Gene Woods' Friddell Records

Gospel, Country and Rock'n'Roll from the Wild River
The Story of Gene Woods' Friddell Records

View on Ocoee Street in Cleveland, Tennessee, ca. 1960s

We continue our little journey through the backwoods lands of rural Tennessee and stop by in Cleveland, Tennessee. Cleveland is located in the southeast of Tennessee near Chattanooga, not far away from the Tennessee-Georgia state border. The city has a population of around 47.000 today but was much smaller some 60 years earlier, when Cleveland gave home to only 16.000 habitants in 1960.

Cleveland was once home to a small record label, Friddell Records, which was operated by local singer, songwriter and entrepreneur Eugene “Gene” Woods. Born in 1930, Woods took up at the guitar at some point and likely started out as a local performer. He could be heard over Cleveland’s own WBCA radio and already at age 28, in 1958, he tried out as a businessperson and founded Gene Woods Enterprises. Part of this company became his record label Friddell Records.

The honor of the first release on Friddell went to David Beatty, who was a Lee College student at that time. Beatty hailed from Ferriday, Louisiana, and comes from the family that presented many talented musicians to the world: Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, Carl McVoy, and, last but not least, Jerry Lee Lewis. According to Beatty’s own recollection, he, Lewis, Gilley and Swaggart were playing in a loose teenager band, performing religious material at church events and political rallies. Accordingly, they had their first and only “secular” performance in 1949 at a talent contest of the Ferriday High School, bringing the audience to ecstatic reactions with their rendition of the Sticks McGhee R&B hit “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-o-Dee”. In Jerry Lee Lewis’ memory, he performed this song with a country & western band at a car dealership in 1949. May it as it be, Beatty left Ferriday in 1955 to join the ministry and moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, where he enrolled at Lee College.

The first release on Friddell comprised “It’s Different Now” and “I Praised the Lord” by Beatty on Friddell #100. A follow up was released that same year on Friddell #104 with “There’ll Be a Crown for Me” (partially written by Gene Woods) and “Welcome Home” (a Beatty original). While at Lee College, Beatty recorded another disc, “I Just Got Off the Devil’s Train” b/w “It’s Alright” (Noel #100), which may or may not have been associated with Woods.

The second release was recorded by a rock’n’roll combo named the Orbits. For Friddel, they cut “Hyena” and “My Rosa-Lee”, which became Friddel #102. During the 1950s, there were several bands that used the name “Orbits” and it is said that the Orbits that recorded for Friddel also recorded a slew of unissued tapes for the Missouri based Jan record label. These were compiled on the 1991 White Label LP “Missouri Rockers, Volume 2”. However, I could not find any hint to underline this statement.

Billboard February 15, 1960

Next up was Gene Woods in his own right, recording two originals “I’m Having a Hard Time to Forget” and “Tho I’ll Pretend”, accompanied by a band called the Tune Twisters and released in late 1958. Two more records by other artists followed before Wood would release another of his own recordings. By 1958, Woods had become acquainted with Chattanooga based singer-songwriter Houston “Buck” Turner, who was also a member of the Tune Twisters. Turner and Woods had written a song, “How Big a Fool Can You Be”, which was recorded by Woods and the band along with “Why Should I” for release on Friddell #108 in October 1959. The record became a good regional seller. Houston Turner would later be part of a regional bluegrass band, the Dixieland Drifters, and used this band to demo his songs as well as recording professionally with them. Their recordings included a version of “How Big a Fool”.

Probably the last two releases of Friddell were issued in 1961 by Woods. Possibly through the connection of David Beatty, Woods released two discs by Beatty’s cousin Jimmy Swaggart, who had become a newborn Christian by then, too. Swaggart recorded four songs for Friddell, including Beatty’s composition “It’s Different Now”.

Billboard August 1, 1960
(note that Billboard reports Woods is recording for Dub
although it was actually Hap)

Already in September 1960, Woods had a release on Happy Herbert Schleif’s Hap record label, “The Ballad of Wild River,” a song written by local DJ Marshall Pack to go hand in hand with the filming of the movie “Wild River”. The film starred Montgomery Clift and was mainly shot in Cleveland. The release on the Chattanooga based Hap label again bears possibly the involvement of Houston Turner, whose band, the Dixieland Drifters, also recorded for the same imprint. The record soon became a good seller and eventually entered Billboard's "Hot C&W Sides" charts on October 10, 1960, on #25. By November 7, the song had risen to the #7 spot. For both Woods and the small Hap label, it was an immense success.

However, "The Ballad of Wild River" remained Woods' only chart entry. He continued to perform regionally and spent most of the 1960s recording for Chart Records out of Nashville. He also had releases on Choice and Mallard. In the 1970s, he could be also seen on local television.

Gene Woods died in 1996 and is buried at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Cleveland. His wife Imogene followed in 2015.

Friddell Records Discography
See also 45cat for an (incomplete) discography of Friddell Records and a likely complete discography of Gene Woods. Also visit Small Independent Rockin' 45rpm Labels.

100: David Beatty and the Harmonettes - It's Different Now / I Praise the Lord (1958)
101: Voice of Salvation Quartet - Since I Believed / Give Me Time (1958)
102: The Orbits - Hyena / My Rosa-Lee (1958)
103: Gene Woods and the Tune Twisters - I'm Having a Hard Time to Forget / Tho I'll Pretend (1958)
104: David Beatty and the Continental Quartet -There's Be a Crown for Me / Welcome Home (1958)
105:
106: The Crowe Brothers - Jane / I Need You Baby (1959)
107:
108: Gene Woods and the Tune Twisters - Why Should I / How Big a Fool Can You Be (1959)
200: Jimmy Swaggart and the Harmonettes - At the End of the Trail / I'll Never Be Lonely Again (1961)
201: Jimmy Swaggart and the Harmonettes - It's Different Now / Jimmy Swaggart - Meeting in the Air (1961)

Sources
• David Beatty biography
• Gene Woods entry on Find a Grave
• Friddell Records entry on Rockin' Country Style
• Friddell Records entry on Gloryland Jubilee
• Dead Wax post on Gene Woods and Friddell