Bill Haney on D-B

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See also
• The Jim Dandy label

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