Bluebonnets and Country Music
The Story of Clyde Chesser and his Texas Village Boys
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| Promo picture of Clyde Chesser (center) and the Texas Village Boys for KCEN-TV's Blue Bonnet Barn Dance, ca. 1953-1954 (from the archives of KCEN-TV) |
I was always intrigued by the legacy of Clyde "Barefoot" Chesser and his Texas Village Boys since I first learned of them years ago. The Texas Village Boys were a Central Texas based western swing group, led by radio and TV personality Clyde "Barefoot" Chesser. Unfortunately, the group only made few recordings that likely did not represent its wide repertoire, consisting of western swing numbers, traditional country songs, rock'n'roll influences, gospel material and recitations as well as the occasional pop tune. The Texas Village Boys were the main act of a local TV show, the Blue Bonnet Barn Dance, emceed by and centered around Chesser.
The information given in this text came from various sources as Chesser was never the subject of intense researches. Much info could be drawn from the back of Chesser's 1960s Austin Custom LP, written by Ray Poole and Don Boyle (of Austin Custom Records). Various other sources, such as Hillbilly Researcher Al Turner or specific literature, provided other useful hints and info that I was able to puzzle together and form the first in-depth examination of Chesser's career.
Early Years
Clyde Odell Chesser was born on August 19, 1929, in Tahoka, Texas, south of Lubbock, but grew up in the tiny community of Oglesby near Waco. Chesser's family was racked with the hard depression years of the early 1930s and such luxurious things as radios were not affordable. Chesser did not even know what a radio was until one of the family's neighbors obtained one. He was instantly fascinated with the new medium and absorbed as much literature about radio technology as he could. Young Chesser was determined to be on the air waves someday.
Barefooted first steps in radio
As a teenager while attending high school, Chesser founded a country group and in his senior year, his dream became true as he earned a spot on local KWTC in Waco. However, this undertaking only lasted for a few weeks but Chesser did not give up. He auditioned at KWTX in Hamilton, Texas, where the executives found him good enough for his own DJ show. This was approximately in the late 1940s. By 1950, Chesser had started the Central Texas Hillbilly Hayride, a live stage show from Hamilton that aired over KWTX. The show was emceed by Chesser and he soon managed to book some of the big names in country music for the Hayride.
It was during Chesser's early days in radio that he got the nickname "Barefoot". The reason why he earned that name is lost in time but Chesser started appearing barefooted on personal appearances, as it was demanded by his listeners. He later remarked: "I've always tried to give the folks what they want... so barefooted I went."
Blue Bonnets and Texas Villages
In the spring of 1951, Chesser was drafted and spent his military time in Germany. While serving his country, Chesser worked for the Armed Forces Network, broadcasting country music programs. He returned to the United States in 1953 and resumed work quite soon. It was at that time that Chesser assembled a group of musicians that became known as "The Texas Village Boys". Television had become popular while Chesser was away and again, he first saw the new medium in his neighborhood, being equally fascinated with it like he was with radio in his childhood. Chesser went to KCEN-TV in Temple, Texas, a station that had just made its first broadcast in November 1953, and the station's manager Harry Stone was instantly impressed not only by the Texas Village Boys but also by Chesser's colorful character. He realized the potential and thus, a TV show called "The Blue Bonnet Barn Dance" was created. The show centered around Chesser and the Texas Village Boys with additional local guests appearing on the show, including Wanda Gann, Mike Post, Larry Nolen, Jim DeCap, the Diamond Twins, and others.
The Blue Bonnet Barn Dance started in November and was an overnight success with the audiences. The show made the Texas Village Boys popular around the Temple and Waco areas, playing theaters, school auditoriums, and other venues. However, Chesser was actually not part of the performing troupe. He emceed the shows, managed the band and promoted their appearances. Eventually, the Blue Bonnet Barn Dance expanded as several other stations carried the show, making it popular not only in Central Texas but also numerous other regions in the Southwest.
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| Billboard June 5, 1954 |
The early line-up of the Texas Village Boys included Arnold Williams (vocals/guitar), Gaylon Christie (steel guitar), Okie Davis (vocals/fiddle), Eddie Spradley (vocals/fiddle), and Alvin Berry (bass). In the mid 1950s, the band made a couple of recordings for small, local labels. Probably the first of them was for the local Waco based Telecraft label, comprising "Would I Be Satisfied" b/w "I'm Sorry for You Darling" (Telecraft #101/102). The former had been written by Chesser already in the late 1940s.
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| The Kerens Tribune February 1, 1957 |
Beginning likely in late 1954, Chesser and the Texas Village Boys recorded for Central Records, a subsidiary of the Waco based gospel label Word Records. The group recorded several numbers for the company over a three-year stretch, including some religious material. The first release featured "Give the Devil a Little Rope" and "I Wish" (Central #102/103), which enjoyed some popularity in Central Texas, according to a July 1955 Cowboys Songs magazine issue.
In 1955, another disc followed on the Central label, which might be Chesser's most popular one. "Let Jesus In" b/w "If Jesus Came to Your House" (Central #117) was obviously of sacred nature and the latter one became Chesser's most popular number. It was a recitation he had previously done on the Blue Bonnet Barn Dance and the crowd reaction after the show was so overwhelming that Chesser put it out on record. The disc enjoyed some success and led Chesser to copyright it in January 1956, although it was originally not written by him - he had spotted it in a newspaper. The notes on Chesser's 1960s album give us the following information: "He [Chesser] had in his possession a number called 'If Jesus Came To Your House,' which one of his viewers had clipped from an old magazine and sent to him. This magazine paper showed signs of being very old due to its discoloration. Clyde realized the powerful message and thought carried in the words of this composition but due to its length, he kept pushing it back week after week for nearly a year, feeling it was just too long for television. One afternoon while being rushed and needing a piece of material for a Saturday night show... Clyde very hurriedly rehearsed this number remarking: 'the sponsor will get mad because this thing is just too long.'" It was not and became a success, both on TV and on record. The success of Chesser's performance inspired stars like Red Sovine, Porter Wagoner, and Tex Ritter to cover it as well. Also more unknown artists like Danny Williams, Joe Martin, the Mighty Skylights, Lucky Cordell, and the Upchurch Family recorded "If Jesus Came to Your House" (though Chesser was mostly not credited).
It seems that Chesser and the Texas Village Boys focused on their sacred material when recording for Central as there appeared two more discs on the label with religious content. Their third Central release featured "A Mail Order from Heaven" (another Chesser recitation) and the country gospel classic "I'll Fly Away" (Central #F-118). Especially the latter is a nice country gospel with harmony singing, great lead guitar picking and hand clapping. By then, Arnold Williams had left the group and been replaced by guitarist Ken "Kenney" Frazier, who possibly can be heard on this record providing the Merle Travis styled licks. Frazier had performed previously with such artists as Charlie Adams, Johnny Gimble, and Larry Butler and would go on to perform with Buddy Knox and Jimmie Heap.
By 1956, a drastic change had occurred to the Texas Village Boys. While much of the original line-up had been on duty in 1955, a year later, none of them performed with the band anymore. Steel guitarist Gaylon Christie, who had been about 19 years when he joined the band, founded a rock'n'roll group called "The Downbeats" (which also included Ken Frazier) in 1958 and cut several rock'n'roll discs for Texas labels in the late 1950s and early 1960s (including Jimmie Heap's Fame label). He eventually returned to country music and enjoyed a long career in local radio and music. Chesser presented a brand-new edition of the Texas Village Boys: Leon Rausch (under the name Leon Ralph) on vocals and guitar, Curtis Williams on electric guitar, Frankie McWhorter (as "Frankie Quarter") on vocals and fiddle, Lou Rochelle on steel guitar, and Tex Compton on bass. Both Rausch and McWhorter would join Bob Wills' act in the 1960s. Williams had been replaced by Daniel Screwball by early 1957.
The new line-up recorded another single for Central on December 1, 1955, at Clifford Herring's Sound Studio in Fort Worth, this time a cover of Leon Payne's "Lost Highway", which had been immortalized by Hank Williams in 1949, and "Smudges on the River", again a narration by Chesser (Central #F-119, ca. 1956). In the Texas Village Boys' version, "Lost Highway" became a great piece of western swing and ranks among the group's best recordings. However, it would also be their last one - although the group recorded possibly to more songs at the same sessions, which seem to be lost, unfortunately.
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| Billboard September 5, 1960 |
Although Chesser and the Texas Village Boys were Temple and Waco based, they also held down a steady TV gig on KFJZ on Fort Worth, Texas, since the mid 1950s. Leon Rausch left the band and began working with Bob Wills in 1958. The years 1957 until 1960 are only sketchy documented but it seems that Chesser found his way into promotion during this time. Billboard reported on September 5, 1960, that Chesser had gone into partnership with entrepreneur Don Murphy, organizing and promoting shows at the Music Hall, Coliseum and City Auditorium in Houston, Texas. Their first show featured well-known artists Martha Carson and Porter Wagoner. It was also reported that Chesser was commercial manager of KWBA in Baytown, Texas (near Houston) at that time.
Chesser kept another incarnation of the Texas Village Boys alive in the late 1950s and early 1960s, featuring Don Ricketson on steel guitar. However, it seems that he disbanded the band at some point in the early 1960s and with the ending of the band, the Blue Bonnet Barn Dance went off the air, too. During this time, Chesser was working as a promotion man in both Austin and Houston. By 1962, he was with station KOKE in Austin, where he also promoted big country shows featuring such stars as Little Jimmy Dickens and Roy Drusky but also emceed the "Go Texan" show in Houston a year later.
By then, Chesser had assembled a new band, which he named the "Kountry Boys". With this group, he recorded a whole LP of his recitations entitled "If Jesus Came to Your House" that was released on the Austin Custom label in 1962 or 1963.
Later years
I did not find any mention of Chesser after 1963 so it seems that he retired, at least from the public side of the business. However, an entry at the Country Music Hall of Fame website indicates that he resumed his performing career at a later point. An interview with Chesser was conducted in 1987 by John W. Rumble that is now part of the CMHoF collection.
Clyde Chesser passed away October 7, 1996, at the age of 67 years. He is buried at Bellwood Memorial Park in Temple. Chesser was more than just one of the many country music DJs in those years. His band, the Texas Village Boys, featured several musicians that were later noted and went on to perform with top names in the music industry. His work as a promoter gave not only young talent a chance but also brought big names into the Central Texas areas and entertained thousands of people.
• Secondhandsongs: Cover versions of "If Jesus Came to Your House"
• Country Music Hall of Fame entry
Sources
• Hillbilly Researcher blog (back cover notes of Chesser's LP)
• Entry at Find a Grave
• Entries at 45cat and 45worlds
• Entry at hillbilly-music.com for Clyde Chesser and Blue Bonnet Barn Dance
• Steel Guitar Forum
• Wired for Sound: Leon Rausch & texas Village Boys on Central 119
• Leon Rausch entry at Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies
• Frankie McWhorter, John R. Erickson: "Cowboy Fiddler in Bob Wills' Band" (University of North Texas Press), 1997, page 67
• Jean A. Boyd: "The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing" (University of Texas Press), 2010, page 110
• Various Billboard news items
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