Hoot & Curley

Hoot and Curley, early 1950s
This promo picture shows Curley Herndon (left) and Hoot Rains (right)

The duo of Thomas "Hoot" Rains and "Curley" Herndon were stars of the Louisiana Hayride out of Shreveport and also recorded a slew of singles for the Imperial and Starday labels during the 1950s. Though they did not have a real hit records on their hands, their recorded output is noteworthy nevertheless and worth listening to. My friend Marshal Martin recently went down the Hoot & Curley rabbit hole, finding some of their rare records and even relatives of them.

Thomas Houston "Hoot" Rains was born on September 15, 1914, in Many, Sabine Parish, Louisiana, a small town near Natchitoches. His parents, Justlyn Polk and Alice Ameralee Rains, had a total of nine children. Carnell Monroe "Curley" Herndon was quite a bit younger, being born on February 26, 1923, also in Many. Herndon began singing and playing the guitar at age seven, and had his first own band and radio program when he was 13 years old. Later, he attended a civl engineer's school in Kansas City, Missouri, where he also performed on local radio. In the meantime, Rains had become an accomplished musician in his own right, playing the steel guitar and leading bands at different clubs.

The Austin American
January 4, 1956

After engineer's school, Herndon moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he met again with Rains at KWKH's famed Louisiana Hayride, where both tried to make a name on their own. They also became members of country singer Slim Whitman's band around 1950, who also appeared regularly on the show. With Herndon on lead guitar and Rains on steel guitar, they played not only on live appearances but also on Whitman's recording sessions for Imperial. Hit songs like "Love Song of the Waterfall" and "Indian Love Call" bore their signature sound and supported Whitman's crystal-clear vocal style. It was especially Rains' lenghty, high notes on the steel guitar (called "shooting arrows" style by the band) that became a trademark of their sound. 

Around the same time, Rains and Herndon joined forces and began appearing as duo "Hoot & Curley", including regular performances on the Hayride but also with Whitman's band, now called the "Stardusters". The Whitman connection also secured them a recording contract with Imperial, which was a California based independent label but was a strong force in Texas and Louisiana country music. They held their first solo session around July 1952 in Dallas, Texas, supported by fellow Starduster Sonny James on fiddle and this combination produced four songs. Those were released by Imperial on two singles in late 1952. A second session followed which yielded another single in the fall of 1953. The same year, Rains and Herndon left the Whitman band to set out on their own.

Shreveport Journal
June 21, 1952

Their records for Imperial missed the charts but they remained a featured act on the Louisiana Hayride and in 1954, Rains and Herndon began recording for the Houston based independent Starday Records. They stayed with the label until 1957 and produced four more singles for this label. Herndon also had one solo release on Mercury in 1960.

Rains and Herndon continued to perform on the Hayride but also held down regular spots at local clubs such as the Lake Cliff. They eventually ceased their mututal music activities and returned to day jobs. Rains worked as a car salesman in Shreveport, subsequently operating his own car dealership, "Hoots' Trading Post". Herndon worked as a architectural draftsman for Demopulos & Ferguson Consulting Engineers. He passed away after a lenghty illness on February 15, 1992, in Shreveport. Rains had left this earth a few months earlier on October 12, 1991, in Shreveport at age 77.

The British Archive of Country Music has released a 25 tracks CD on Hoot & Curley in 2020.

Recommended reading

• British Archive of Country Music

Sources

• Paul Hazell: "Hoot and Curley" (liner notes) BACM, 2020

• Find a Grave entries for Hoot Rains and Curley Herndon

• Curley Herndon Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Discogs

• 45cat entry and 45cat/78rpm entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry