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.
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| 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).
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| 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
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