heart / On the Old Spanish Trail
Continental 11005: Jimmy Atkins - Engagement Waltz / One Raindrop Doesn't Make a Shower
Rainbow 50022: Jimmy Atkins - You Can't Take It with You / Gone Fishin' (1950)
Coral 60136: Jimmy Atkins with the Mullen Sisters - T-E-X-A-S / When Evening Shadows Fall (1950)
Coral 64147: Jim Atkins and the Pinetoppers - Juke Joint Johnny / I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas) (1953) (also released in Canada)
Alfa 102/2: Jim Atkins and Dixie Range Riders - This Doggone Fiddle / Tex Dixon and Dixie Rangers - Two Ton Mama (1954)
Leo's 20011/2: Barry Etris / Jimmy Atkins - guitar, Uncle John Patterson, guitar - I've Met My One and Only / Faded Rose (1959)
Verve VK-10528: Jimmy Atkins with Johnny Smith Quartet - Land of the Velvet Hills / Shenandoah (1967)
Mountain of Colorado 1050: Big Jim with Jimmy Atkins & the Hustlers - Sunset Horizon / One Mistake Too Late (1968/1969)

Recommended reading

• Country Music Hall of Fame

Sources

• Secondhand Songs

• Discogs entry

• Hilllbilly-Music.com entry

• Hoyt Johnson biography on Blackcat Rockabilly Europe
• various entries on 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

• Adam Komorowski: "From Boppin' Hillbilly to Red Hot Rockabilly" (2006), liner notes, Proper Records
• The Tennessean: "Jim Atkins, 64, Brother of Chet Atkins, Dies" (January 7, 1977)

• Unknown author: "The Guitar Genius" (1963), liner notes, RCA Camden Records

Roy Acuff on Capitol

Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys - Whoa Mule (Capitol F2738), 1954

We won't go into detail on Roy Acuff's career and biography as well as his efforts in and importance for country music's history. Rightfully, he is known as "The King of Country Music". Between 1953 and 1955, Acuff's recordings were released by Capitol, the only major label based on the west coast, and Acuff's name and rather old-fashioned style of country music is not really associated with this label. However, he recorded numerous sides for the label in Nashville, beginning in February 1953.

Billboard February 28, 1954

"Whoa Mule" comes from Acuff's December 2, 1953, Capitol session, which took place at the Tulane Hotel in Nashville. He was accompanied that day by Lonnie Wilson and Jess Easterday on guitars, Brother Oswald on banjo/dobro/vocals, Howdy Forrester on fiddle, Jimmy Riddle on harmonica, and Joseph "Joe" Zinkan on bass. Capitol released it with "Rushing Around" from the same session on #F2738 in February 1954. By then, Acuff's days as a hit maker were gone but nevertheless, his discs still must have sold decently, as he recorded steadily during the 1950s and Capitol even promoted this particular discs with ads in Billboard. The song was also included in Capitol's album of Acuff recordings "The Voice of Country Music" (1965) and even had seen release previously in Germany on a Capitol EP in 1963.

"Whoa Mule" is a traditional song/tune known throughout the whole south, mid-western states and even southwestern states. Many artists have recorded it since the 1920s, the first being Riley Puckett's version for Columbia from September 1924. Since then, countless versions have appeared and "Whoa Mule" also made the transition from an old-time tune into bluegrass band repertoire. It is also known as "Kickin' Mule", "Buckin' Mule" or "Johnson's Old Grey Mule".

Recordings
The following list contains historical recordings which I chose to include here. The list is incomplete - additions are appreciated.

• Riley Puckett, Whoa Mule (Columbia #15040-D, Silvertone #3258, Harmony #5147-H), rec. September 11, 1924, rel. October 1925 (Columbia), 1926 (Silvertone, as Fred Wilson)
• Bill Chitwood & Bud Landress, Whoa, Mule (Brunswick #2811, Silvertone #3050), rec. November 21, 1924, rel. March 1925 (Brunswick), rel. 1926 (Silvertone)
• The Hill Billies, Whoa! Mule (OKeh 40376), rec. January 1925, rel. June 1925
• Chubby Parker, Whoa Mule Whoa (Gennett #6120, Champion #15260, Silvertone #5011, #25011, Supertone #9189), rec. April 11, 1927, rel. June 1927 (Gennett)
• Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, Whoa, Mule (Brunswick #179), rel. 1927
• Leonard G. Fulwider, Whoa, Mule, Whoa (Victor #V-40270), rel. July 1930
• Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, Whoa, Mule, Whoa (Bluebird #B-5591), rel. August 1934
• Al Clauser & his Oklahoma Outlaws, Whoa, Mule, Whoa (Melotone #7-08-63), rel. August 1937

• Hinson, Pitts and Coley, Whoa, Mule, Whoa (Bluebird #B-7438), rec. January 24, 1938, rel. February 1938
• Prairie Sweethearts, Whoah Mule Whoah (Silvertone acetate), rec. January 17, 1942

• Dickie Goodman, Whoa Mule (Rori -R-601), rel. September 1961
• The Bootleggers, Whoa, Mule (Autogram AEP 173 [Germany]), rel. 1971
• Gwyn Biddix & Toe River Valley Boys, Whoa Mule Whoa (Mayland #MA 006), rel. 1973
• Stonecreek, Whoa Mule (Ca Va #S261 [UK]), rel. 1978
• Narvis Reptile, Whoa Mule Whoa (Thrust #RUFF 4 [UK]), rel. July 1982
• Rosebud Band, Whoa Mule Whoa (Blackvinyl #BV-414), unknown date

Sources
• 45cat entry

• various further entries on 45worlds/78rpm and 45cat on "Whoa Mule" recordings
• Traditional Tune Archive
• Secondhand Songs (more versions)
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discography entry

Hank Smith on Gilmar

Hank Smith / The Nashville Playboys - Heartbreak Hotel (Gilmar RX 120), 1956

How George Jones Became Starday's Elvis

By 1956, George Jones had landed his first hit in the country music charts, "Why Baby Why", and was Starday Records' rising star. He had recorded for the label since early 1954 but was still building his career. At the same time, rockabilly and rock'n'roll were taking America's music scene by storm. However, Starday had been mainly a country music label and Jones a country boy at heart as his producer and Starday co-owner Pappy Daily was. Though, Daily recognized the potential rock'n'roll was bearing, especially sales-wise.

In 1956, Dixie Records was introduced as a subsidiary of Starday and eventually served for custom recordings, potential original material and, beginning in January 1956, as a mail-order budget soundalike label. Daily coaxed several of his Starday recording artists into the idea of recording covers of the hits of the day, mostly country music but also some rockabilly songs. Jones was no exception and called into the studio. Short of money, he agreed to throw himself into a cover of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", which was released in late January 1956 and became an instant #1 rock'n'roll hit. Jones cut the song shortly afterwards, in March, at Gold Star Studio in Houston, Texas, and his version bears some raw power, much more primitive and energetic than Presley's original, with great support by Starday house musicians Doc Lewis on piano, Hezzie Bryant on thumping bass, and Hal Harris performing an aggressive lead guitar solo.

The recording first saw release on Dixie EP #502 (as an edited, shorter version) under the name of "Thumper" Jones. To say Jones didn't like to record rock'n'roll would be an understatement - he hated it. That's why Daily came up with the name "Thumper" - in order to hide Jones' real identity. Other songs from that EP were credited to Thumper Jones, too: "Blue Suede Shoes", which was in fact recorded by Leon Payne, and "Folsom Prison Blues", which had been cut by Benny Barnes. The longer version of "Heartbreak Hotel" was eventually leased to other budget companies and therefore appeared on a plethora of labels, including Tops, Gilmar, Record-Of-The-Month-Club, and probably some more.

Daily encouraged Jones to cut his own rockabilly songs and shortly after the session for Dixie took place, Jones was back at Gold Star in March to lay down "Rock It" and "How Come It", which were released in May 1956 on Starday #240 (again credited to "Thumper" Jones). These powerful rockabilly performances later became favorites among rock'n'roll music fans but remained a dark spot for Jones and didn't sell well back then, mainly because Starday, which was strictly a country label, didn't know how to promote it properly.

George Jones promo picture, late 1950s

Although Jones never recorded songs as frantic as his rockabilly performances for Starday, he cut a slew of other rockabilly songs that, in some cases, even cracked the charts. He did more sessions for Dixie that produced cover versions, including a rendition of Johnny Horton's rockabilly hit "I'm a One-Woman Man", and later cut rockabilly for Mercury, such as "White Lightning" (a #1 hit for Jones) or "Who Shot Sam" (#7).

In later years, Jones used to dismiss his 1950s rockabilly recordings and rumour goes that he cracked a copy of Starday #240 a fan handed him to sign. The songs, however, are still in circulation on countless rockabilly compilations and several reissues that gather Jones' rockabilly songs.

Sources

• Hank Smith entry on 45cat

• Dixie Records on 45cat

• George Jones Rockin' Country Style entry

• Starday Rockin' Country Style entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Nathan D. Gibson: "The Starday Story - The House That Country Music Built" (University Press of Mississippi), 2011, page 34-36

Paul Howard

Paul Howard and his Arkansas Cotton PickersWestern Swing's Forgotten Visionary

Paul Howard's name, largely forgotten today and only remembered by hardcore western swing fans, should be listed in the Country Music Hall of Fame but unfortunately is not. His band, the Arkansas Cotton Pickers, was the first western swing orchestra to appear regularly at the Grand Ole Opry and brought the swinging, modern sounds to the Opy's listeners. The management of the show was as conservative as it gets, ignoring trends and changing styles in country music largely but Howard was given a spot nevertheless. Many musicians passed through his band - and some of them would develop into the genre's leading session musicians.

Paul Jackson Howard was born on July 10, 1908, on a farm near Midland, Arkansas, a small town not for away from the Fort Smith metropolitan area. Although raised on traditional old-time music and a fan of Jimmie Rodgers' blues drenched version of it, Howard was one of the first rural musicians to welcome the swinging sounds of western swing that came out of Texas in the 1930s. Jon Hartley Fox called Howard a "music visionary" in his book "King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records". Howard became not only a great fan of Bob Wills but also called him a friend eventually.

At age fifteen, Howard ran away from home and moved in with his sister in Kansas. For the next two years, he worked as a construction worker in Kansas, as a coal miner in Oklohoma and finally as a copper miner in Arizona. It was in Bisbee, Arizona, where he met a black man who taught him the first chords on the guitar. This led Howard to becoming seriously interested in music and he bought a guitar and an instruction book soon after. He started out as a performer in 1931, being heard on KOY in Phoenix, Arizona. However, he returned to Oklahoma in 1933 to work as a coal miner again to earn a living. Music was still on his mind and he soon landed a steady job with a movie theater in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he performed as a Jimmie Rodgers clone during intermissions and after the movies had ended.

Billboard July 20, 1946

Following his engagement in Fort Smith, Howard hit the road, working as a traveling salesman and a radio performer at once. In 1940, he stopped in Nashville and auditioned for George D. Hay and Jack Stapps, program director of WSM, and as a result, was given not only a spot on WSM but also on the Grand Ole Opry. He was still a solo singer at that time, which likely appealed to the conservative Opry management better than a large country dance band. At that time, the Opry had become the leading country music radio show in the United States and became manifest by the early 1940s. In 1941, Howard founded a band, the "Arkansas Cotton Pickers", which became probably the first western swing outfit that regularly played the Opry and featured as much as ten musicians at some point.

During the 1940s, many musicians that later became top names in Nashville went through the Arkansas Cotton Pickers. Guitarists Billy Byrd, Hank Garland and Grady Martin, bassist Bob Moore, steel guitarists Little Roy Wiggins and Sunny Albright, vocalist Nita Lynn - all of them and many more excellent musicians performed with Howard's band and gathered important experiences.

Billboard March 2, 1946

Howard remained the only western swing act during the 1940s' Opry and became a favorite with the listeners, though he began recording not until 1946 for the independent Liberty label from North Hollywood. The session took place in early 1946 and apart from Arkansas Cotton Pickers mainstays like Jabbo Arlington (guitar), also featured a young Billy Byrd and Owen Bradley on piano. "(You Left) A Red Cross on My Heart" b/w "I've Been Lonesome Since You Went Away" (Liberty #6) were two songs Howard later re-released by King Records.

The Liberty release brought Howard to the attention of Columbia Records and his first release for the label appeared at the tail end of 1946, "Oklahoma City" b/w "Somebody Else's Trouble" (Columbia #37204). Over a stretch of two years, Columbia released a total of six singles but none of them became a national hit. In 1949, Howard signed with King and recorded another ten songs for the label from Cincinnati, although these releases did not sell better either.

In 1949, while still recording for King but frustrated with the situation, Howard decided it needed a change and moved from Nashville to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he became a steady member of the Louisiana Hayride, the Opry's competitor that was much more open for modern and innovative country music sounds. His last recording session took place in Shreveport at radio KWKH, which was released on King. Howard stayed with the Hayride until around 1951 but could not find success there either.

Billboard March 2, 1957

During these years, Howard and his band toured extensively through Louisiana, Texas, as well as Arkansas and could be heard over different radio stations. In 1956, he went into promotion, though he continued as a performer as well. He returned to Arkansas, where he fronted a band and toured the state during the 1950s and 1960s. He disbanded his band in 1973 and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1981, where he continued to book shows and to work with with a bluegrass band. He also returned to Nashville once a year for the Old Timers show and was also a member of the Country Music Association.

Paul Howard died June 19, 1984, in Little Rock, Arkansas, of heart failure. He was 75 years old. That same year, German Cattle Records released an LP with a collection of his recordings. Two CDs followed in 2010 on the TRG label and in 2013 by the British Archive of Country Music.

Sources
• Hillbilly-Music.com entry
• 45worlds.com/78rpm entry
• SecondHandSongs
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Entry at Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies
• Steel Guitar Forum
• Find a Grave entry
• Jon Hartley Fox: "King of the Queen City: The Story of King Records" (University of Illinois Press), 2020, pages 80-81
• Max M. Cole: "Western Swing at its Best" (liner notes), Cattle LP 57

Sources for Arkansas Cotton Pickers members
• Sunny Allbright
• Jimmy Byrd
• Bob Moore
• Nita Lynn
• Little Roy Wiggins
• Grady Martin
• Hank Garland
• Rollin Sullivan

Dixie Harper on Dude

Dixie Harper and Her All Golden Drifters - I Love You More Every Minute (Dude JB-1502), ca. 1947/1948
(courtesy of Sean Hickey)

Dixie Harper was one of the few country & western women singers that emerged out of Arkansas. There were several national known singers that were born in the Natural State and raised with its culture and, therefore, music. She left the state at an early stage in her life, became known in Fort Worth, Texas, with her band during the 1940s but remained on a regional level and finally laid her career to rest.

She was born Nora Mae Harper on March 27, 1918, to William and Julia Harper. According to official census records, the Harper family was living in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas, area in 1920 so it is likely that Harper was born there. However, information on her early life is scarce. She had at least five siblings and the family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, at some point between 1920 and 1930. Harper, who was known to friends as "Dixie", married a man called Terry Day in the 1930s but had divorced from him again by 1940. The couple had one son, born in 1936.

According to her daughter, Harper decided to try her luck in music after the divorce but to all accounts, she first appeared as a singer not until early 1947, when she began as a solo act. Then, she founded her own band, the Bluebonnet Boys, in summer that same year. The line-up included Harper on vocals and guitar, Durwood Tonn on fiddle, David Baker on guitar, Slim Hensley on electric guitar, and J.L. Hodges on bass. The line-up changed over the years but Durwood "Durrie" Tonn seems to have been one of the few mainstays in the band.

On August 3, 1947, the band took part on a statewide contest for amateur string bands in Dallas, Texas, and although the Bluebonnet Boys were only performing together for about two and a half months by that point, they took first place and became the "Texas State Champion Fiddle Band". Although the outfit would perform under different names in the following years, their nickname was being used frequently (in different variations, though). 

For a brief time during late 1947, the band was performing as "Dixie Harper and her All Gold Drifters", sponsored by All Gold Flour. It must have been during this time that Harper and her band were recorded for the first time. On the Dude label, which was operated by Jim Beck out of his recording studio in Dallas, they recorded "Bubble Gum" b/w "I Love You More Every Minute" (Dude #JB-1502), credited to "Dixie Harper and Her All Gold Drifters". Judging by the name, the disc must have been released in late 1947 or early 1948.

Throughout the late 1940s, Harper and her group was performing regularly in different venues, including the Hilarity Club, Stella's Dine and Dance, the famed Dessau Hall in Austin, Texas, the Cowtown Rodeo events in Fort Worth, plus radio broadcasts in the city on such stations as KCNC. Harper was also part of the first ever television broadcast out of Fort Worth, a country & western show organized by Leslie A. Hoffman, an electronic manufacturer from California who was a pioneer in country music TV shows.

Harper and the band continued to record for Jim Beck as "Dixie Harper and her Blue Bonnet Brats", released on both Jimmy Mercer's Royalty label and on the Personality label. Their recordings consisted of traditional fiddle tunes such as "Soldier's Joy" or "Boil Dem Cabbage Down", as well as of covers of the country hit of the day, including their version of Hank Williams' hit "Lovesick Blues". They also cut some radio transcriptions in 1949 for KCNC.

By September 1950, Harper and the Bluebonnet Brats had changed from KCNC to KCUL, also based in Fort Worth. Harper also appeared regularly on local WBAM-TV, including the TV play "The Crossroads Store". During the next years, it seems she took a step back and became less active in music. It seems she stopped her radio appearances in 1951 and two years later, married Donald Louis Sparks, with whom she had two children. However, they divorced in 1959.

Catalog of Copyright Entries, 1967

While her activities as a performer had ceased during the 1950s, Harper decided in the early 1960s to resume her musical career and founded an all girl band that performed for about two years in the Fort Worth area. She also appeared with Tommy Duncan and the Texas Playboys when they performed in the city. However, in the midst of the decade, she decided to quit altogether and became a private duty nurse, working in this field until 1995. She kept singing as a sideline, appearing with different groups in her spare time.

In 1999, her health began to decline and since 2002, she spent her last years in nursing homes in Texas and Mississippi. Dixie Harper passed away on March 7, 2007, at the age of 88 years. She is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth.

Discography

Dude JB-1502: Dixie Harper and her All Golden Drifters - Bubble Gum / I Love You More Every Minute (1947/1948)
Personality P-28/31: Dixie Harper and her Blue Bonnet Brats - Devil's Dream / Soldier's Joy
Personality P-29/30: Dixie Harper and her Blue Bonnet Brats - Boil Dem Cabbage Down / Tennessee Wagoner
Royalty P38/39: Dixie Harper and her Bluebonnet Brats - Lovesick Blues / Wabash Cannonball (ca. 1949) 

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Find a Grave entry

• 45worlds entry

Columbia County Hayride

Rural Entertainment in Southwest Arkansas

The Story of the Columbia County Hayride

Among the countless live stage shows that were held throughout the United States, the Columbia County Hayride was a lesser known example. When the Hayride started, the golden age of American radio had been over for about twenty years by then and many of the Hayride's role model shows had gone off the air. However, the show was one of about a dozen known live stage shows that were held throughout Arkansas and eventually became the longest running show of its kind in Arkansas.

My introduction to the Columbia County Hayride came through Mark Keith, a sometimes performer on the show and fellow record collector. Mark was of great help during some of my Arkansas music researches and when the Hayride finally came to an end in 2023, I took it as an inducement to write down its history.

The Mount Holly Jamboree
The founders of the Hayride were Johnny Sprayberry and Troy Wyrick, two musicians who met in the early 1970s and took a liking to each other when they found out they had common relatives in Texas. They started to play music in their back yards. What started as jam sessions of two musicians developed soon into something bigger. People came by to watch them play and other musicians gathered and sat in. They found an old building in Mount Holly, located roughly between Magnolia, Smackover, and El Dorado in South Arkansas, and fixed it up in order to play live shows there. This was in 1971. The forerunner of the Columbia County Hayride was born.

The early incarnation of the show, when it was still known as the "Mount Holly Jamboree".
Johnny Sprayberry can be seen behind the microphone.

Initially, the show was called "Mount Holly Jamboree" and was not aired live over radio. "All was well for a year or two until the Arkansas State Police pretty much closed it down because people were parking on the sides of the state highway, there was virtually no parking at the building," told me Mark, who got his start at the show later on. Sprayberry and Wyrick held a few shows at the Magonolia fairgrounds in an open air pavilion, though this was not a  proper replacement for the Mount Holly hall. 

Moving to Columbia County
They kept on searching and found another old building, an abandoned school, in nearby Calhoun. Again, the building needed some repair and fixing but in the end, was ready to stage live country music shows again. It was probably at that point when the name "Columbia County Hayride" was designated to the show. The show was held live but was still not broadcast on radio.

Betty Sprayberry on drums, Henry Matthews in front

The original house band of the show, known as the Country Cousins, comprised Johnny Sprayberry on vocals, rhythm guitar, and steel guitar, Troy Wyrick on lead guitar, Don Kennedy on rhythm guitar, Kay Jacks on rhythm guitar, Dorothy Roden on autoharp and mandolin, Vic Reynolds and then Curt Cannon on bass, and Betty Sprayberry on drums. Some of the members also stepped up to the front light, including Sprayberry. Other bands on the show during this time included a rock'n'roll band known as "The Rock & Roll Express", the Shine-Ons, a bluegrasss group fronted by Mary Pate, and the Cox Family that joined around 1972 or 1973, as well as a group called "Night Train", among others.

Some of the artists that appeared on the Hayride became major country music stars. Tracy Lawrence, who was raised in Foreman, Arkansas, and performed on the show, had several hit albums and singles in the 1990s and early 2000s and might be the most successful artist that worked the Hayride stage. Linda Davis was another singer that appeared on the show and eventually found success in the 1990s as a country music singer. The Cox Family became a well-known bluegrass group, working with Allison Krauss, among others, and had a highly acclaimed album out in 2015, "Gone Like the Cotton".

The original line-up of the Country Cousins

Radio broadcasts, another move and the End
In the early to mid 1990s, the Columbia County Hayride finally hit the airwaves. Local Magnolia radio station KVMA taped the show to broadcast it. Around the same time, the show made one more move into Magnolia, switching from the old school house into a former furniture store on West Union Street. The owner of the store, who was a big Hayride fan, had moved his business into a bigger place and gave over his old building to the show management. The Hayride show now housed up to 250 people every third Saturday night at the new place, known as the Union Street Station. The house band changed their name to "Union Street Band" to underline the movement.

Around 1998, the show switched from KVMA to more powerful KZHE, licensed in Stamps, Arkansas, but actually located in Union Street Station. It was quite an improvement for the Hayride to jump from a 1,000 watt daytime station to a 50,000 watt station, serving a radius of 75 miles around Magnolia. In addition, the show began to air live on the station instead of taped shows.

The show continued to draw crowds once a month until Covid hit the world and the Hayride was paused during these years. In 2021, the Hayride celebrated its 50th anniversary with a special show and KZHE conducted an interview with founder Johnny Sprayberry. After the pandemic, the show resumed but made its final run in 2023 after a history of 52 years. This probably made her Arkansas' most enduring country music live stage show.

"I very much loved the Hayride and hate to see it go away... but that's how things go," attests Mark, who has been a performer on the show in the mid 1970s and prior to its end. He still performs in the Magnolia region and appears frequently on KZHE's Gospel Hour show, another live music show in the region.

Sources

• My special thanks to Mark Keith, who provided me with all the details necessary for this write-up. 

Marvin McCullough on Boyd

Marvin McCullough - Mayby My Baby (Boyd BB-3383), 1961

Tulsa has been a city full of music for long and it was especially a hot bed for western swing music since the 1930s, mainly due to the presence of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys and the various bands that developed out of it, led by Wills companions like his brother Johnnie Lee Wills or his former steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe. One of Tulsa's later stars was singer and DJ Marvin McCullough, who enjoyed great popularity in the area in the early 1960s.

McCullough was born on September 13, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama, and collected his first experiences in the radio business on Alabama stations WGAD out of Gadsden and on WANA in Anniston. Nothing else is known about this early stage in his career.

Probably his first recordings were made in the mid 1950s with the Acme record label from Manchester, Kentucky. Today, the label is best remembered for its traditional bluegrass, gospel, and country music releases and it is probable that McCullough's first sides were in a similar style. Acme #1210 was his first release and coupled "I Think I'm Falling in Love with You" with "I Can't Tell My Heart". It was followed by Acme #1215, two religious song performed with support by the Keck Brothers, "The Bible in Song" b/w "My Lord Is Coming Home from Heaven". Although these cuts seem to be McCullough's earliest recordings, no exact release date has been documented or can be traced as Acme releases are hard to date.

In 1950, McCullough joined the staff of KWHN in Fort Smith, Arkansas, near the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border. He remained with the station for five years but also had a very popular morning program in 1953-1954 on KFSA in Fort Smith. In 1955, switched to KRMG in Tulsa, which broadcast out of Leon McAuliffe's Cimarron Ballroom. By 1958, McCullough was appearing regularly with Gene Mooney's Westernaires, a local Tulsa western swing combo that was around for many years, appearing in Northeastern Oklahoma and Northwestern Arkansas. McCullough formed his own band in 1961.

By the early 1960s, McCullough had become the top country music DJ in town. By then, he performed western swing, the predominant style in that region. Billy Parker, steel guitarist and band leader himself, remembered that at one time in the early 1960s, McCullough had three shows daily: one in the morning, a lunchtime show (a slot he had taken over from Leon McAuliffe), and a midnight show. "People would come in as a studio audience and watch him when he was on the radio. The studio room probably had seats for 40 people, but there was never enough room. People would standing around against the walls. Even on his midnight show, he had a studio full," remembered Ira "Rocky" Caple, McCullough's steel guitarist and band leader in his own right, in a 1990s interview with John Wooley.

In 1961, McCullough began recording for local Oklahoma labels, first for Carl Blankenship's Razorback label from Muskogee, located near Tulsa. Blankenship had been a DJ on KWHN in Fort Smith, too (McCullough knew him likely through their mutual days at the station), and had booked Mooney and the Westernaires into several places during the late 1950s. McCullough and his band released "Bitter Tears", sung by Jimmy Hall, and "Sawed Off Shot Gun", an instrumental spotlighting the steel guitar skills of Rocky Caple. 

Billboard May 15, 1961, C&W review

His most popular record came that same year with a song called "Just for a Little While", which saw release in May on the Boyd label (#BB-3383) from Oklahoma City. Both the A side and the B side, "Mayby My Baby", were written by successful songwriter Eddie Miller. "Just for a Little While" was a top seller and saw national distribution by United Artists. Following the success, Boyd released another single by McCullough in 1961.

Billboard November 6, 1961

Capitol Records, which had a noteworthy country roster with the likes of Buck Owens, Ferlin Husky, Tommy Collins, Hank Thompson, Wanda Jackson, and many more, saw enough potential in McCullough to sign him to a recording contract. Though, only two records without significant success saw the light of day on the label. The first came out around September 1962, comprising "Just Inside Your Arms" and "Where Else Could I Go" (Capitol #4820) from a May or June 1962 session. A November session the same year remained unreleased and McCullough's next single was not released until August the next year, "Stranger In My Arms" b/w "'If' Is a Mighty Big Word" (Capitol #5030). For most of the material, McCullough relied on Eddie Miller's songwriting talents.

The unsuccessful run at Capitol seems to have stopped McCullough's career as a recording artist but he continued to work as a DJ. He began working for KFMJ (Tulsa) in 1968 and worked as the station's music director.

In 1971 or 1972, McCullough returned to Alabama and continued to work in radio. "I believe Marvin came to Anniston, Alabama, because his parents were retired there," remembered Fred Azbell, who was a 22 years young radio DJ in the early 1970s, and whom I found through my researches on McCullough. While Azbell was the nighttime announcer on the station, McCullough took over the afternoon shift. Azbell continued: "I got to know Marvin when I worked with him at WANA in Anniston [...]. He had a really wild lifestyle and could not maintain his pace without help from amphetamines. He made more money doing radio remote broadcasts than most people made all week in radio. He was a born entertainer. I was only about 21 or 22 in those days and I always got a kick out of his stories of working in Tulsa."

McCullough played ocassional gigs in Anniston but obviously had stopped recording. "He had lots of old recordings on the Capitol label. He would always claim they were a brand new release, though it was obvious that they were old," Azbell recalls. McCullough's life would take a serious turn, when he went to jail in 1975, as he had shot WANA morning announcer Randy Carter at a gas station between Anniston and Oxford late one night. Apparently, he did not spent too much time behind prison bars: "I have no idea how he beat that attempted murder charge. [...] He was definitely in jail for a while. I don't know the whole story but a mutual friend visited him in jail in Talladega and said he was in pretty bad shape," retells Azbell the story. "I have no idea where he went after that," he concludes.

McCullough was out already the following year and continued to work as a DJ. Though, he had to change stations and wound up on WKSJ in Mobile, Alabama. Though, this was probably for a short time only. Unfortunately, there is no documentation about how he spent the following years.

McCullough had a stroke in 1991, by then he was in his mid 50s. In the late 1990s, he had returned to his old stomping grounds, the Arkansas-Oklahoma border region, and hosted a gospel music radio show in Oklahoma. His turbulent life came to an end in 1998 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, just two weeks after his wife had died.

Discography

Acme 1210: Marvin McCullough and Band - I Think I'm Falling in Love with You / I Can't Tell My Heart
Acme 1215: Marvin McCullough and the Keck Brothers - The Bible in Song / My Lord Is Coming Back from Heaven
Razorback 45-113: Bitter Tears (with Jimmy Hall) / Sawed Off Shot Gun (with Rocky Caple) (1961)
Boyd BB-3383: Just for a Little While / Mayby My Baby (1961)
Boyd UA-345: Just for a Little While / Mayby My Baby (1961)
Boyd BB-111: Are You Still in Love with Me / Pillow To My Right (1961)
Capitol 4820: Just Inside Your Arms / Where Else Could I Go (But to Her Arms) (1962)
Capitol 5030: Stranger In My Arms / "If" Is a Mighty Big Word (1963)

See also

• Gene Mooney on Rocket

Recommended reading

• SecondHandSongs

Sources

• 45cat entry and 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Gospel Jubilee entry

• Discogs

• Praguefrank's Country Discographies entry

• Billy Parker, John Wooley, Brett Bingham: "Thanks -  Thanks a Lot" (Babylon Books), 2021
• Special thanks to Fred Azbell and John Strauss for providing their memories and recollections about Marvin McCullough.