Walter (Arkie) Bittle

Walter "Arkie" Bittle & the Flying Saucers

Arkansas Country Boys Went Rock'n'Roll in Indiana

Many Arkansans moved west in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved east to Memphis in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s but few musicians moved to the northern states during that period. Walter Bittle was one of them. He lived in Indiana in the 1950s, where he cut a rare and little known rockabilly gem, "Jitterbug Drag". Like so many fellow rockabillies, Bittle later abandoned secular music and turned to the gospel.

Walter Thomas "W.T." Bittle, also known as Arkie Bittle or Reverend Walter Bittle, was born on January 13, 1931, in Prim, Arkansas, a rural area north of Heber Springs near Greers Ferry Lake. His parents, H. Gordon and Blanche D. Bittle, also gave birth to two daughters Georgia and Wanda as well as another son in 1935, Bittle's brother Loy Emery. At that time, the family was residing in an isolated place called Woodrow down the road from Prim.

Life was hard in the 1930s for rural Arkansans and Bittle worked on the farm and in the timber industry very early on. However, music was his passion and he learned to play guitar as a child. Bittle enjoyed playing and singing with family and friends; country and gospel music were likely his main influences. At age 17, he and his brother-in-law Wayne Harlan took part in a talent contest in Heber Springs and won.

By the advent of the 1950s, Walter and Loy Bittle were working with guitarist Glynn Hipp, who was also born in Woodrow but already in 1927, and played clubs along Highway 67, today known as the Rock and Roll Highway. They performed at such venues as the Oasis and the Wagon Wheel. Bittle joined the US Marine Corps in 1952 and served his country during the Korean War. Upon his discharge around 1954, Bittle took up music again with brother Loy and Hipp. They moved north to the Marion, Indiana, area, possibly in search of better working and living conditions than what they were used to in the rural South. On the personal side, he married Esther Shook in October 1954 in Marion.

Billboard September 17, 1955

Although they had started as a country music trio, Rock'n'Roll was the thing by then and naturally, the trio began performing in that style. Later in 1955, Bittle had assembled a band known as the "Sunny Slope Boys" and this group was heard over WMRI in Marion, Indiana, and the station's "Hoosier Barn Dance". The group also played on TV and in several local clubs. A year later, the Sunny Slope Boys had morphed into the Flying Saucers, adapting a more popular name for rock'n'roll audiences. By then, Loy Bittle had dropped out of the act. The group included Arkie Bittle on vocals and rhythm guitar, Hipp on lead guitar, Ray Smith on bass, and Bobby Johns on drums.

Arkie Bittle and Glynn Hipp, mid 1950s
(taken from the front cover of Collector CLCD 4495)

In 1956, Claud J. Nash, Sr., set up his own independent record label, Claudra Records, and Bittle and his group were the first to record for it. Hipp had written a rockabilly piece called "Jitterbug Drag" and together with Nash's song "I Kissed You in a Dream", was recorded under primitive circumstances as the songs sound like being cut in a kitchen. Nash released them on Claudra #CL-200 in 1956.

A second disc appeared the following year featuring "Teen Age Blues" and "Glynns Hopp", both composed by Hipp. While the A side was a vocal number sung by Bittle, the B side showcased Hipps skills on the guitar. It seems that Hipp was the driving force of the band - he was not only a talented guitarist but also wrote most of the song material. In addition, some  band members of the Flying Saucers also played on other Claudra releases.

In 1958, Bittle dropped out of the group as he became a born again Christian. Hipp took over the band and renamed it "The Jokers", which later also included Larry Kinser on vocals and Harry Miracle on vocals and guitar. The band continued to perform well into the 1960s and had two records out - one on Claudra and another one on Cliff Ayers' Lincoln label from Fort Wayne (Ayers also owned the Emerald label that released several rock'n'roll discs).

In the meantime, Bittle had begun preaching in Indiana churches and the 1960s saw Loy Bittle becoming a converted Christian as well. Loy became a deacon at Marion General Baptist Church in Marion in 1964 until his return to Arkansas. Walter Bittle returned to Heber Springs as well, where he established Sunny Slope Church in the 1960s. Loy began his work as a deacon there in 1968. In 1973, Walter Bittle received a theological degree from the Oakland City University of Indiana. Bittle also claimed to have written the song "I Hold a Clear Title to a Mansion", although different sources suggest this gospel hymn dates back to the early 20th century. He also claimed to have a recording of his (first) version and that the song was stolen from him. Bittle tried to regain the legal rights to no avail. The song has been recorded under different titles by several gospel artists.

Dutch collector Cees Klop gathered a couple of Glynn Hipp recordings and released those on his White Label and Collector reissue albums, beginning in the early 2000s. Also "Jitterbug Drag" was released on a few European CD reissues in the 2000s, probably unbeknownst to Bittle.

Walter Bittle passed away on October 21, 2016, at the age of 85 years. His brother Loy died a few years later in 2021. Glynn Hipp stayed in Indiana, where he already passed away in 1995 at the age of 67 years.

Sources

• Find a Grave Entries for Walter Thomas Bittle and for Glynn Hipp as well as for Claude Jackson Nash, Sr. and Claud Jackson Nash, Jr.

• Rockin' Country Style Entries for Walter Arkie Bittle and for Glynn Hipp

• 45cat entry

• Claudra Records on Discogs

• Obituary

• Clear Title to a Mansion (Bluegrass Messengers)

• Robert Cochran: "Our Own Sweet Sounds - A Celebration of Popular Music in Arkansas" (University of Arkansas Press), 2005, page 53

Johnny Hughes on UBC

Johnny Hughes - Pretty Little Girl (UBC 1017), 1960

Pre-teenage Johnny Hughes cut three records for the Fort Smith, Arkansas, based UBC label in 1960 and 1961. We feature his debut release from December 1960, "Johnny Blue" b/w "Pretty Little Girl". The exact artist credit on this disc reads "(12 Year Old) Johnny Hughes", which places his birth date around 1948.

And indeed, further research substantiated this date. John Lee Hughes was born October 23, 1948, in Midwest City, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. He was born to Floyd A. and Thyra Juanita Hughes and had a couple of siblings. The family later moved to the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Oklahoma City, where Hughes started his career as a singer. He attended several music schools to train his voice and also took up the guitar.

By 1959, Hughes began making appearances in the city and surrounding areas and his mother Juanita began acting as his manager. A year later, Hughes was popular enough that UBC Records from Fort Smith, Arkansas, became interested in the young boy and signed a recording contract with him. Hughes' recordings for UBC were teenage rock'n'roll and aimed at the flourishing teen market, although he was likely a bit too young for that target group. His debut session was likely cut in Oklahoma City, as Bobby Boyd, who also owned the Boyd label there, produced today's disc. "Johnny Blue" b/w "Pretty Little Girl" was released at the tail end of 1960 and according to former radio KOMA's Wax Museum curator Larry Neal, "Johnny Blue" became a local hit in Oklahoma City. 

Johnny Hughes in 1963

UBC had possibly high hopes to build Hughes as a kiddie star. After his debut, UBC also released "After Tonight" b/w "Junior High Doll", which was recorded in Nashville with the Jordanaires, and "Doll Baby" b/w "Grounded", both in 1961. Some of Hughes recordings were written by some of the top names in the business. For example, "Johnny Blue" was penned by Jerry Crutchfield and Gerald Nelson, and "Junior High Doll" was composed by Mae Axton (co-author of "Heartbreak Hotel") and Lew Williams (rockabilly recording artist for Imperial).

Billboard May 22, 1961, pop review

UBC had possibly high hopes to build Hughes as a kiddie star. Although "Junior High Doll" became another strong seller in Oklahoma City, Hughes' records never brought him the desired breakthrough and he was dropped from the UBC roster soon after. He teamed up with another young singer, Debbie Ray, who also hailed from Midwest City, and appeared with her on several occasions in the region. Hughes' mother organized an audition at Rainbow Studios in Hollywood, California, and a contract was signed for a session in 1963, although no records are known to have been released.

Hughes remained in the music business and led a band known as the Fender Benders from 1965 up to 1968. This group played extensively across the state of Oklahoma. He later worked as a trim carpenter but unfortunately, it escapes me what Hughes did music-wise after the 1960s. Johnny Hughes passed away May 7, 2004, at the age of 55 years in Norman, Oklahoma.

If you have more information on Johnny Hughes, please feel free to leave a comment or share your memories via e-mail with us.

Discography

UBC 1017/18: (12 Year Old) Johnny Hughes - Johnny Blue / Pretty Little Girl (December 1960)
UBC 1024: Johnny Hughes - After Tonight / Junior High Doll (May 1961)
UBC 1034: Johnny Hughes - Doll Baby / Grounded (1961)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry

• Johnny Hughes - Junior High Doll YouTube video (info in comment section)

Ted Creekmore

Ted Creekmore was a longtime country music performer and band leader on the Tulsa music scene. Beginning in the early 1960s, he recorded several 45s well into the 1970s on local Oklahoma labels.

Ted W. Creekmore was born on July 23, 1932, in Oklahoma to Charlie Elzo and Dovie Ann Creekmore. Both of his parents were born in Arkansas but had relocated to Oklahoma by the mid 1920s. Creekmore had a total of seven siblings - four brothers and three sisters. In 1953, he married Margaret Jenkins, with whom he raised three sons. Creekmore was musically inclined and at some point, took up music as a hobby and began appearing around Tulsa and surrounding areas.

He had assembled his own band by the early 1960s and started recording for Joe Norvell's Norjo record label in 1962, releasing "It's Your Turn to Cry" b/w "I Just Got Love Bug Bit". The latter was released on Collector Records' "Rock & Roll with Piano, Vol. 7" in 2002 and on Buffalo Bop's "Rock-a-Billy Boys" in 2003 in Europe. Creekmore had another release on the label with "Arizona Ways" / "I Don't Know How to Make You Know".

In 1964, Creekmore's band accompanied Tulsa DJ Bob LaFitte on his recordings for the local Plainview, Arkansas, Tagg record label and followed up with own recordings on the Pride and Sheridan labels in the mid to late 1960s as well as on Alvera in 1977. In addition to his recordings, Creekmore and his band played dances and TV shows all over Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas. His sons Danny and Robert both became talented drummers and son Kenny became proficient at guitar and bass. Danny worked with his father's band from 1970 until 1986, relocating to Florida eventually.

Creekmore's wife Margaret passed away in 1981. A few years later, he married his second wife Joyce and eventuelly married Treva Keener, who would accompany him for the rest of his life. Creekmore was still playing with a band in 2005, although his radius was limited to Tulsa and surrounding cities by then.

Ted Creekmore passed away on April 4, 2010, at the age of 77 years in Tulsa.


Ted Creekmore (lead singer) and John Chick on the "John Chick Show", broadcast on KTUL-TV from the Tulsa State Fair, early 1970s

See also
• Johnny Mystery on Tagg

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• Creekmore Family Facebook group
• Discogs
• Rockin' Country Style entry
• 45cat cat entry

Doug & the Inn-Truders

The instrumental number "What's Up" by Doug and the Inn-Truders had grabbed my attention some 15 years ago and still does. I enjoy the song now as much as I did back then - but who were Doug and the Inn-Truders? A renewed search yielded some more information, which I tried to compress into this post.

The Inn-Truders were a Wichita, Kansas, based rock'n'roll band. We find mention of the band as early as July 1964, so the Inn-Truders were probably founded in the first half of that year. At least some of the band members were still high-school pupils. Although the exact line-up is unclear, it seems that early members were leader Douglas "Doug" Terbush on guitar, Art Martinez on guitar and Gregg Dunn on drums. 

Doug and the Inn-Truders, 1964

Already by July 1964, the band had entered STA Recording studio in Wichita to lay down two tracks: the aforementioned instrumental "What's Up" and the vocal number "Starring My Broken Heart". Both songs were released on the local Aircap label (#BM-101). At that time, their sound was guitar-based but they soon began including horns. At some point in 1964, sax player Rick Meyer joined the group and over the years, further sax and trumpet players were added to the line-up, including Roger Walls on trumpet.

The Inn-Truders became a popular band locally and played venues for years around Wichita. Rick Meyer remembers playing at the Joyland, the Seneca Lounge, and the Cotillion. They were also part of numerous "Battle of the Bands" contests that were popular back then. Neal McGaugh, a band member of another local group called the Outcasts, remembers the Wichita band scene:

"When the battles moved to the Cotillion, that's when all the big rivalry started--'65, '66.  We always ended up battling big horn bands, The Red Dogs, Doug and the Inn-Truders.  We didn't get too far against them.  We didn't have the kind of music that the judges liked."

The Inn-Truders were active at least until 1967. Their "What's Up" was featured on the 1983 White Label LP "Minnesota Rock-a-Billy-Rock, Volume 3" (although they were not from Minnesota). As of 2015, Art Martinez was still active as a musician. Doug Terbush resides in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, nowadays.

Sources

• 45cat

• Discogs

• Wichita Rock Music History Project (Facebook Page)

• Pat O'Connor: Moody's Skidrow Beanery (Rowfant Press), 1999

Johnny Mystery on Tagg

Johnny Mystery and the Phantoms - The Big Deal (Tagg 6402), 1964

There is neither substantial info available on Johnny Mystery and his band, the Phantoms, nor on Tagg Records from the small town of Plainview, Arkansas. The city is located roughly halfway between Little Rock and Fort Smith in the forested hills of Yell County. It was a growing city in the early 20th century thanks to the lumber industry but once the sawmill was closed, its population declined and Plainview suffered from different problems.

The Tagg label had several releases out in 1964 by different artists (and always different producers) as well as one more release in 1965. The artists seem to be local as I could not find any info on most of them either. It is noteworthy to mention that Memphis country music stalwart Eddie Bond had two releases on Tagg, including his version of the blues standard "Big Boss Man".

"The Big Deal" was written by producer Bob Scheick, while the flip side was penned by the team of Newhart and Johnson, who were possibly members of the Phantoms. The Phantoms also accompanied Tagg recording artist Skip Haston, who recorded another Newhart-Johnson song, "Ozark Waltz" (its flip, "Skip's Boogie" was reissued on Collector Records "Wild Rock & Roll Instrumentals" CD). This disc was produced by Haston. Other producers on the label included Oklahoma DJ Bob LaFitte (producing his own release), Arkansas born musician James D. Hastings and Pappy Goodman.

Fellow blogger and music collector Bob gave me a hint that the Tagg label probably featured the involvement of Arkansas DJ Vernon H. Stewart (1927-1981), who recorded for different labels between 1958-1974, including for Carl Blankenship's Razorback label. However, details sadly escape us on his involvement.

If someone has more information on Tagg Records or Johnny Mystery, please feel free to either leave a comment or contact me via the e-mail formula.

See also

• Tagg Records discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• Discogs

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Tagg Records 45cat entry

• Bob LaFitte Find a Grave entry

• James D. Hastings obituary
• Thanks to Bob

Catahoula Country Music Show

Don Wiley and the Catahoula Playboys, 1960s
from left to right: Ruble Tendle Wright (piano), Gene King (guitar), poss. Ruthine Wiley,
J.C. Henderson (guitar), Don Wiley (guitar), Mr. Kiper (first name unknown, guitar),
Bobby Dan Massey (drums), Junior Trisler (bass), and Bill Landrum (steel guitar)

The Catahoula Country Music Show was a local country music stage and TV show, centered around local musician Don Wiley and his band. By the beginning of the 1960s, the golden age of American radio and the big radio barn dance shows was over. Casts of thirty or more acts were too expensive. However, on local basis, such shows were still in demand on a smaller scale. The Catahoula Country Music Show from Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, is such an example.

The Olla Tullos Signal, September 9, 1966

The house band of the show were the Catahoula Playboys, led by vocalist and guitarist Donald R. "Don" Wiley, Sr. He was born on December 26, 1931, to Don Sr. and Myrtle Wiley in Catahoula Parish and married Ruthine Leola Book in 1951. She later appeared on her husband's shows as well. Wiley worked for the Lakeside Ford car dealership in Jonesville, Catahoula Parish, and also had a mobile home dealership in Ferriday. By 1962, he had also organized a band known as the "Catahoula Playboys" that played local dates and toured the Central Louisiana areas.

The Catahoula News,
September 12, 1963

The Catahoula Country Music Show developed out of a July 1962 charity event for infant Gary Wright, who was in need of a heart operation. Soon the funds were raised, which saved Gary's life, and the popularity of the show prompted Wiley and his band to organize it as a regular feature, beginning in September that year. The Catahoula Country Music Show was born. It was first held at the Fort Theater (sometimes also spelled Ford or Fout) in Harrisonburg, the parish seat. Eventually, the old theater building was demolished and the show moved to the former Keith Department Store on Front Street in nearby Jonesville. The building was later promoted as the "Catahoula Country Music Show Auditorium".

The show soon began to attract not only large crowds but also attention outside of Catahoula Parish. By September 1963, the show was carried by KVNV, a station from Ferriday. By February 1966, it was also featured on KALB-TV from Alexandria. The band also had a Sunday morning show on that station and KNOE from Monroe also televised the show at some point. Apart from the Playboys and other local talent like Tommie French, Rip Cannaday, Ray Prince, the Covington Trio, Penny Sue Franklin, Happy Fats, or Alex Broussard, the show regularly featured national stars like Freddie Fender, Jim & Jessie, Carl Story, Bill Monroe, and many others.

The Catahoula Playboys included Don Wiley on vocals and guitar, Gene King on electric guitar, J.C. "Catfish" Henderson on guitar, Bill Landrum on steel guitar, Ruble Tendle Wright on piano, Junior Trisler on upright bass, and Bobby Dan Massey on drums. Of course, the line-up varied over the years and some members came and others left. In their first years of existence, the Playboys played a mixture of country music, pop, cajun, bluegrass, and a bit of rock'n'roll. However, they developed more and more into a bluegrass band throughout the years, eventually featuring Frank Thompson on fiddle and an unknown banjo player. 

In 1966, the band made one 45rpm record for the local Catahoula label, which was followed by an album entitled "Voices of Catahoula" around 1968. They also made another LP around the same time on the Zundak label, "Catahoula Country Time". Several of the show's regulars made records as well. The Catahoula Country Music Show lasted well-into the 1970s, at least until 1973. Ruble Wright and Bill Landrum eventually had their own show in Colfax, the Louisiana Jamboree, which was much in the same style as Don Wiley's show. J.C. Henderson died in 1995, while Wiley passed away on February 9, 2000. Ruble Wright died in 2010 and Billy Landrum in 2015.

We close this post now with the words that Wiley used to sign off his shows: "May you take a likin' to the lord... and he take a likin' to you. Bye cycle!"

Discography

45rpm
Catahoula 1001: The Bottle Let Me Down / Jambalaya (1966)

Albums
Catahoula No. ?: Voices of Catahoula (ca. 1968)
Zundak No.?: Catahoula Country Time (ca. 1968)

Sources

• Discogs

• Southern Music Research Center: Material on Rip Cannaday

• Don Wiley obituary

• Musician Tommie French coming to CCF Coffee Hour

• Ruble Wright obituary

• 1970s Hippiebillie Country Albums

• Thanks to Marshal Martin, who brought the show to my attention and provided a lot of information and photo material!

Carolina Cotton & Bob Wills on MGM

Carolina Cotton with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Three Miles South of Cash in Arkansas (MGM 11288), 1952

A versatile entertainer, Carolina Cotton was active in various fields of the business, being an actor, a singer and musician, a rodeo rider, and much more. She was raised in Northeast Arkansas and one of her most famous songs, though she never reached the charts, was "3 Miles South of Cash in Arkansas", covered her upbringing in this area. She was known to have various nicknames, including the "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell".

She was born Helen Hagstrom on October 20, 1925, in Cash, Arkansas, to Fred and Helen Hagstrom, who had a farm outside of Cash, raising cotton and peanuts. Cash was a small village with less than 200 habitants, located just west of Jonesboro. It was a hard life and the Great Depression made it even harder, therefore father Fred moved his family to San Francisco, California, in 1937.

Hagstrom began her career by appearing in traveling stage shows, including the O'Neille Sisters Kiddie Revue. She regularly watched shows by Dude Martin and his Roundup Gang on KYA. Martin, a local Bay Area country music performer, asked her to join his group, after the band's yodeler left and Hagstrom came in as a replacement - although she had never yodeled before. It was at that time that Hagstrom was named Carolina by Martin. The yodeling became one of her signatures.

Her next career step came when she met songwriter Johnny Marvin while picking up costumes in Hollywood. Marvin soon after offered a role in the film "Sing, Neighbor, Sing" with Roy Acuff, which Hagstrom accepted. She made the move to Hollywood in 1944 and began a career as an actor, appearing in various B western movies along such stars as Ken Curtis, Eddy Arnold, and Gene Autry throughout the 1940s and early 1950s.

1944 Billboard ad for Spade Cooley,
incl. Carolina Cotton

Musically, she placed herself in the western swing genre rather than in  western and cowboy music like fellow actors such as Autry (though both styles are very contiguous). She joined Spade Cooley's western swing orchestra in 1944 as a vocalist and a year later, married orchestra member Deuce Spriggins. They left Cooley and formed their own group, performing at the Western Palisades Saloon, making appearances in four movies and even recording for Mercury. Though, after only three months, it came apparent that the marriage won't last and they divorced in 1946.

Carolina Cotton in the studio, likely 1940s

By then, Hagstrom had received her full stage name "Carolina Cotton", either due to Cooley or west coast DJ Cottonseed Clark. She signed with King Records in 1946, having two singles released, including her self-written "3 Miles South of Cash in Arkansas". She then recorded for Crystal and Mastertone and finally, beginning in 1950, for MGM.

Through the second part of the 1940s, she regularly performed with such acts as Hank Penny in 1946 (whose band backed her up for King), and with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys in 1947. She also guested on various radio and television shows, including the Hoffman Hayride, KMPC Country Carnival Barn Dance, KLAC-TV's Ranch Time and KTLA-TV's Sunset Ranch, among others. She also hosted her own DJ show on KGER in Los Angeles.

During her two-years stint with MGM, she recorded two sessions, one in Nashville and one in Hollywood. It was on her second session on September 17, 1951, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood that she was backed up by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, recording five songs, including a remake of "Three Miles South of Cash (in Arkansas)". It saw release on MGM #11288 around July 1952 with "I'm All Alone" on the flip side but did not reach the charts. It was her second to last MGM disc, followed by "Boo Hoo Blues" b/w "Yodel, Yodel, Yodel" (#11329) a few months later. Though she had a rather sporadically recording career in commercial terms, Hagstrom left behind a wealth of recordings, consisting also of radio and TV transcriptions as well as movie soundtracks.

August 2, 1952, Billboard folk review

She made her last movie appearances in 1952 in "Blue Canadian Rockies" and "Apache Country" with Gene Autry. During the first half of the 1950s, Hagstrom did various USO tours, entertaining troops in Europe, Korea, and other countries. She was also part of various AFRS radio transcriptions for overseas troop entertainment, including her own show "Carolina Cotton Calls". While being on her last USO in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1956, she visited children hospitals and decided to work for the future of the disabled and poor, if she would ever get out of show business.

By the mid 1950s, western swing and B western movies had gotten out of fashion and Hagstrom ceased her appearances. She married musician Bill Ates in 1956, with whom she had two children but they had divorced by the early 1960s. Although she would appear at rodeos, parades, western film festivals, and other special events throughout the years, she went into education, earning a masters degree, and worked as a teacher for the next decades. She moved to Bakersfield in the 1970s.

In 1994, Hagstrom was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer and retired in March 1997 from her work as a teacher, spending her last months in hospital. Helen Hagstrom alias Carolina Cotton passed away on June 10, 1997, at the age of 71 years.

Her daughter Sharon keeps her legacy alive, running a website and Facebook fan page in memory of her mother. German Cattle Records released two albums with Hagstrom's recordings, 1993's "I Love to Yodel" and 2003's "Yodel, Yodel, Yodel". In the 2000s, Kit Fox Records released three volumes of her recordings entitled "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell", also including many of her non-commercial transcriptions and radio recordings.

Discography

King 572: Carolina Cotton - Three Miles South of Cash (In Arkansas) / Singing on the Trail (1946)
Crystal 157: Carolina Cotton - You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Finger / Chime Bells (1948)
King 816: Carolina Cotton - Mocking Bird Yodel / I Love to Yodel (1949)
Mastertone: Carolina Cotton - Put Your Shoes on Lucy / The Hoosegow Serenade (1949)
MGM 10692: Carolina Cotton - You're Getting a Good Girl / Betcha I Getcha (1950)
MGM 10798 Carolina Cotton - Boo Hoo Blues / Lovin' Duckin' Daddy (1950)
MGM 11130: Carolina Cotton with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - 'Cause I'm in Love / You Always Keep Me in Hot Water (1951)
MGM 11288: Bob Wills & Carolina Cotton with the Texas Playboys - I'm All Alone / Three Miles South of Cash in Arkansas (1952)
MGM 11329: Carolina Cotton - Nola / Yodel, Yodel, Yodel (1952)

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• International Movie Database entry

• Official Fanpage

• 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Discogs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

B.J. Johnson

B.J. the D.J.
The Story of B.J. Johnson

Many country music fans will recognize the hit song "B.J. the D.J.", made famous in 1963 by Stonewall Jackson. But few know that this songs was inspired by a real person, namely B.J. Johnson from Mississippi, a singer, DJ, and songwriter for more than twenty years.

Byron J. Johnson was born on September 3, 1928, to Bruner and Lula Magdelen Johnson in a community in Hancock County, Mississippi, known to locals as "the Kiln" (the n being silent). Named after the kiln ovens that could be found in that area during the early 19th century. From the 1860s up to the late 1920s, the Kiln was home to many timber mills, which brought the community a fast growing. But then, the Great Depression hit hard, affecting also the Johnson family. The timber industry was practically non-existent in the Kiln in the 1930s and it harmed the community so hard that at one point, the Kiln was a ghost town. Many of the residents moved to nearby cities like Picayune or, to earn a living, worked as moonshiners. If the Johnson family remained there or if they moved is not known but Johnson later made his home in Picayune for sure.

He was drafted during World War II and served his country in the US Army. By the mid 1950s, Johnson had discovered he could make a living with country music and could be heard on a local radio station. He met up with another local performer, Vern Pullens, whom Johnson connected with Houston, Texas, label owner Bennie Hess. While Pullens recorded solo for Hess' Spade label, Johnson got the chance to record two duets with Pullens as well, "What Am I to Do" and "Country Boys Dream", which were released by Hess on Spade #135 in May 1957.

Billboard January 4, 1960, C&W review

While these first two songs were penned by Pullens, it soon became obvious that Johnson was a talented songwriter, too. He connected with another Houston based producer, Pappy Daily, who had founded Starday Records in 1953 but by 1957, had left the operation and formed his own label, D Records. Johnson had a total of three released on D, the first one being "You Were Only Fooling" (written by Johnson) and "True Affection" (co-written by fellow ex-Spade artist Ray Doggett), released on D #1031. It was the latter that secured Johnson a place in rockabilly fans' hearts, although it was upbeat country music at best.

Two more singles followed on D, "Our Love Is Not Worth Living For" b/w "It's Wrong for Me to Love You" (#1058, both co-written with Vern Pullens) in the spring of 1959 and a reissue of their Spade single. The following year, Johnson began his long-lasting association with Hack Kennedy's Big Howdy record label from Bogalusa, Louisiana - located half an hour from his home base of Picayune. Throughout the years, Johnson recorded three discs for the label but also worked with Kennedy as a record producer and songwriter. 

Besides his career as a recording artist, producer, and songwriter, Johnson continued to work as a DJ and a live performer. He could be heard regularly on Bogalusa's Pearl River Valley Jamboree during the 1950s and appeared at the 1966 Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Day in Lucedale, Mississippi. He had such a busy schedule during these years that Nashville songwriter Hugh X. Lewis, a friend of Johnson's, wrote the song "B.J. the D.J." inspired by Johnson's life (although, in contrast to the song's tragic ending, Johnson was not killed in a car accident). Though, the words of the song aptly described Johnson's hectic and dangerous lifestyle, rushing from job to job without sleep. Recorded by Stonewall Jackson in 1963 for Columbia and took it to #1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

One could assume this brought Johnson into the spotlight as well but this was not the case. He sometimes went by the name of B.J. the D.J. Johnson and started to record his singles in Nashville but they were still released on local Mississippi and Louisiana labels. He cut a slew of discs during the 1960s and 1970s for such labels as Big Howdy (1960/1967/1969), Carma (1961-1965), Nugget (1963-1964), JB (ca. 1965), Circle G (ca. 1967), River City (1972), Myrna (1973), Mississippi Sound (1976), and Lynn. His 1964 Nugget single "Let the Party Be Over" was one of his more successful releases. It was listed by Billboard in its October 31, 1964, issue as a chart potential/"bubbling under" contender.

Billboard April 14, 1973

Johnson's activities apparently ceased in the late 1970s. B.J. Johnson passed away on December 15, 1997, at the age of 69 years in Picayune. He is buried at West Union Memorial Cemetery in Carriere, Mississippi.

See also
• The Pearl River Valley Jamboree
• Who is Vern Pullens?
• Penny Records
• The Spade Records Story

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Discogs
• B.J. the D.J. song history (Wikipedia)

Cecil Buffalo on Sho-Boat

Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - The Big Red (Sho-Boat 102), 1964
Cecil Buffalo was obviously a big football fan, as the majority of his recorded output were football themed. He had a short music career while studying in Little Rock and was associated with J. Paul Scott, who wrote several Arkansas football related songs.

Cecil Miles Buffalo, Jr., was born on November 28, 1944, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Cecil Miles, Sr., and Melba Rose Buffalo. Buffalo had two sisters, Connie Jean and Shearon. In the early 1960s, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and eventually earned an Art degree.

While being a student at UA, Buffalo had a short-lived career in music, as he began recording for local Arkansas labels in 1964. The Arkansas Razorbacks football team was as popular and successful as ever at that time and the same year, Buffalo and a band known as "The Prophets" recorded "The Big Red" (about the Razorbacks' 1964 win over Texas) and "The Wild Hogs". Both songs were written and produced by J. Paul Scott, who was responsible for several Razorbacks themed songs and even a whole Razorbacks album. In fact, Buffalo and the Prophets were present at the actual game, performing another J. Paul Scott song "Jon Brittenum, Quarterbackin' Man".

By then, Buffalo was probably living in Hot Springs, Arkansas. "The Big Red" b/w "The Wild Hogs" were released on the Sho-Boat label (#102), which had ties to the city as well - although I'm not quite sure if the label was actually based in Hot Springs. He had another record out on Marshall E. Ellis' Zone label from Memphis, comprising "Crazy Eyes" and "Don't Hold Your Breath Till I Cry" (#Z-1075, 1964).

Probably the following year, Buffalo recorded one more of Scott's songs, "Razorback Number One", which was coupled with a garage instrumental by a local band called the "Five Sounds". Both recordings were released first by the GalARK label and then by Lakeside Records from Hot Springs. All three of his recordings were also featured on the LP "The Big Red Album" on Bobby Crafford's Razorback label.

It seems that Buffalo maintained music as a sideline and took a day job to earn a living. He later owned Buffalo Oil Company in Hot Springs. I found another mention of him in the 1970 Catalog of Copyrights with his composition "Scooter Joe".

Cecil Buffalo passed away on August 17, 2010, in Hot Springs. He is buried at Edgewood Memorial Park in North Little Rock.

Discography

Sho-Boat 102: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - The Big Red / The Wild Hogs (1964)
Zone Z-1075: Cecil Buffalo - Crazy Eyes / Don't Hold Your Breath Till I Cry (1964)
GalARK 2001: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - Razorback Number One / The Five Sounds - Clumsy Dragon (ca. 1965)
Lakeside 2001: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - Razorback Number One / The Five Sounds - Clumsy Dragon (ca. 1965)
Buffalo BR 809: Cecil Buffalo, Jr. - Rootin' the Razorbacks On / Razorbacks, Razorbacks

Sources

• Discogs

• Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Obituary

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• Orville Henry, Jim Bailey: "The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas Football" (University of Arkansas Press), 1996, page 222

• George Schroeder: "Hogs! A History" (Fireside), 2005, page 53

Happy Wilson

Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys at WAPI
(Birmingham, Alabama), ca. mid 1950s
featuring Ted Crabtree on steel guitar, "Prof." Huel Murphy on piano,
Marion Worth on vocals, and Wilson on rhythm guitar

Happy Wilson

The Golden River Boy from Birmingham

In the 1940s and 1950s, Happy Wilson was a mainstay on Alabama's country music scene. Heard over radio and TV, on record, and through live performances, he gained popularity in the Heart of Dixie since the late 1930s. One of his band members, Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter from Birmingham, Alabama, is better remembered today than Wilson as Gunter became a favorite among rockabilly fans due to his 1950s country boogie and rockabilly recordings. Though, Wilson became widely known and connected in the Nashville scene of the 1950s and 1960s, working as a publisher and producer.

Eugene Burnett Wilson was born on June 29, 1919, in Haleyville, Winston County,  in the north of Alabama, to Acey Eugene and Ollie Wilson. Wilson had a younger brother, Asa Eugene (born in 1926), and an older brother James Huel, who died as an infant in 1917. Haleyville was a small but rising town in the 1920s and the life of the Wilson family was simple. By 1930, Wilson's parents had divorced and he was living with his mother alone.

Wilson was interested in music at an early age, especially in folk music, and was fascinated by the new possibilities that radio had to offer. He loved listening to old-time folk musicians on the radio. His father took him to a wandering music teacher that had settled in Haleyville for the summer and Wilson enjoyed some music lessons. He learned drums and guitar, eventually sticking with guitar and singing.

In the mid 1930s, at the age of 15, Wilson started appearing on local radio. He began working with several bands on different radio stations like it was common for country musicians of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared with the Happy Valley Gang over WBRC (Birmingham, Alabama), with Tex Dunn's Virginia Hillbillies over WBRC and WAPI (both Birmingham), with the Bar-X Cowhands on WSGN, with Red & Raymond and the Boys from Old Kentuck over WSB (Atlanta, Georgia), and finally with his own band, the Golden River Boys, on WALA (Mobile, Alabama). One of the earliest members of the Golden River Boys was Birmingham native Hardrock Gunter, a guitarist and singer who went on to have a solo career in the 1950s.

By the early 1940s, Wilson and his mother were living in Birmingham, Alabama. Shortly before World War II broke out, Wilson was part of a two-weeks tour with Roy "Tucson" Corrigan and the Three Musquiteers. With the advent of the war, Wilson was drafted into the US Army. During his four-year serve, he often entertained fellow soldiers and was part of shows. Though, he also took part in battles and became highly decorated with the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry's Badge, Good Conduct Ribbon, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. He reached the rank of a Staff Sergeant.

Following his discharge, Wilson took up music again and reformed the Golden River Boys in 1946. Throughout the second half of the 1940s and the early 1950s, Wilson became a mainstay in Alabama's country music scene, appearing on his long-time radio station WAPI as well as on its sister station WAFM and even had a popular TV show on WAFM-TV. That show started in 1950 and was the first country music television show in Alabama.

In 1947, Wilson got the chance to record his music for the first time. He and the Golden River Boys recorded four songs in Birmingham late that year, which were released on the small, local Vulcan label. Through 1948, his popularity continued to grow and in early 1949, the major Decca label invited him for a recording session to Nashville on February 7 at the Castle Studio. Four more tracks were cut that day, which saw release in February and July 1949. The line-up of the Golden River Boys included at that time Ted Crabtree on steel guitar, Billy Tucker on fiddle, Sammy Pruitt on guitar, Jim O'Day on bass, and Wilson on guitar and vocals.

Billboard August 20, 1949

Around the same time, Wilson was making a name for himself as a songwriter, too - at least a bit. Little Jimmy Dickens' recorded "A-Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed", which Wilson co-wrote with Luther Patrick and was based on his childhood experiences. The song peaked at #6 on Billboard C&W charts. In 1953, Webb Pierce recorded Wilson's "I Haven't Got the Heart" and eventually, Hank Thompson cut his "Mark of a Heel" in 1971.

Sales if Wilson's discs must have been not too promising as there was no second session for Decca but on September 19, 1950, Wilson was back in the same studio - this time for MGM. "Haunted House Boogie" and "Mister Big" were the only results that day and both were released on MGM #K10877 in January 1951. Unfortunately, this remained his only effort for the label, although Jack Rivers covered "Haunted House Boogie" for the same label.

Since August 1950, Wilson had an additional TV show for WAFM-TV with his old buddy Hardrock Gunter entitled "The Happiness Boys". Gunter had been a member of Wilson's band since its reformation in 1946 but also worked solo on and off. Gunter had already rejoined the Golden River Boys earlier in 1950 and had signed a recording contract with Manny Pearson's local Bama label in Birmingham. On his first session, he was backed by the Golden River Boys, who were hiding under the name of "The Pebbles" on that occasion. One of the songs recorded was "Birmingham Bounce" (rel. April 1950, Bama #104), which was a good seller for Gunter and prompted Decca to let Red Foley cut a cover version, which became a #1 country hit.

Billboard January 27, 1951, MGM ad for Wilson's
latest release "Haunted House Boogie"

Wilson and his first wife Odean were living in Birmingham with Wilson's mother in 1950 but divorced in January 1951. Following his divorce, Wilson toured with western actor Lash LaRue and played minor roles in his films for a short time around 1951. At that time, he made his home in Marietta, Georgia. Two years later, in May 1953, Wilson married Mary Ann Ward, who was 11 years younger than him and an amateur singer on WAPI and WAPI-TV.

By the mid 1950s, Wilson's wife was performing with him and the Golden River Boys as "Marion Worth". They could be heard over WABT in Birmingham but still performed on WAPI as well. In 1955, Wilson celebrated his 20th anniversary with WAPI and therefore, organized a two-hour long radio broadcast it the Agricultural Building at the Alabama State Fairgrounds that was attended by 3,000 people.

Around the same time, Wilson and his wife had connected with Slim Lay, a Huntsville, Alabama, DJ. They appeared with Lay's show and Wilson took a job as a DJ with Huntsville station WBHP. In 1956, Wilson, Lay, and fellow DJ Dewey Webb went into partnership to set up Dash Records. The debut release comprised Slim Lay's "Asiatic Flu" and "Trouble Along the Cable" (on which Lay was joined by Wilson) on Dash #100. More releases were planned but the the trio had to close down the label after legal action from another Dash record company from California.

In 1959, Wilson's wife released her first record. It comprised "Are You Willing, Willie" and "This Heart of Mine" (the latter written by Wilson) and was issued by Cherokee Records of Huntsville. This label seems to have been associated with Wilson as well, as all of the songs released were published through his Golden River Publishing company.

The top side of Worth's single "Are You Willing, Willie" reached #12 on Billboard's C&W charts and was the first of several moderate hits that Worth enjoyed. The disc was also taken over by the Guyden label, which released a follow-up, "That's My Kind of Love", wich went even higher and peaked at #5 in 1960. Wilson and Worth moved to Nashville to work on Worth's career. Wilson and Lay secured her a record contract with Columbia Records, where she enjoyed several more hits in the next few years. She also joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1963.

In the meantime, Wilson had built up a career in the music business as well. While he had been a popular performer in Alabama, he concentrated on music publishing, producing, and other issues of the business in Nashville. Although he worked with Central Songs since 1961, he also worked part-time as a DJ on WENO in Madison, Tennessee, as early as 1963. He left Central Songs and became director at Tree Enterprises in 1968. For some time, he even headed Capitol Records' country music department.

Wilson retired from the music business in February 1973 after 38 years of devoting his life to music. However, his retirement did not last long as he returned to working in October that same year, forming Broadland Music, Inc. with Canadian artist Gary Buck.

Happy Wilson died way too early on August 24, 1977, in Nashville through an automobile accident. He was 58 years old. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham. In 1981, Wilson was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.

Discography

Vulcan 5000: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - I Know My Buddy's Sleeping There / Fancy Rythm (1946)
Vulcan 5001: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - This Heart of Mine / Joe Rumore with Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - I Butted In (1948)
Decca 46153: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - Go Down to the Graveyard / Forty Miles at Sea (1949)
Decca 46171: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - How Long / Comes a Time (1949)
MGM K10877: Happy Wilson - Haunted House Boogie / Mister Big (1951)
Dash 100: Slim Lay - Asiatic Flu / Slim Lay and Happy Wilson - Trouble Along the Cable (1956)

See also
• Alabama Hayloft Jamboree
• Cornhuskers Jamboree

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Free State of Winston (Winston County Online Database)

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Entries for Happy Wilson on 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

• Entry for Happy Wilson and Slim Lay on 45cat 

• SecondHandSongs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• "Broadcasting, Telecasting (Volume 48)", 1955, page 95

• various Billboard news items