The Gold Coast Jamboree

The East Hialeah Rexall on E. 25th Street - Hialeah, Florida

For long virtually nothing was known about the Gold Coast Jamboree, a country barn dance type show which originated from Southern Florida. The first hint of its existence gave us the biography of rockabilly singer Tommy Spurlin, who was active in the Miami area in the 1950s. Now, after more than 50 years  since the last Gold Coast Jamboree show was put on, the complete story of this country stage show has been unearthed. The Jamboree's bandleader and emcee Kenny Lee was so kind to gave me more info in the show.

The Gold Coast Jamboree was held at the Hialeah City Auditorium in Hialeah, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It was started by promoter Ben Yearty (who was also involved with the Town Hall Party) around May 1956 and was partially broadcasted by WMIE. After the show, also a barn dance was held, which also aired on radio WMIE. The Gold Coast Jamboree was one of the first Country & Western shows in the Miami area, since the more popular music style was Big Band music.

The cast of the show was made up by several local and regional artists. The only nationally known musicians were Wesley & Marilyn Tuttle, who were maybe brought on the show through the connection of Ben Yearty.

Kenny Lee (seen left) was born on May 10, 1935, in Georgia, and started his music career in Atlanta. He was discovered by Bill Lowery, the most powerful man in the Atlanta music scene during the 1950s, and soon after, Lee had a recording contract with RCA Victor, spots on WGST and an own television show called the "Kenny Lee Show". After his RCA contract ended around 1955, Lee stopped his TV show and moved to Miami, Florida, where he performed in nightclubs. One evening, he was spotted by Ben Yearty, who worked at that time with Arthur Gordfrey and he got Lee a spot on Arthur Godfrey's TV Talent show that was broadcasted from Miami. Yearty also persuaded Lee to help him starting a new Country & Western show called the "Gold Coast Jamboree" and so did Lee. He became the leader of the show's house band and also the emcee of the show.

Jimmy Hartley also did some of the emcee work, too. Hartley was a local Miami based country singer and was also a member of Cracker Jim Brooker's "Big Orange Jubilee" that started in November 1956 on KITV in Miami. Hartley was the leader of the backing band, the "Orange State Playboys". He also had two releases on the De-Luxe label, whose Miami burea was headed by Henry Stone. The first of two singles ("Don't Dropt It" b/w "Cold Moods", De-Luxe 2013) was issued in the summer of 1954, while the second came out in the fall of 1954 ("Cinnamon Sinner" b/w "Jennie from Jamaica", De-Luxe 2026).

Billboard reviewed Hartley's singles in August and September 195

Hear "Don't Drop It"

Hear "Cold Moods"

Marilyn Tuttle during an appearance on the Gold Coast Jamboree - Kenny Lee is far right on guitar

Wesley and Marilyn Tuttle were household names in the Californian country music scene when they arrived in Miami. Wes had several hits during the 1940s and was playing the Town Hall Party with Marilyn every Saturday night but in 1956, they left Los Angeles for Miami. Soon, Yearty got them on the Gold Coast Jamboree (Wesley also took over the functions of the show's director) but the couple returned to California possibly in 1957.

Tommy Spurlin should be familiar with most of the rockabilly collectors. His "Hang Loose", originally issued in 1956 on Perfect, became a revival hit in the UK during the 1970s. Spurlin was born on January 12, 1928, in Elba, Alabama, and grew up in Alabama and Louisiana.  In 1948, he moved to Miami, where he formed the "Southern Boys" in 1952, featuring himself (guitar/vocals), his half brother George "Benny" Dumas (bass), Virgil Powell (fiddle), Jimmy Slade (lead guitar), and Bill Johnson (steel guitar). Jimmy Slade had previously worked for Martha Carson as a guitarist. When rockabilly captured most of the teenagers' ears, Spurlin and the Southern Boys decided to go with the trend and dropped fiddle and steel guitar. Their first singles were made for Harold Doane's Perfect label in 1955 and 1956, which were pure country. It was not until summer 1956 that "Hang Loose" b/w "One Eyed Sam" appeared on Perfect. They also incorporated other rock'n'roll numbers such as "Long Tall Sally" into their stage shows. Kenny Lee remembers Spurlin as follows:

On the Gold Coast Jamboree Tommy performed primarily as a rock & roll artist.  [...] The producer (Ben Yearty) used to let teenage girls into the show without paying admission so that when Tommy came out to sing the girls would holler and clap at the foot of the stage.

Spurlin and the Southern Boys had one last release on Art Records in Miami. Spurlin then went out of the music business. He died in 2005 in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The Country Pals had Gene Christian as a member, a Miami native who worked with Ervin T. Rouse (writer of "Orange Blossom Special"), Gordon Rouse, and Chubby Wise early on in his career. His bluegrass group, the Country Pals, appeared on Arthur Gordfrey's Talent Show in December 1955 and in 1956, they joined the cast of the Gold Coast Jamboree. Next, they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they appeared on KTHS but soon returned to Miami. In the 1960s, the band disbanded and Christian switched to mainstream country music.

As of Ann Clark and the Dixie Darlings, there is no information available on them. The Dixie Darlings were a children trio appearing in fancy western costumes.

The Dixie Darlings, standing behind the microphone, appearing on the Gold Coast Jamboree

The Gold Coast Jamboree ended in the fall of 1957. According to Kenny Lee, Ben Yearty had to fight constantly with the Miami Musicians Union. Actually, they did not want country music to become a major musical style in the city, because still Big Band music was the most popular genre there. Yearty then took Kenny Lee on a tour to North Carolina and New York, before Lee joined the US Army and left for Germany in 1957. He still lives in Alabama and performs on a regular basis.


Sources:

• Billboard August 28, 1954 - Billboard September 25, 1954 - Billboard June 23, 1956 - Billboard November 24, 1956
• Randy Noles: "Orange Blossom Boys: The Untold Story of Ervin T. Rouse, Chubby Wise and the World's Most Famous Fiddle Tune" 
• I wish to express my gratitude to Kenny Lee and Wayne Head, who supplied many of the information and photos.