Homer Monroe on Silvia

Homer Monroe and the Country Drifters - It's Many a Mile from Me to Yoou (Silvia 1161), 1966
Homer Nathaniel Monroe was born to Odis C. and Lona Mae Monroe in 1925. The family hailed from DeKalb County, northeastern Alabama, and Monroe grew up in different towns of that county. By 1935, the family was living in Rural, five years later the family had moved to Blue Pond. Monroe had a total of four siblings. He served during Word War II and by 1950, was married and had a son. However, the marriage with his first wife Betty did not last long and he eventually married Lois E. Shelton.

Fort Payne Journal May 13, 1958

In the 1950s, Monroe went into partnership with Herbert C. Mitchell and operated the DeSoto Theatre in Valley Head, Alabama. The DeSoto had been opened in 1941 as a movie theatre. However, Monroe and Mitchell went separate ways in 1958 and Monroe went on to operate it on his own (which probably did not last very long, unfortunately).

Monroe was also a local singer, musician, and was adept at songwriting, too. He had his debut record out on the Spann label from nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1960. This single featured "Headin' On Down the Line" and "Tell Me" (Spann #1764). The top side was a light-hearted country mover, while the flip side contained a slow, pop influenced ballad. It wasn't until 1966 that he recorded again, this time for his own Silvia label that was manufactured through Starday's custom pressing division. The songs were "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "It's Many a Mile from Me to You" (#1161). It was the latter that was discovered by European rockabilly collectors and saw reissue on the CDs "Rock-a-Billy Party" (Buffalo Bop Records, 1997) and "Rock & Roll with Piano, Vol. 3" (Collector Records, 1998). 

Monroe's band, variously called the "Country Drifters" or the "Sylvia Boys", were a popular act in the area, performing for large crowds during the late 1960s. They were the host of the "Section Talent Show", a regular competition that once featured a band called "Young Country", which won first prize and later became the hit-making group "Alabama". In fact, Alabama's Jeff Cook played with Monroe's band 1967 before he joined "Young Country" in 1969. Cook was replaced by Wonnie C. Johnson.

Monroe spent his whole life in DeKalb County and he passed away in Rainsville on October 18, 2018, at age 92. He is buried at Trinity United Methodist Church Cemetery in Sylvania.

Discography
Span SPA-1764: Headin' On Down the Line / Tell Me (1960)
Silvia 1161: Don't Tell Me You Love Me (Unless You Do) / It's Many a Mile from Me to You (1966)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat

• Official census records accessed through Ancestry.com

• DeSoto Theatre on cinematreasures.com

Jemm Records

The Jemm record label from Siloam Springs, Arkansas, was a small imprint operated by brothers Marlin (1926-2001) and James L. "Jim" Eubanks (1930-1988). Their father Albert McKinley Eubanks had been born in Madison County in the northwestern corner of Arkansas and apparently spent his life in the Arkansas-Oklahoma border region. At least three sons were born in Oklahoma: Everett McKinley in 1923 in Stilwell, Marlin 1926 in Rose, and Jim in 1930. There was also a fourth son, Robert.

During World War II, Marlin served in the US Navy and Jim in the US Army after the war. It was Jim who became involved in radio business, becoming an announcer in different states. He also worked for XEG in Monterrey, Mexico, and XERF in Del Rio, Texas. By the late 1950s, both brothers lived around Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

There, they met Montie Jones, a country & western singer who had started his career as a kid. By 1957, he was a DJ on the local Siloam Springs station KUOA and about two years later, Jones and the Eubanks brothers started their association. It seems that they set up the label primarily for Jones, who had not only the debut release ("The Girl with the Poney Tail" / "Your Just That Kind", Jemm #100) in early 1960 but also had a total of three releases on Jemm.

However, the brothers also recorded one record in their own right for the label (#104) and possibly had other discs issued as well. However, Jemm Records was a rather short-lived operation and had ceased activity by 1961. Jim Eubanks later owned Arkoma Music Pub. and a label called Big Sound. he was also a BMI and CMA member. Jim Eubanks passed away in 1988 in nearby Watts, Oklahoma, and Marlin died in 2001 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

If someone knows of more releases on the label, please feel free to share them with me!

Discography

100: Little Montie Jones - The Girl with the Poney Tail / Your Just That Kind (1960)
101: Montie Jones and the Revin Robbin's - Moonshine / Mary Sue (1960)
102:
103:
104: Marlin and Jim - Slipping Away / I've Lived a Lot Within My Time
105:
106:
107: Montie Jones - Walking Around in Circles / Black Cat's Chasin' Me (1961)

Sources

• Jim Eubanks and Marlin Eubanks Find a Grave entries
• Montie Jones Rockin' Country Style entry
• 45cat entry

Johnny Rion on Open Road

Johnny & Ann Rion - Sweat On My Brow (Open Road 17770), 1972

I haven't been familiar with Johnny Rion at all until I purchased this record. I was surprised to see that he had a long and rather successful career in country music, though it was mostly limited to the states of Missouri and Illinois.

Johnny Rion was born on May 20, 1916, in Farmington, Missouri. One of his early influences was Jimmie Rodgers and at the age of 12 years, he bought himself a guitar and learned to play it. Soon, he was appearing at school houses, dances, and other venues. One of his earlier engagements were at KFVS in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 1937. Rion also began writing songs which he send to KMOX in St. Louis, hoping to get them performed by the station's radio stars. Later, he could be heard over this station as well and appeared on many of the station's shows, including Pappy Cheshire's National Champion Hillbillies and the Old Fashioned Barn Dance stage show. Rion's "Hit the Trail" became the show's theme song. 

He was also heard on St. Louis' KWK in the 1940s and began recording around 1948, releasing his first singles on the Local Artists label. Then, Rion signed a recording deal with King Records, having his first records issued by August 1949 on this imprint. However, his stint with King did not last long and from that point on, Rion recorded for a great variety of smaller and bigger labels, including Embassy, Coral, ABC-Paramount, Blue Ribbon, New Life, and Open Road. Some of those were his own companies.

Rion wrote songs for many of the better known names in country music, including Rex Allen, Ernest Tubb, the Wilburn Brothers, Benny Martin, Johnnie Lee Wills, Cal Shrum, Skeets Yaney, and others. By 1953, he was a popular disc jockey on KSTL in St. Louis and worked with the station until May 1964. In addition to his radio work and personal appearances, he also operated his own Johnny Rion Hillbilly Park in St. Louis and Illinois from 1950 to 1958. Rion was a local St. Louis country music institution in the 1940s and 1950s. When Elvis Presley came to town in 1955 as part of a Colonel Tom Parker package show, Rion promoted and emceed the show. Rion and his wife Ann soon became friends with the future king of rock'n'roll. They met him again in 1956 at another of his appearances in St. Louis and visited the Elvis Presley Day celebration in Tupelo.

Johnny Rion and his wife Ann with children Priscilla and Danny, 1950s

While he spent much of his earlier career west of the Mississippi River in Missouri, he moved his family to the Illinois side of the area following his departure from KSTL in 1964. He had become a faithful Christian in 1957 and started as a traveling reverend in the 1960s. Rion recorded several gospel albums during his later career. Today's selection comes from one of Rion's own labels, Open Road Records, from the year of 1972 when he was recording mostly sacred material. It features him and his wife Ann on "Sweat on My Brow" with its flip side, "A Faded Gardenia".

He and his wife had a "Cowboy Church Radio Program" on KFMO in Park Hills, Missouri, in the 1980s and 1990s. Johnny Rion passed away on December 31, 1996. Following his death, his wife and his son continued the Cowboy Church programs. Ann Rion passed away in 2006 in Illinois. The British Archive of Country Music has released a 25-track CD entitled "Sunny Tennessee" featuring many of Rion's works.

Recommended reading

• British Archive of Country Music

• Discogs

• SecondHandSongs

• Iron County, Missouri, Historical Society (material by Johnny Rion)

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Ann Rion obituary

• 45cat entry / 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Gospel Jubilee entry

George Stonebreaker on Bejay

George Stonebreaker & the Spydells - Just Talk (Bejay BJ 62080), unknown year

Today’s 45 was released a bit later than my usual selections. It’s from 1980 by an artist called George Stonebreaker. Not much is known about him and from what I read, he was not a professional musician but kept music more as a hobby.

George Williams Stonebreaker III was born 1947. From the information I could turn up, it seems that he spent his early life in San Diego, California, where he met his future wife Vee. His obituary stated that he lived an exciting and busy life, flying airplanes and building steam engines among the many occupations. He also collected Egyptian artifacts.

He made a couple of recordings in the mid to late 1970s and the early 1980s. One of his early discs was for the Nashville based King’s Music City label with a band called the Spydells. Around that time, he and his family had relocated to the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area. In 1980, Stonebreaker and the Spydells recorded for Ben Jack’s Bejay label out of Fort Smith, and the song “Just Talk” is featured today from this single. By the way, the flip side was by a singer called Ann Armstrong (maybe a member of the Spydells) with a song called “Open Road”. Both songs were written by Ludy Qualls but I really don’t have any clue to her identity.

Stonebreaker continued to life in Fort Smith, where he died in 2013 at the age of 66 years.

See also
• Ben Jack on Bejay

Sources
• Discogs
• Find a Grave entry

The Harden Trio on Columbia

The Harden Trio – Husbands and Wives (Columbia 4-43844), 1966

The Harden Trio, comprising Bobby, Robbie, and Arlene Harden, were a rather well-known Arkansas music act. They had a string of country hits in the 1960s but today, we’re taking a look at one of their B sides. In this case, it’s the song “Husbands and Wives” which was the flip side to their hit “Seven Days of Crying”.

The Harden family came from the small town of England, Arkansas, a little southwest of Little Rock. Bobby was born in 1935, followed by sisters Arlene in 1945 and Fern Harden, who was nicknamed “Robbie”. As teenagers, they formed a trio and began performing on national known shows like the Ozark Jubilee and the Louisiana Hayride.

It was Robbie that moved to Nashville first to fill in for Bonnie Brown in The Browns, another country music family act from Arkansas. Both groups had also worked the Ozark Jubilee. Bobby and Arleen followed their sister and the trio was reunited. In 1964, they signed with Columbia Records and released their debut single “Poor Boy”, followed by “Tippy Toeing”, which became a #2 country music hit and also crossed over to the pop charts, reaching #44.

The Harden Trio in the mid 1960s at the time of their hit "Tippy Toeing"

In the wake of their success, more singles appeared on Columbia and today, we’re featuring a song from their fourth release, “Husbands and Wives”. The song was composed by country star Roger Miller and became the B side of their Top 30 country hit “Seven Days of Crying”. Both songs were recorded in August 1966 at the Columbia Studio in Nashville and probably featured, apart from the Hardens, top studio musicians – although the exact line-up is unknown. The single was releases two months later in October. “Husbands and Wives” had been previously released by Miller and it had become a #5 country hit for him, thought it didn’t chart for the Hardens at all.

The Harden Trio released more singles for Columbia until 1968, scoring a few more moderate hits, but disbanded afterwards. All of them pursued their own careers. Bobby and Arlene both had chart success in their own right and also scored hits as songwriters. Robbie went on to tour with Johnny Cash. Bobby Harden died in 2006 in Nashville.

Sources
• Wikipedia entry
• 45cat entry
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Bobby Harden Find a Grave entry

Sandy Coker on Decca

Sandy Coker with the Coker Family – Rock Island Ride (Decca 9-30051), 1956

The Coker family is unknown outside of the rockabilly scene and even within this circle, is a rather little known act. However, they were responsible for one of my favorite rockabilly recordings of 1956, “Don’t Go Baby (Don’t Go)”. However, today, we’re focusing on another song from the Coker Family, “Rock Island Ride”, done by Sandy Coker.

The Coker family originated from Conway, Faulkner County, Arkansas, where Alvis “Al” Coker, Sr. was born in 1918. In Faulkner County, he married Francis Murlean Allen in 1934 – when Alvis was tender 16 years old (Francis was five years his senior). The marriage didn’t last long and when he was 18, Alvis Coker decided to leave Arkansas and relocated to California – like many other people from the south did back then.

Moving to Bakersfield around 1936, he soon fell in love with Geraldine Lindley, married her and in 1938, their daughter Alvidine (Alvadean) was born, followed in 1940 by their son Alvis Jr., nicknamed Sandy. Both Al and Geraldine were musically talented but didn’t pursue a career until their children did. Sandy had taken up the fiddle at the age of ten and a year later, in 1951, he won a local fiddle contest and repeated this success the next year with support from his singing sister, Alvadean. Soon, Al on guitar and Geraldine on bass joined their children and the Coker Family was born. In addition, daughters Caroline on drums and Linda Ann on piano augmented the group.

The Coker Family in 1956

The Coker group gained a spot on KTRB radio in Modesto and it was during one of their radio shows that they were spotted by talent scout, promoter, and label owner Fabor Robinson. He signed Sandy and Alvadean to his Abbott label in 1954. It was especially Alvadean who had a string of releases on the label, including her proto-rockabilly song “I Wanna Bop” and a duet with Jim Reeves, “Are You the One”, which was also released in Canada and the UK. One of the singles that saw release under Sandy’s own name was also released in the UK.

Sandy and Alvadean Coker appeared regularly on Town Hall Party, one of the west coast’s most influential country music TV and radio shows during the 1950s. They also did guest appearances on the Louisiana Hayride. In 1956, the Coker Family signed with Decca Records and traveled to Nashville in July 1956 for a two-day session at the Music City Recordings studio produced by Paul Cohen. This session resulted in enough material for one release each for Alvadean, Sandy, and Al Coker. “Rock Island Ride” is an instrumental number showcasing Sandy's talent on the guitar.

The three Cokers had one more release each on Decca in late 1957/early 1958 but stopped recording afterwards. The family stopped touring at some point and Alvadean raiser her children, moving to Fresno eventually. However, they kept music as a sideline. Al Coker died in 1970 at the age of 52 years, bringing the original act to an end. His wife Geraldine passed away in 2011, Alvadean in 2023 and also Sandy has already passed away. In 1992, the family was inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame. In 2025, Bear Family released a CD entitled "I Wanna Bop" with their complete recorded output.

Sources
• Find a Grave entry for Al Coker and Alvadean Coker
• 45cat entries for Al Coker, Sandy Coker, Alvadean Coker
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Adam Komorowski: "Classic Rockabilly" (Proper Records), liner notes, 2006

Charlie V. Looper

Charles Looper and the Loopers - She's My Baby Now (Jaggars unreleased)

Charles Verill "Charlie" Looper was born on February 10, 1938, in Bismarck, Hot Spring County, Arkansas, a tiny community southwest of Hot Springs. He was the only son of his Doyle and Eunice Looper but had three sisters - an older one and two younger ones. By 1940, the family had moved within the boundaries of Hot Spring County to an even tinier place called Valley Township.

Batesville Guard
July 24, 1958

He became interested in music and began performing as early as the mid 1950s. We first find mention of Looper in the Hope Star, which mentioned him playing a "string solo". He was performing rockabilly three  years later and appeared at the Melba Theatre with such groups as the Jokers, the Martin Sisters, and the Del Reys. He founded a band called the Loopers eventually and they made a demo rockabilly recording probably in the late 1950s at Jaggars Recording Studio in Little Rock. "She's My Baby Now", which has survived, fortunately, was later reissued on a few compilations put out by Bison/Buffalo Bop and Norton.

Looper joined the US Navy and did service for 30 years. The Navy possibly sent him to the San Francisco area, and it seems he continued his musical ambitions there. In 1963, a band known as "Charlie Looper and the Space Men" recorded a single for the Karl label, which was presumably operated by Barbara Karl. The disc featured "But It Did" and "40 Acres on the Moon", which was oriented towards the softer teen doo-wop market. The record did good enough for him that it was taken over by the Bagdad label in late 1963 as by "Chuck Looper".

Following his retirement from the Navy, Looper worked for the Texas Department of Corrections. He returned to Arkansas and lived with his wife Lacie in Fouke near the Texas border. Looper passed away on June 4, 2017, in Fouke and was buried at Chapelwood Memorial Gardens in Wake Village, Texas, near Texarkana.

Discography

Jaggars No.#: She's My Baby Now / [other side blank] 
Karl R-2223: Charlie Looper and the Space Men - But It Did / 40 Acres on the Moon (1963)
Bagdad SR-1009: Chuck Looper - But It Did / 40 Acres on the Moon (1963)

Sources

• 45cat entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry on Charlie V. Looper and Charles Looper

• Find a Grave entry

• Official census records accessed through Ancestry.com

Billy Ray Reynolds on Epic

Billy Ray Reynolds - "I'd Rather Be Your Fool" (Epic #5-10360), 1968

Country music guitarist and songwriter Billy Ray Reynolds is probably best remembered as a guitarist in Waylon Jennings' band, the Waylors, in the 1970s. Though, he left his mark in many different fields of the entertainment business.

Reynolds was born on October 6, 1940, in Saratoga near Mount Olive, Mississippi. His parents were farmers and Reynolds grew up singing church hymns. He became fascinated with country music when he and his parents watched a Grand Ole Opry package tour and Hank Williams was on the bill. Reynolds was nine years old and soon after, picked up the guitar.

He started his career in the 1960s and played bass with folk-rock band "Yankee Dollar" for a short time. The group recorded one album in 1968 for Dot Records. The same year, Reynolds started recording solo for Epic but none of his singles charted. His "I'd Rather Be Your Fool" is featured today and the first of those three records, released in 1968 with "A Real Good Year for Wine" on the flip side. Two more records followed, produced by Glenn Sutton, but success eluded him.

In 1966, Reynolds had first met country singer Waylon Jennings, who was making a name for himself in the Nashville scene at that time. Reynolds joined Jennings' band, the Waylors, and first took part in a session on December 7, 1970, as a rhythm guitarist. Among the songs recorded that day was Kris Kristofferson's "Loving Her Was Easier". Reynolds became an integral part of Jennings' sound and the outlaw country movement. 

Waylon Jennings with Billy Ray Reynolds in the background,
ca. 1973

Reynolds wrote several songs that were recorded by different artists. "Atlanta's Burning Down" was originally recorded by Jennings, although it remained unreleased, and then by Dickey Betts & Great South (Betts was a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band). Other hit songs written by Reynolds included "Working Man" (John Conlee, 1985), "Don't Believe My Heart Can Stand Another You" (Tanya Tucker, 1975), or "It'll Be Me" (Tompall Glaser, 1982).

In 1976, Reynolds left the Waylors and continued to work behind the scenes as a songwriter. In the 1980s and 1990s, Reynolds worked as an actor, too, and released his first album in 2002. He moved back to Mount Olive, Mississippi, in 2006, where he continued to record albums. Billy Ray Reynolds passed away on November 29, 2019, at the age of 79 years. After his death, the "Billy Ray Reynolds Country Music Museum" opened in Mount Olive, displaying countless items and memorabilia from his decades-long career.


Waylon Jennings (Billy Ray Reynolds on rhythm guitar): Medley (Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line / Brown Eyed Handsome Man / Loving Her Was Easier) (TV show "That Good Ole Nashville Music", August 1971)


Waylon Jennings (Billy Ray Reynolds on rhythm guitar): "Me and Bobbie McGee" (TV show "Hee Haw", 1972)


Waylon Jennings (Billy Ray Reynolds on rhythm guitar): Medley (Loving Her Was Easier / Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues / Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line) (TV show, 1973)

Sources

• 45cat entry

• International Movie Database

• Robert K. Oerman: "Noted songwriter/guitarist Billy Ray Reynolds passes"  (Musicrow.com, 2019)

• SecondHandSongs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Find a Grave entry

• Rebecca Turner: "Mt. Olive opens museum to honor country great Billy Ray Reynolds" (Our Missisippi Home, 2022)

• Billy Ray Reynolds - Remembers Waylon Jennings

Bill Wimberly on Mercury

Bill Wimberly and the Country Rhythm Boys - At the Old Town Hall (Mercury 70900X45), 1956

In the mid 1950s, Bill Wimberly was a successful and popular western swing band leader. He recorded for Mercury with his band, the Country Rhythm Boys, and fronted the house band of the Ozark Jubilee, one of the nation's top country music TV shows. However, his own demons caused a dramatic fall down of his music career.

William Leroy "Bill" Wimberley was born in Avant, Oklahoma, on June 29, 1924, and began his career in Tulsa, a hat bed for western swing music. Wimberly (he would drop the "e" in his last name) began working with Bob and Johnnie Lee Wills in the early 1940s. He served during World War II and upon his discharge, resumed his music career.

Advertisement for a mid 1950s appearance
of Wimberly, Tex Ritter, and Smiley Burnette at the
Hitchcock County Fair in Culberson, Nebraska

By 1950, he was the leader of a band that regularly performed over KGNO in Dodge City, Kansas. By 1953, he had switched to KFH in Wichita, Kansas, heading the station’s house band, the Arkansas Valley Boys. This band had been on the station as early as 1939 but the original band had been long gone. However, KFH maintained the rights to the name and kept the group running as their house band. The line-up changed several times over the years but under the leadership of Wimberly, included top-western swing musicians of the time.

Wimberly and the band made their first recordings in 1954 for Morton Levand's independent Tex Records. By the time of their last Tex disc in 1955, the band had been renamed the "Country Rhythm Boys" and switched to Mercury in early 1956. By then, the band had been renamed Country Rhythm Boys and had become part of the Ozark Jubilee from Springfield, Missouri, an ABC televised show hosted by Red Foley. Until then, Wimberly and the band had been of regional fame but the Ozark Jubilee put them on the national scene.

They recorded several fine sides for Mercury, including the hot swinging “At the Old Town Hall” with Bill Taylor (real name Bill Tanner) on vocals. The song was written by Hugh Ashley, a songwriter and musician from Harrison, Arkansas. It was released in the summer of 1956 but did not crack the charts, as western swing's popularity had already faded then. Wimberly and the Country Rhythm Boys made their last recordings for Mercury in October 1956, which were released on an album.

Bill Wimberly and the Country Rhythm Boys
(taken from a 1956 Ozark Jubilee souvenir book)

Though, they kept on appearing at the Ozark Jubilee, alternating with Grady Martin's group as the show's house band. In 1957, Wimberly came in conflict with the law, which included his involvement in a fake Pat Boone concert in Illinois. His troubles caused him to leave the Jubilee (being replaced by Merl Lindsay) and his career was virtually over. A few recordings appeared in 1958 on Starday but those were the last he ever made. Little is known about the years after 1958 apart from the fact that he continued to be a band-leader but without much recognition.

He died largely unnoticed on June 11, 1998, in Tulsa. BACM released a 23 track CD with Wimberly's complete recordings in 2010.

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music-com entries for the KFH Arkasas Valley Boys and the Country Rhythm Boys 

• 45cat entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Find a Grave entry

• Kevin Coffey: "At the Old Town Hall" (2010), liner notes, British Archive of Country Music

Jimmie Logsdon on REM

Jimmie Logsdon - My Son Calls Another Man Daddy (REM 45-501), 1963

Jimmie Logsdon, sometimes also spelled as "Jimmy", is best remembered nowadays for his short but intense time at Roulette Records as a rockabilly singer, though this only represents a rather short and small portion of his career. He was deeply rooted into gospel and country music, an admirer of Hank Williams, and his music clearly shows that.

James Lloyd Logsdon was born on April 1, 1922, in a small place called Panther, Northeast Kentucky, to Reverend Lloyd Oscar Logsdon and his wife Rosa Lee. He had several older half-siblings, as his father's first wife had died in 1920. He had a younger sister named Martha Jean, born in 1926. His father's occupation as a minister caused the family to move a lot within the state of Kentucky. During the first 15 years of his life, Logsdon was exclusively exposed to gospel music but later discovered secular country music and blues while living in southeastern Kentucky. He also became aware of rhythm & blues later on.

Logsdon graduated from high school in Ludlow, Kentucky, in 1940 and married his first wife. Contrary to many other of his fellow musicians, Logsdon did not learn to play guitar as a child and did not play in a band at first. He worked a day job during most of the 1940s and served during World War II on an Air Force base in Texas. Upon his return in 1946, he opened a radio shop in La Grange, Kentucky, and his business included selling used records. At this point, he decided to try his luck in the music business. He bought a guitar and learned to play it.

Billboard December 27, 1952

His first spot was a fifteen-minutes show on WLOU in Louisville from 1950 to 1952, then switching to WINN as an announcer. During this time, he recorded a few demo tapes and in late 1951, his first record appeared on the Harvest label, financed by local entrepreneur Art Rhodes. By then, Logsdon had founded his own band. He opened a show for his idol Hank Williams when he came to Louisville in 1952. Williams was impressed enough to recommend Logsdon to Paul Cohen, Decca Records' Nashville head and soon Logsdon found himself recording for the major label.

His first session was held in October 1952 at the Castle Studio with some of the Nashville top studio musicians. This session yielded his first single on Decca, "That's When I'll Love You the Best" b/w "I Wanna Be Mama'd" (#28502). He got a popularity boost in 1953 when he started his own television show on WHAS-TV and several more singles followed until late 1954, but none of them became a hit. Decca dropped him and the divorce from his first wife added to the following downfall, which resulted in drug abuse and a six-month-stay in hospital. His manager Vic McAlpin got him on Dot for a single in 1955 and another one for Starday in 1957 but these did not catch on either. It was McAlpin's idea to change music styles. In 1957 and 1958, Logsdon recorded rockabilly for Roulette as "Jimmy Lloyd", which became his best-known sides. "Where the Rio de Rosa Flows" (later covered by Carl Perkins), "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket", and "You're Gone, Baby" became classics of the genre. 

Jimmie Logsdon at WCKY (Cincinnati, Ohio)

He took a break from recording in the years to come and instead concentrated on his radio work, mostly in Cincinnati. He recorded a couple of country and gospel EPs for his own label in 1962. Today's selection was part of a 1963 EP that was released on the Kentucky based REM label. "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy" was - of course - a cover version of the Hank Williams song. The record contained more Williams numbers as well as gospel songs.

The same year, Logsdon signed with King Records, releasing a few more singles and an album. He continued to work in radio in Kentucky and Alabama as well. Another EP on Rusty York's Jewel label and a last 45 single on Clark Country followed, before Logsdon decided to quit music business in 1972 and took a job with the Kentucky Labor Department the following year. He recorded his last album in 1981 for Jewel and spent his last years working in his brother-in-law's swimming pool business, performing in clubs in his spare time. He passed away on October 7, 2001, in Louisville, Kentucky, at the age of 79 years.

Since the late 1970s, his Roulette recordings have been consequently reissued, providing him a place in the heart of European rockabilly fans, but his other work remained largely unknown. Bear Family released his complete 1950s output on a CD entitled "I Got a Rocket In My Pocket" in 1993. BACM has dedicated a 23-tracks CD to his country and gospel work.

Recommended reading

• Bear Family Records

• British Archive of Country Music

• SecondHandSongs

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• This Is My Story biography

Hoosierland Barn Dance

The Star Press August 6, 952

From the state of Indiana, a lot of country live stage shows originated. Some of them were bigger and reached out to more distant locations, others were small shows on a local level. One of those smaller shows was the Hoosierland Barn Dance, which was broadcast by WLBC out of Muncie, Indiana.

WLBC went on the air in 1926 and its sister station, WLBC-FM, in 1947. I first found mention of the Hoosierland Barn Dance in August 1952, when the local Star Press newspaper carried advertisements for the show. The show took place on Saturday evenings at the Gibson Arena, a roller skating rink that first opened in 1940, and the show was broadcast on WLBC from 10 pm to midnight. The Hoosierland Barn Dance was centered around Tex White and his band, the Tennessee Ramblers, but also included other artists, including at one time or another Jesse Stone, Earl Hoover, George Riddle (who would go on to be a member of George Jones' Jones Boys band), Dick Morgan, the Rhythm Serenaders, the Midwestern Trailriders, Chuck Smith, and others.

White had been born in Texas and spent some time on WCYB in Bristol, Tennessee, before relocating to Indiana. He had a morning program on WLBC when he started the Hoosierland Barn Dance. The show was still running in April 1953 but I could not find any info on how long it ran.

If anyone out there has more knowledge or recollections about the Hoosierland Barn Dance, feel free to leave a comment or send an e-mail!

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Tex White Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Gibson Arena info on Ice Hockey Wiki

• George Riddle obituary

• Wikipedia entries for WMUN (former WLBC-AM) and WLBC-FM

George Kent

George Kent, ca. early 1960s

"Hello, I'm a Jukebox" by George Kent was one of my favorites when I started listening to country music. The song was written by legendary composer Tom T. Hall, and became Kent's biggest record, reaching #26 in Billboard's Hot Country Songs early in 1970. It was recorded in 1969 with the wonderful background voice of Diana Duke.

George Olen Kent, Jr., was born on June 12, 1935, to George Olen, Sr., and Edna Kent in Dallas, Texas, where he was raised with his brother Roland and his siter JoAnne. In the 1950s, he joined the Army Reserves, serving for four years, and afterwards began working with the Dallas Police Department.

However, music had been a passion for Kent for some time and in the late 1950s, he started his career as a country music singer. He began performing around Dallas and joined the Big D Jamboree, a nationally known live stage show that originated from the Dallas Sportarium and aired over KRLD. In the early 1960s, Kent also appeared on the Cowtown Hoedown and the Cowtown Jamboree from Fort Worth. 

Fort Worth Star Telegram
September 8, 1961

In 1959, Kent began recording for Maverick Records, a Dallas based label that also recorded such artists as Ronnie Dawson. Kent cut a total of four singles for the label, of which the third "Hall of Shame" enjoyed some local success. He held two demo sessions in 1961 and 1962 and one of the songs was "How Can I Write On Paper What I Feel In My Heart", which he co-wrote. The demo made it to Nashville and was pitched to Jim Reeves, whose version became #7 Billboard country hit in 1961. His "Forget Me Not", co-written with Eddie McDuff, was recorded by Bruce Chanel, Margie Singleton, and J. Frank Wilson.

This opened doors for him in Music City USA and he signed with the Dial label having his two singles for the label produced by Buddy Killen. The 1960s saw Kent hopping from one Nashville indie label to another, recording for Dial (1962-1963), Rice (1964-1967), Roulette (1965), Starday (1966-1967), Athena (1968), and Plantation (1968). Finally, in 1969, Kent signed with Mercury Records and enjoyed his most successful time with this label.

In August 1969, he cut "Hello, I'm a Jukebox", a recitation with Diana Duke's "Tonight, the Juke Box Plays for Me" in the background. The song was released by Mercury in November that year and it became #26 country hit for Kent early the following year. It also got Diana Duke a Mercury recording contract on her own, waxing a new version of "Tonight, the Juke Box Plays for Me". A few more singles followed on Mercury, though Kent could not repeat the success of "Hello, I'm a Juke Box". During the 1970s, he had a few more low-charting singles and returned to the Rice label in 1971 for four singles. He switched to Shannon Records for three years, beginning in 1973. His last records came out on the Cin Kay and Soundwaves labels in 1977. 

George Kent in the mid-1970s
Shannon Records promotional picture

In 1980, Kent and his wife Jeanne left Nashville and purchaed the Cow Palace in Fort Collins, a popular live music venue in Fort Collins, Colorado, north of Denver. Kent also performed on the Palace's stage and a former member of his band remembered in 2014: "George was quite the writer in his own right and taught us a lot. He allowed musicians to grew and was always there with an ear." The Kents sold the Cow Palace in 1997. They purchased land to raise horses. George Kent passed away on August 12, 2010, at McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado. He was 75 years old.

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• 45cat entry

• Discogs

• SecondHandSongs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• From the Vaults Boppin' Bob

Hulon Green on Universal Artists

Hulon Green - Lacking in the Principles of Love (Universal Artists L-202)

Here we have a classic country song by a local Texarkana artist, Hulon Green. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to tell about the artist, as my research did not turn up very much. Let’s have a look on the record label.

Today’s song “Lacking in the Principles of Love” was recorded and released by Green on the Universal Artists record label that was based in Texarkana, on the Arkansas side of the city. It was active between 1967 and at least 1976, releasing records by several local artists. Among the genres were rock’n’roll, country music, and gospel. Green's release lacks of release info or any hint to it, unfortunately.

Hulon Green released at least two records: the one we’re featuring today and another one on the Ar-Tex label, another local imprint. Noteworthy, Green was the composer of all four known songs he cut, so it seems he had a talent for songwriting. During my research, I found a man named Hulon Calvin Green, born in 1925 in the Texas-Oklahoma-Arkansas border region. He died in 1993 in the Texas part of Texarkana. This might be the same person but I couldn’t find any proof so far.

DiscographyUniversal Artists L-202: Hulon Green - Too Much Trouble (with Too Many Women) / Lacking In the Principles of Love
Ar-Tex LRS-765-3259: Hulon Green - Pages of Time / He's a Professional

See also
• The Humming Bees from Texarkana
• Universal Artists discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources
• 45cat entry
• Find a Grave entry

Bill Logsdon & the Royal Notes

Bill Logsdon and the Royal Notes, ca. early 1960s
Pat Logsdon on guitar behind the microphone

Come to My House Rock!

The Story of Bill & Pat Logsdon and the Royal Notes

The Royal Notes was an Ohio based band led by Bill Logsdon. The band started out as a rock'n'roll band, than transformed into a Top 40 group and finally morphed into a country and bluegrass act. The Royal Notes played in the Lorain, Amherst, and Sandusky areas, which are part of the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area.

William Carlos "Bill" Logsdon was born on June 26, 1937, to William Hampton and Cornelia Logsdon. He grew up with six siblings. In the 1950s, Logsdon met Patricia Ann "Pat" Jarvis from Amerst, who was born in 1937 in Sandusky. Love blossomed and the twosome married, giving birth to their son William D., nicknamed Billy. The made their home in Amherst.

Both Bill and Pat Logsdon were talented musicians. Bill played guitar, bass, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, while Pat was an adept bass player and sang. Around 1959, the couple founded their own band, the Royal Notes, which also included Mike Hunter on drums and probably Boyd Rogers on guitar. They began playing teen dances in area. In 1960, they got in touch with Jon Ryan, who operated the Athena record label in Lorain. Ryan produced a primitive rock'n'roll single with the Royal Notes, featuring a sparse brushed drum, aggressive lead guitar, and powerful vocals by Pat Logsdon. The results were a vocal number, "Come-To-My-House-Rock", and an instrumental called "Spitfire".

The Sandusky Register
November 21, 1961

Released on Athena at some pout during 1960, the single was soon re-released by Bob Sellers on Destiny Records, also based in Lorain. This release featured the complete version of "Come-To-My-House-Rock", which included a short guitar intro that was cut off in the Athena version. The Destiny single saw mention in Billboard at the end of the year and was perhaps a solid seller locally but did not caught any attention outside of the area it seems.

Billboard November 21, 1960, pop review

The Royal Notes continued to play around town, including a regular stint at the Radio Inn in Sandusky. In 1964, another record of the band appeared on Athena, comprising "Come Dance with Me" featuring Pat's vocals backed with the instrumental "Cool It". It may have been Bill that played the lead guitar parts on their recordings. By then, they had added a sax player to their line-up.

Throughout the 1960s, the Royal Notes played the region's club circuit - everything between Cleveland and Lorain. They added a bit of country music to their top 40 repertoire as the years went by and landed a spot on radio WWIZ in May 1967, having a regular show there for several months. At that time, the Royal Notes included - apart from Bill and Pat Logsdon - Boyd Rogers on guitar and Ralph Jenkins on drums. 

In 1977, the Logsdons and their Royal Notes recorded a single in Cincinnati for the Queensgate label called "Turning Back the Pages" / "Big Black Train". By then, the Royal Notes had developed into a fulltime country/bluegrass band and featured the Logsdons' son Billy on drums. They performed well into the 1980s but Bill and Pat eventually divorced. Pat left the band and married Dennis B. Jarvis in 1984. She spent her final years in Vermillion and passed away in Cleveland in 1996 at the age of 59 years.

Bill Logsdon continued to play music with different bands, bringing the Royal Notes to an end after Pat dropped out. He had been a member of the Gospel Echos in the late 1970s and also performed with the Bear Mountain Boys in Red Lick, Kentucky, in the early 1990s. Logsdon reformed the Royal Notes in 1993. Sadly, he died on May 20, 1994, in Estill, Kentucky at the age of 56.

Discography

Athena 729: Come to My House Rock / Spitfire (ca. 1960)
Destiny 501: Come-to-My-House-Rock / Spitfire (1960)
Athena ARCO201: Come Dance with Me / Cool It (1964)
Queensgate 7112Q15: Turning Back the Pages / Big Black Train (1977)

Sources
• Buckeye Beat
• Bill Logsdon Find a Grave entry and Pat Logsdon Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Rockin' Country Style entry
• Discogs

Bob Flower on Rose

Bob Flower and his Star Dusters - Draw Three (Rose R110), ca. 1968

Country music singer Bob Flower had a couple of records out in the 1960s but my research has only turned up vague information on him. So I do what I usually do in those cases: hoping that someone passes by that knows more than I do and leaves a comment or an email!

Robert John "Bob" Flower was probably born on March 8, 1927, and hailed possibly from Arkansas, as a digital compilation entitled "Arkansas Country Boy" by Stomper Time and Smith & Co., suggests. However, comments on YouTube videos indicate that he lived in the Cuba, New York, area by the 1960s and worked as chief of the local police department while he also enjoyed his career as a singer. A search on ancestry.com revealed that he already lived in Caneadea, Allegany County, New York, by 1950. Flower had previously served in the US Army during Word War II and left in the rank of a corporal.

Promo sheet for Flower's Rose release

Flower was first associated with Nashville music personality Murray Nash and his Do-Ra-Me label, releasing a total of four singles and one album on the label between 1963 and 1965. Initially, his songs were published by Cotton Town Music, a company from West Memphis, Arkansas, and operated by radio and TV host Gene Williams. Among the songs Flower recorded was "It Was Sweet While It Lasted", written by Arkansas DJ and sales manager of Williams' Cotton Town Jubilee label Chuck Comer. The song was recorded around the same time by Cotton Town Jubilee recording artist Sonny Williams.

Probably his final release on Do-Ra-Me was a full-length and self-titled album that featured mostly cover versions of country standards. On all of his releases, he was backed by his band, the Star Dusters, which consisted of Jimmy Clemons on lead guitar, Jerry Steadman on rhythm guitar, Kenny Lee on steel guitar, and Ivan Wilson on bass with female singer Dody Lynn providing some of the vocals as well.

In the late 1960s, Flower had another release on another Nashville label, Rose Records. This imprint was possibly owned by Ray Petersen, who produced all of the releases. Flower recorded "Draw Three" b/w "Rainbows" and both titles were written or co-written by Roy Lowe, who had previously produced Flower's album on Do-Ra-Me.

Bob Flower died on September 11, 1992. 

If anyone out there has more information on Bob Flower, please feel free to share it!

See also
• The Do-Ra-Me label

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Discogs
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Bob Flower & the Star Dusters - Draw Three (YouTube video; see comments)
• Ancestry.com

Gene McKown

Gene McKown, 1950s

Does anyone ever attempted to tell the whole story of singer Gene McKown? The man who was responsible for such rockabilly favorites as "Rock-a-Billy Rhythm" and "Ghost Memories"? I don't think so. He is the kind of artists that, although being featured constantly on compilations, has been forgotten. Little did I know when first posting a very brief sketch about his career but now, I am happy to present a detailed look on McKown and his music career.

Eugene Edward McKown was born on July 16, 1932, in Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. He was the only surviving child of Thomas Rothwell and Virginia M. McKown, his older sister Shirley died at the age of two a month before McKown's birth. He attended North Kansas City High School in Clay County and, by 1950, McKown worked as an filling station attendant but was drafted shortly thereafter, serving in the US Navy on the USS Essex from ca. 1950 or 1951 until ca. 1955. He spent much of his time with the troops in California and reached the rank of a Sergeant. 

McKown made brief trips to Missouri during this time, already playing local dates there, but continued to make his home in San Gabriel, California, a part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. He was managed by his friend Nate Ryan during those years and had a band called the Tune Twisters. Those included guitarists like Don McFarland, Agnes Coates and names like Bill Wilburn. 

Valley News
April 13, 1958

It was in California when McKown made his first record. For Fable Records, a Los Angeles based company owned by local music business man Sandy Stanton, McKown and his band recorded "I'm Still Wondering Why", a duet with band member Fiddlin' Slim, and "My Heart Belongs to You" (#F-571/2) and both sides were composed by McKown and Coates. At that time, they were still playing country music, which is clearly hearable on this record, and it was released in 1957 by Fable.

By then, however, rockabilly and rock'n'roll music had taken over and McKown switched to this style for his next record. He and the Tune Twisters recorded again two Coates-McKown compositions, "Rock-a-Billy Rhythm" and "My Dream Girl", which were released on newly founded Aggie Records in very early 1958 (#1001). The South San Gabriel, California, based label was partly owned by McKown's manager Nate Ryan and might have also involved songwriter and record label owner Les Kangas, who also owned the Kangaroo label and his own publishing arm. Aggie Records was possibly named after Agnes Coates.

During those years, McKown performed on some of California's top shows, including "Town Hall Party" and "Country America", and shared the stage with such well-known names as Wynn Stewart, Wade Ray, Tex Ritter, Freddie Hart, Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, and others. He also appeared on Aggie label-mate Dick Miller's KXLA radio show and in a lot of clubs in the area, including the Palomino in North Hollywood.

"My Dream Girl" reached the regional Cash Box charts in February, so the record sold good enough to secure McKown another release, "Little Mary" and "You and I" (#1003). Two more rockabilly boppers, the A side was another joint effort of McKown and Coates, while the flip was supplied by James Karney (who had recorded for Fable as well). Released at some point in 1958 or 1959, it was the last release on Aggie under McKown's name. However, there were two more records on Aggie that probably bore his involvement. Don McFarland, a guitarist and singer with whom McKown worked at the time, recorded two Agnes Coates written gospel numbers for Aggie entitled "Jesus Is Coming" and "He Showed My the Way" (#1005, 1959). He was accompanied by the Tune Twisters. The band also backed Joe Sterling, who waxed two more Coates gospel songs for Aggie, "I'm Gonna Talk to My Lord" and "Rain Rain Rain" (#1006, 1960).

It seems that McKown and the Tune Twisters resolved their association with Aggie in 1960. The same year, he had a job at the Esquire Ballroom in Houston, Texas, playing in a band with Jimmy Dry, Pee Wee Davis, and a young Willie Nelson. While Dry went on to be Jack Green's guitarist, there is no introduction needed for Willie Nelson. McKown returned to Kansas City in the early 1960s and resumed playing local bars and taverns. He played the Frontiers Club in early 1963 with a band known as the Western Swingsters but re-established the Tune Twisters a year later. Also in 1963, he went into partnership with George Hodges, Jr. of the Pier Brass Company in Kansas City. Hodges had founded the Brass record label as an outlet for local talent. McKown not only released two singles under the Brass imprint but also carried out other functions for the label. The first of those two discs featured two great country cuts, "Oh Sorry Me" b/w "My Get Up and Go" (#205) from 1963, followed by "Ghost Memories" b/w "Incidentally" (#238) a year later. The minor-key "Ghost Memories" became one of McKown's best known songs eventually.

Kansas City Star
May 1, 1965

McKown continued to perform around Kansas City in such venues as the Starlite Club, Howard's Bar, the Silver Spur, and others. At the Starlite, McKown once performed a show with Ray Price. He also recorded for small independent labels throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During the mid- and late 1960s, he had a constant connection to Nashville, recording for Music City indies like Sims, Rich, Bilin, Castle, Rose, and Totem. He had a local hit with his song "Charlie O the Mule" on the Bilin label, produced by Bobby Sykes in Nashville. Another of his locally popular songs was "The Kansas City Royals Are on the Go" from 1977, a tribute to the successful baseball team of the same name. As a talented songwriter, McKown composed hundreds of songs and some of them ended up being recorded by Nashville artists like Autry Inman ("Six Rounds of Love and Hate"), Earl Scott, and Ken Springer (both "Tearin' My Head Up Again"). Local artists cut his tunes as well, including Jim Mansell & Sandy West ("My One for the Road"), Lee Holeman ("Hold On, I'm Coming" and "Mr. Bandleader"), and his old buddy Jimmy Dry ("No One Else").

Around 1978, rockabilly lover and musician Rockin' Ronnie Weiser reissued "Rock-a-Billy Rhythm" and "Dream Girl" on his Rollin' Rock label. "Ghost Memories" appeared on the Redita LP "Kansas City Country Rockers" around the same time and his rockabilly recordings were reissued numerous times in the following decades, securing McKown a place in the world of rockabilly music.

Gene McKown in 1993

He continued his performances in the Kansas City area well into the 1980s, then spent some time in St. Jospeh, Missouri, and stayed with his old friend Nate Ryan in Arizona between 1990 and 1992 following a depression. The following year, McKown and Ryan's family moved to Osceola, Missouri, where McKown continued working as a performer. He played the Two Mug Saloon regularly there. McKown was an active member of the local Friends of Jesus Christian Church and went into gospel music a few years later, recording hundreds of cassette tapes with his gospel songs. Music was not only a hobby for KcKown, it was a passion and occupation at the same time and he carried it out throughout his whole life.

McKown was married only for a short time in the 1950s and left behind no close relatives when he passed away on May 18, 2011, in Osceola from a heart attack. He was 78 years old. His final years had been troublesame as he suffered from a stroke in 2006, which ended his musical activities. He also had a gambling problem and in addition, he had to move out of his apartment shortly before his death as the building was demolished.

Discography

Fable 571: Gene McKown & Fiddlin' Sam - I'm Still Wondering Why / Gene McKown - My Heart Belogs to You (1957)
Aggie A-1001: Gene McKown & the Tune Twisters - My Dream Girl / Rock-a-Billy Rhythm (1958)
Aggie A-1003: Gene McKown & the Tune Twisters - Little Mary / You and I (1959)
Brass 205: Gene McKown - Oh Sorry Me / My Get Up and Go (1963)
Brass 209: Gene McKown - Ghost Memories / Incidentally (1964)
Brass 238: Gene McKown - Ghost Memories / Incidentally (1964)
Rich 106: Gene McKown - I'm Out on the Town / That Don't Make Her a Bad Girl (1965)
Sims 228: Gene McKown - Peace Corps / Keeper of Heartaches (1965)
Bilin BS-2200: Gene McKown - Charlie-O-The-Mule / Bobby Sykes - The Legend of a Mule (1965)
Peak P-103: Sandy & Gene - Stop, Look and Listen / River of Shame (ca. 1965)
Rose 101: The Little Green Men & Ray Petersen - U.F.O. / Happy as a Lark (1968)
Totem T-9: Gene McKown - U.F.O. / Happy as a Lark (1968)
Castle CR-2076/7: Gene McKown - Please Mr. Editor / Take It on the Chin (1972)
Column One: Gene McKown - The Kansas City Royals Are on the Go / Jim Martin - The Kansas City Royals Are on the Go (Instr.) (1977)
Rollin' Rock 45-042: Rockabilly Rhythm / Dreamgirl (ca. 1978)

Sources

• Find a Grave entries for Gene McKown and Thomas R. McKown

• Richard Sunderwirth: "Osceola's Candy Man Was the World's Music Man" (St. Clair County Courier), May 27, 2011

• Official census records accessed through ancestry.com

• 45cat entry

• Discogs

• Rockin' Country Style entry