Dixie Hayride

Billboard October 14, 1956
The only mention of the Florence based Dixie Hayride

There were many country stage shows bearing the word "Dixie" in it and Alabama shows were no exception. While there were shows like the Dixie Barn Dance or the Dixie Jamboree, the name "Dixie Hayride" was applied to at least three shows in the mid-1950s!

This post concentrates on the live stage show "Dixie Hayride" out of Florence, Alabama. The cast of the show included straight forward country artists like Dexter Johnson, Kelso Hurston, and Dixie Hayriders (probably the show's house band). However, located in the northeastern corner of the state, Florence was not too far away from Memphis, and the ongoing list of Dixie Hayride entertainers include some names that might be familiar with Memphis music fans like Buddy Bain and Kay Wayne, Maggie Sue Wimberly, Junior Thompson, and an artist named Mason Dixon (which could have been Walter "Tex" Dixon but might have actually been Merle "Red" Taylor, who recorded rockabilly for Meteor Records under this name at the time). The first three of those also recorded for Meteor Records at the time. Thompson was a Florence, Alabama, native.

While the cast of the show included some well-known names, other details like venue, radio station, emcee, and duration, escapes my knowledge, unfortunately. There were two other shows of the same name in Alabama but they were not related to all accounts. The first one was a Saturday afternoon DJ show on WMGY in Montgomery and the second one was a weekday DJ show hosted by Wally Horton on WSGY out of Birmingham. 

If anyone knows more about the Dixie Hayride, please share your information with us!

Sources
• Various Billboard issues
• Various Birmingham News advertisements
• Mason Dixon Rockin' Country Style entry (possibly incorrect info)

Tex Dixon / Mason Dixon / Walter Dixon

Mason Dixon - Queen Of My Heartaches (Reed RR 1064), 1961

Hello Memphis, Goodbye Birmingham!

The Life and Times of Walter "Tex" "Mason" Dixon

Walter Dee Dickey recorded and performed under different names during his decades-long career in country music: Tex Dixon, Mason Dixon, and Walter Dixon, all of them seemingly chosen for different music styles. An Alabama native, Dixon also had connections to both Memphis and Nashville and would record for labels in both cities.

Born Walter Dee (or D.) Dickey in 1925 to Charlie A. and Clara J. Dickey. The family lived in Bessemer, Jefferson County, a suburb of Birmingham. Raised with two brothers and two sisters, he served his country during World War II. By 1950, he had married his lifelong wife Dorothy, with whom he had two daughters.

By then, he had taken up performing country music and had chosen upon the name "Tex Dixon" for performing purposes. In 1950, he started a fifteen minute program on Saturdays that aired over WVOK out of Birmingham. This show later changed to a morning broadcast. Around the same time, he was also a cast member of the station's big Saturday night stage show, the Dixie Jamboree. Dixon was in good companion there with country artists like Jimmy Work, Shorty Sullivan, and Joe Rumore being on WVOK as well.

Dixon started his career as a recording artist in 1951 and cut his first single for Manley Pearson's local Bama record label from Birmingham. "Honky Tonk Swing" b/w "I'm Sorry for You" appeared around June that year and was credited to "Walter (Tex) Dixson and his Radio Ramblers". The disc was the last on the Bama label, which closed afterwards, and left Dixon unsuccessful. 

It seems that Dixon's broadcasts on WVOK ended in 1953. He then founded a band called the "Range Riders" and began working with Jim Atkins around February 1954. Atkins, a musician, DJ, promoter and brother of Chet Atkins, hosted the "Uncle Jim Show" on WBRC and Dixon became a part of it. A good talker and promoter, Atkins began managing Dixon and booked him for many personal appearances in the region. Around the same time, Dixon also performed on WILD's Alabama Jamboree at the Bessemer City Auditorium. Dixon and Atkins started writing songs together and sold some of them to Fairway Music in Hollywood, California, including "The Grass Looks Greener" and "Take Down That New Sign".

Birmingham Post May 4, 1950
A country show at Bessemer City Auditorium featuring Tex Dixon

It was also Atkins who was responsible for Dixon's next record. They had written and recorded "This Doggone Fiddle" and "Two Ton Mama". The former was a recitation by Atkins while the latter was sung by Dixon. Both songs appeared on Alfa 101/2, Atkins' own label but the disc did not enjoy much success. Dixon would work with Atkins on and off during the next years but also trod his own path.

In May 1956, Dixon's next record appeared in the custom series of Starday Records. This disc coupled "Your Lovin' Lies" and "I'm Just Feelin' Sorry for Myself". Again, both songs were credited to the songwriting team of Dixon and Atkins. It should be noted that the same year, Meteor Records of Memphis released a record by "Mason Dixon", which was country fiddler Merle "Red" Taylor in disguise, however. Dixon would not use the "Mason Dixon" name until the 1960s.

Dixon took a break from recording but likely continued to perform around Birmingham. He returned to the studio in 1958 and made his first trip to Memphis, linking up with record label owner Marshall Ellis. Is is possible that Jim Atkins was responsible for Dixon's Memphis connection as Atkins had brought Alabama singer Hoyt Johnson to Memphis based Marshall Ellis and his Erwin record label a year earlier. The first result from this association was "Goodbye She's Gone" (written by Mary Biggs, Hargus Robbins, and Bobby Johnson) and "Slowly Dying" (written by Al Horn), released on Erwin #211. The disc was certainly connected with producer and label executive Murray Nash from Nashville, as the song material came from his stable of songwriters and was published through his publishing arm. It is especially "Goodbye She's Gone" that is very enjoyable. By then, Dixon had linked up with Memphis country music stalwart Eddie Bond, who had recently founded his Stomper Time record label. "I Had to Let You Go" b/w "Mind Full of Memories" appeared around that time on the label (# 1158) and were two Dixon originals. It is possible that Dixon was introduced to Bond by Marshall Ellis, who was a friend of Bond's. 

While all these early recordings of Dixon were stone-hard country music, he turned to popular rock'n'roll in 1960. By then, rock'n'roll music had been on the charts for more than five years but it was not until then that he decided to put his own rock'n'roll style onto vinyl. For this purpose, he had made contacts with Homer Milan, who owned the Reed label in Birmingham. Reed #1045 featured the rocker "I Want My Baby Back" (a Dixon-Atkins collaboration) and the up-tempo pop-oriented "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place", released in the spring of 1960. It was the first record that featured his new pseudonym "Mason Dixon", a reference to the Mason Dixon Line that sets apart the old American South from the North.

Three more singles on Reed followed, sadly none of them were in the same rock'n'roll vein as his first one on the label. His other material for the label pointed more towards country music, with "Big Blue Water" (#1060, 1961) and "Queen of My Heartaches" (#1064, 1961) being the best of them. The flip side of the latter featured one of Dixon's best-known songs, "Hello Memphis", which was composed by Virgil Jones, however. The song made a perfect reference to his own way of turning to Memphis labels every now and then and leaving Birmingham - which he would do for his next record.

When his association with Reed ended, the year 1962 had come and brought new opportunities for Dixon. First, there was Marshall Ellis and his Erwin and Zone labels. Dixon released a new version of "Hello Memphis" backed by a cover of Eddie Noack's "She Can't Stand the Light of Day" on Zone (#520) from around March 1962. Another one came on Erwin #750 and featured the Leon Bowman composition "Funny How Love Can Be" plus the Jimmy Wakely cover "One Has My Name". Local Birmingham songwriter and manager Leon Bowman had also recorded rock'n'roll for Reed in 1958, for which he is best remembered nowadays. Dixon would have a few more records produced by Ellis but first, went back to Birmingham for a new step in his career. As neither country nor rock'n'roll had brought along a real hit, Dixon turned to gospel and changed names once more - this time to the more serious sounding "Walter Dixon".

The same year, preacher and country-turned-gospel singer Walter Bailes (of the Bailes Brothers fame) had come to Birmingham and he had brought his Loyal record label with him. Dixon would record a total of five records for the label during the 1960s. He made some fine gospel performances for Loyal, sometimes supported by the Dotson Brothers. One of his highlights on Loyal includes a rendition of "Where the Soul Never Dies".

In 1964, he recorded for Starday's Nashville imprint as Walter "Tex" Dixon and laid down a good one with "Ballad of John Rollin". He continued to release records through the 1960s and 1970s and Dixon turned his attention to Nashville labels during the 1970s. He recorded such Alabama labels as Crown Ltd. as well as Three Star and for Nashville based companies like Brite Star and Macho. Probably his most successful from this era - or altogether - was "Radar Blues" on Brite Star in 1973, which made #33 on the Record World charts according to a Birmingham News article. It was received well in different markets - except for Birmingham.

It seems that at some point in the late 1970s, after years and years of recording, Dixon gave up. In his later life, he lived in Vance, Alabama, a few miles southwest of the Birmingham area. Since 1978, some of his songs had been re-released by European and Canadian country and rockabilly collector labels like Redita and White Label, helping to make his name popular among younger music fans. However, this happened likely without the knowledge of Dixon. Walter "Tex" "Mason" Dixon passed away on February 11, 1986, at the age of 60 years. He is buried at Highland Memorial Gardens in Bessemer.  

See also

• Jim Atkins on Coral

• Leon Bowman on Reed

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• 45cat/78rpm entry 

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Gospel Jubilee entry

• Discogs

• Official census records access through ancestry.com

Lee Carzle on Erwin

Lee Carzle with Bobby Mizzel and the Le-Bow's - I'm askin' But I'm Not Gettin' (Erwin E-77), 1957 (or 1959)
Lee Carzle Hood was born on October 7, 1935, to Sim Andrew and Dollie L. Hood in Alabama. He grew up with five siblings. In the late 1940s, Hood served his country and spent time overseas in Saudi Arabia around 1949. Upon his return in 1950, he lived in Mississippi but eventually returned to Alabama. In November 1956, Hood married Shirley Oral Lane in Jefferson County, Alabama (which includes the state's capital Birmingham). The couple had two daughters.

Lee Carzle Hood, late 1950s

Hood was also a singer and musician. In the mid- to late 1950s, he linked up with local Birmingham musician, songwriter, and manager Leon Bowman, who in turn organized a deal with Marshall Ellis' Erwin record label from Memphis, Tennessee. As Lee Carzle, Hood recorded "I'm Askin' But I'm Not Gettin'" and "What's In Store for Me" and both Bowman originals. He was backed by local Birminham pianost Bobby Mizzell as well as the Le-Bow's, probably Bowman's own group. 

Terry Gordon of the excellent "Rockin' Country Style" discography project gives the release date as December 1957 (estimated) and it seems that most others, including Adam Komorowski in his liner notes for the Proper Records box set "Rocking Memphis", adapted this date. However, a Birmingham News article from September 13, 1959, mentions that "Lee Carzle has gone on record for Erwin [...] both sides of which were written by Leon Brown [!]." So this means the record either did not come into existence until 1959 or it indeed came out in late 1957 but did not get any recognition from the local press until two years later.

Come 1961, Hood had signed a deal with the Starday subsidiary Nashville Records and recorded two singles for the label. "Doorway to Your Heart" b/w "Two Eyes, Two Arms, Two Lips" was released that year on Nashville #5032. Again, both songs were composed by Leon Bowman. A second single followed three years later in 1964 with two songs Hood had penned with his sister Euell, "I'll Go to the Jumping Off Place with You" and "I've Never Made a Hit" (Nashville # 5193). It seems that this was his last release.

In the 1980s and in the 2000s, European rockabilly collections started featuring Carzle's "I'm Askin' But I'm Not Gettin'". Hood passed away on February 8, 2008, at the age of 72 years in Walker County, Alabama. He is buried in adjacent Marion County.

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Familysearch.org

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat entry

Leon Bowman

Black Widow Spider

The Story of Leon Bowman

The Birmingham, Alabama, music scene had close connections to its bigger counterpart in Memphis during the 1950s and early 1960s. Several country and rock'n'roll singers from Birmingham recorded for Memphis labels, including Tex Dixon, Hoyt Johnson, Sherry Crane, among others. In addition, there was a group of singers like Lendon Smith, Junior Thompson and Buddy Bain & Kay Wayne out of Florence, Alabama, that recorded for Meteor Records in Memphis in the mid-1950s.

Alabama native Leon Bowman never recorded for a Memphis label but he was responsible for getting some Birmingham talent onto labels like Stomper Time Records. Although he recorded a single under his own name, Bowman was more of a songwriter and manager.

Born Leon Fleming Bowman on June 3, 1917, to Noah Arthur and Lillie Getrude (Hardin) Bowman, he was raised likely in Calhoun County or St. Clair County, Alabama, northwest of Birmingham. Bowman grew up in a large family with nine siblings, four sisters, and nine brothers, and many of them later settled in Birmingham. As a young man, he moved to Decatur, Alabama, took up the profession of a barber and worked at Herman Hinz' barber shop on 2nd Avenue.

World War II interrupted Bowman's plans and he was drafted, serving in the US Navy. He was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, possibly developing early ties to the city during this time, and spent 18 months on sea as a ship's service man. He was discharged around November 1945 and returned to Decatur, taking up his job with Hinz again. In 1950, Bowman was appointed by Alabama Govenor "Big Jim" Folsom to serve honorably as a lieutenant colonel in the state militia. This duty lasted five years.

In the meantime, Bowman had married Norma Chatham and the couple would raise three daughters and four sons. At some point in the 1950s, Bowman moved his family to the Birmingham area, where, by 1958, he had become manager of the Arcadia Barber Shop located in the Five Points West Shopping Center. At least a year earlier, Bowman had found his way into the local music scene of Birmingham, playing guitar and writing songs. 

Leon Bowman
(bad quality copy from WLP 8873)

Alabama boy Lee Carzle Hood was probably the first to record Bowman's songs. As Lee Carzle, he recorded "I'm Askin' But I'm Not Gettin'" and "What's In Store for Me", both Bowman originals, for the Memphis based Erwin label. The deal with Erwin Records, owned by Marshall Ellis, was set up by Bowman possibly with the help of Jim Atkins, an Alabama based DJ, promoter, and singer, who had recently brought Hoyt Johnson, another local, to the attention of Marshall Ellis. Terry Gordon of the excellent "Rockin' Country Style" discography project gives the release date as December 1957 (estimated) and it seems that most others, including Adam Komorowski in his liner notes for the Proper Records box set "Rockin' Memphis", adapted the date. However, a Birmingham News article from September 13, 1959, mentions that "Lee Carzle has gone on record for Erwin [...] both sides of which were written by Leon Brown [!]." So this means the record either did not come into existence until 1959 or it did not get any recognition from the local press until 1959.

Either way, Bowman made his way into the local music scene. He became involved in Homer Milan's Birmingham based Reed record label in some way, spending time in its studio, managing some of its artists, and supplying song material. Bowman also had a release out on Reed under his own name, his sole commercial record. Released in 1958, it was an extended play disc featuring four tracks: "Searching for Love", "Rocking the Blues", "Black Widow Spider", and "Looking For My Rib". For 41 years old Bowman, these tracks were surprisingly rocking. There were also a few unreleased tapes that did not see the light of day until the 1980s.

Bowman began managing rock'n'roll singer Ronnie Moore and they made use of the Memphis connection again, securing a release of "You Have This and More" b/w "Take a Look at the Moon" on Eddie Bond's Stomper Time label in 1959. Bond, who went on to become Memphis' top country music star, was friends with Marshall Ellis. Ellis also manufactured Bruce Brakefield's "Rain Boy" b/w "In Your Heart" on Bowman's own L-Flem-Bow label.

This label only lasted for the one Brakefield release but in 1960, Bowman was back at it with a brand new label, the aptly named Teen's Choice Records. The first known release was devoted to Ronnie Moore again, "Time for School" b/w "Sweet Shop Doll" (#TC-7). The catalogue numbers suggest that there were earlier releases prior to this but none have been found so far. It was #TC-8 that secured the label its place in rockabilly history. Tiny Tim & the Tornadoes recorded "I've Gotta Find Someone", a rip-roaring guitar driven rockabilly number, backed with "My One Desire", released in 1960. Tiny Tim's real name was Tim Bowman, a cousin of Leon Bowman. A third release in 1960 featured Jerry Lee Johnson & the Roulettes. It seems Bowman's Teen Choice label went out of business afterwards.

During the early 1960s, Birmingham artists like Othell Sullivan, Walter "Tex" Dixon (alias Mason Dixon), and Lee Carzle continued to record Bowman's songs for different labels. But by the middle of the decade, his activies in music had ceased. He continued to live in Birmingham until his death on January 13, 1977, at the age of 59 years. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

The European rockabilly revival brought unknown artists like Bowman to the attention of music fans and collectors. In the 1980s, Dutch record collector Cees Klop visited Alabama and tracked down Bowman's family. Apparently, Bowman had buried unsold copies of the Tiny Tim release in his garden on Pleasant Grove Road and shortly after his widow had told Klop the story, both found themselfes digging out those records in the garden. You can see a lot of those copies being sold now on ebay, discogs, or in sales lists. Klop introduced both Leon and Tiny Bowman's recordings as well as many other associated music through his White Label LPs to young, European audiences and made them household names among rockabilly record collectors.

High resolution version of the picture shown above
(made with AI)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Discogs

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat entry

• Official records access through ancestry.com

• Several Birmingham News articles 1944 - 1963

Loyal Records (Birmingham, Al.)

No, No Satan!

The Story of Loyal Records

Loyal Records was a long-lasting record label in the field of country gospel music. Operated by bluegrass and gospel singer Walter Bailes of the famous Bailes Brothers, Loyal produced estimated 700 records throughout its active years from 1960 until around 1971. Based in various locations, the label released the bulk of material out of its Birmingham, Alabama, offices.

Owner Walter Bailes was born on January 17, 1920, in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Musical talent rooted in the Bailes family as Walter and his brothers John ("Johnnie"), Kyle, and Homer all played instruments and sang. Raised in poverty, the brothers grew up with traditional old-time folk music and sacred hymns. In the late 1930s, the brothers appeared on radio stations across the state of West Virginia in various combinations, including WSAZ in Huntington but also stations in Charleston, Bluefield, and Beckley.

The Bailes Brothers live on stage of the Grand Ole Opry, mid-1940s

At the recommendation of Roy Acuff, who had witnessed them perform, Johnnie and Walter Bailes moved to Nashville in the mid-1940s, where they gained a recording contract with Columbia Records and became regulars on the WSM Grand Ole Opry. They later also recorded for King Records. The duo relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1946 and found work with KWKH. Two years later, the Bailes Brothers became cast members of the station's newly started Louisiana Hayride and developed into early stars of the show. Walter Bailes became a minister with evangelical churches in 1947 and in 1949 the duo act broke up. Homer would become a reverend, too, in Louisiana. The Bailes Brothers continued to perform solo and in various combinations but seldomly all four of them stood on stage. 

From his Shreveport home base, Walter Bailes set out to attend revivals and church meetings across the country. From 1953 until 1957, he worked with his brother Johnnie again but this time as a pure gospel act. By 1957, Bailes could be found managing Carl Butler and was working with WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, for a short time. 

By October 1960, Bailes had a country and gospel DJ show on KXAR in Hope, Southwest Arkansas, and around the same time, founded Loyal Records. Billboard reported that "Walter Bailes [...] has formed his own label, Loyal Records, to promote gospel songs and singers. Bailey also plans to launch his own publishing company, Wal-Fran, with headquarters for both firms at 1111 Rendall Street, Shreveport, La." Wal-Fran was likely an acronym for Walter and Frankie, his wife. From the same address, which was likely his home, he also sold "religious supplies" through newspaper ads, including bibles, sheet music, record players, and sacred records. 

Birmingham Post Herald 
October 26, 1962

Among the first acts Bailes recorded were Jimmie and Lillian Hall, the Sullivan Family (a South Alabama based group), Bill Franklin, and Rabe Perkins (another Alabama artist). The Alabama connection was already evident here, and soon, Walter would move his operations to this state. This might have been influenced by the fact that his brother Kyle was already living there.

However, before Bailes relocated to the deep south, he made a stop in another town. In 1961, he moved the label to Edwardsville, Illinois, a city located in the west of the state a few miles away from St. Louis, Missouri. However, this lasted only a short time as Bailes moved once more in early 1962, this time to Birmingham, Alabama, where Loyal Records had its headquarters until its closure in the early 1970s. 

By May 1962, he had begun working with WIXI, a local station, and the Birmingham News reported in December 1962 that Bailes had a weekday radio show known as "Gospel Request Time". He worked as the station's "religious director" eventually. It is possible that at least some of the Loyal releases were cut at this station. In addition, he taped his DJ shows for KXEN in Fort Worth, Texas, and XEG in Monterrey, Mexico, for broadcasting. It was especially the latter with its 100,000 watts that provided Bailes with a wide coverage and he probably sold a good batch of his Loyal releases through this channel.

Many of the Loyal recording artists were local bluegrass and country gospel artist. It is probable that many of the releases were custom pressings for those unknown singers and bands. This assumption is underlined by the fact that some Loyal releases from the 1969-1970 time period feature a Tylertown, Mississippi, address. Among the better known artists on the labels were Johnny Rion (from the St. Louis area), Jimmy Murphy, Walter Dixon (also known as "Tex" or "Mason" Dixon), Rabe Perkins, and the recordings of the Bailes Brothers.

Walter Bailes closed down Loyal Records around 1971 after more than 10 years of activity and several hundred singles, EPs, and LPs for local country gospel artists. For him, it might have been a business or a way to spread the Gospel (or perhaps both) but for record collectors and musicologists, he preserved unique and unfiltered documents of American music. While the Bailes Brothers' recordings have been reissued by labels like Cattle Records, Bear Family Records, and Old Homestead Records, the Loyal recordings still need to be reissued in an adequate way.

Bailes eventually moved to Tennessee, where he operated White Dove Records out of Gallatin. This label released a few records by the Bailes Brothers and a few more LPs by other bluegrass groups but never reached the extent of his Loyal operation. He also continued to play gospel meetings and a few bluegrass festivals with Kyle. Walter Bailes passed away on November 17, 2000, in Sevierville, Tennessee.

Sources
• Gospel Jubilee Discography listings: Shreveport - Edwardsville - Birmingham - Tylertown
• Discogs (also entry for White Dove)
• Walter Bailes Find a Grave entry
• West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

Happy Wilson

Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys at WAPI
(Birmingham, Alabama), ca. mid 1950s
featuring Ted Crabtree on steel guitar, "Prof." Huel Murphy on piano,
Marion Worth on vocals, and Wilson on rhythm guitar

Happy Wilson

The Golden River Boy from Birmingham

In the 1940s and 1950s, Happy Wilson was a mainstay on Alabama's country music scene. Heard over radio and TV, on record, and through live performances, he gained popularity in the Heart of Dixie since the late 1930s. One of his band members, Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter from Birmingham, Alabama, is better remembered today than Wilson as Gunter became a favorite among rockabilly fans due to his 1950s country boogie and rockabilly recordings. Though, Wilson became widely known and connected in the Nashville scene of the 1950s and 1960s, working as a publisher and producer.

Eugene Burnett Wilson was born on June 29, 1919, in Haleyville, Winston County,  in the north of Alabama, to Acey Eugene and Ollie Wilson. Wilson had a younger brother, Asa Eugene (born in 1926), and an older brother James Huel, who died as an infant in 1917. Haleyville was a small but rising town in the 1920s and the life of the Wilson family was simple. By 1930, Wilson's parents had divorced and he was living with his mother alone.

Wilson was interested in music at an early age, especially in folk music, and was fascinated by the new possibilities that radio had to offer. He loved listening to old-time folk musicians on the radio. His father took him to a wandering music teacher that had settled in Haleyville for the summer and Wilson enjoyed some music lessons. He learned drums and guitar, eventually sticking with guitar and singing.

In the mid 1930s, at the age of 15, Wilson started appearing on local radio. He began working with several bands on different radio stations like it was common for country musicians of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared with the Happy Valley Gang over WBRC (Birmingham, Alabama), with Tex Dunn's Virginia Hillbillies over WBRC and WAPI (both Birmingham), with the Bar-X Cowhands on WSGN, with Red & Raymond and the Boys from Old Kentuck over WSB (Atlanta, Georgia), and finally with his own band, the Golden River Boys, on WALA (Mobile, Alabama). One of the earliest members of the Golden River Boys was Birmingham native Hardrock Gunter, a guitarist and singer who went on to have a solo career in the 1950s.

By the early 1940s, Wilson and his mother were living in Birmingham, Alabama. Shortly before World War II broke out, Wilson was part of a two-weeks tour with Roy "Tucson" Corrigan and the Three Musquiteers. With the advent of the war, Wilson was drafted into the US Army. During his four-year serve, he often entertained fellow soldiers and was part of shows. Though, he also took part in battles and became highly decorated with the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry's Badge, Good Conduct Ribbon, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. He reached the rank of a Staff Sergeant.

Following his discharge, Wilson took up music again and reformed the Golden River Boys in 1946. Throughout the second half of the 1940s and the early 1950s, Wilson became a mainstay in Alabama's country music scene, appearing on his long-time radio station WAPI as well as on its sister station WAFM and even had a popular TV show on WAFM-TV. That show started in 1950 and was the first country music television show in Alabama.

In 1947, Wilson got the chance to record his music for the first time. He and the Golden River Boys recorded four songs in Birmingham late that year, which were released on the small, local Vulcan label. Through 1948, his popularity continued to grow and in early 1949, the major Decca label invited him for a recording session to Nashville on February 7 at the Castle Studio. Four more tracks were cut that day, which saw release in February and July 1949. The line-up of the Golden River Boys included at that time Ted Crabtree on steel guitar, Billy Tucker on fiddle, Sammy Pruitt on guitar, Jim O'Day on bass, and Wilson on guitar and vocals.

Billboard August 20, 1949

Around the same time, Wilson was making a name for himself as a songwriter, too - at least a bit. Little Jimmy Dickens' recorded "A-Sleepin' at the Foot of the Bed", which Wilson co-wrote with Luther Patrick and was based on his childhood experiences. The song peaked at #6 on Billboard C&W charts. In 1953, Webb Pierce recorded Wilson's "I Haven't Got the Heart" and eventually, Hank Thompson cut his "Mark of a Heel" in 1971.

Sales if Wilson's discs must have been not too promising as there was no second session for Decca but on September 19, 1950, Wilson was back in the same studio - this time for MGM. "Haunted House Boogie" and "Mister Big" were the only results that day and both were released on MGM #K10877 in January 1951. Unfortunately, this remained his only effort for the label, although Jack Rivers covered "Haunted House Boogie" for the same label.

Since August 1950, Wilson had an additional TV show for WAFM-TV with his old buddy Hardrock Gunter entitled "The Happiness Boys". Gunter had been a member of Wilson's band since its reformation in 1946 but also worked solo on and off. Gunter had already rejoined the Golden River Boys earlier in 1950 and had signed a recording contract with Manny Pearson's local Bama label in Birmingham. On his first session, he was backed by the Golden River Boys, who were hiding under the name of "The Pebbles" on that occasion. One of the songs recorded was "Birmingham Bounce" (rel. April 1950, Bama #104), which was a good seller for Gunter and prompted Decca to let Red Foley cut a cover version, which became a #1 country hit.

Billboard January 27, 1951, MGM ad for Wilson's
latest release "Haunted House Boogie"

Wilson and his first wife Odean were living in Birmingham with Wilson's mother in 1950 but divorced in January 1951. Following his divorce, Wilson toured with western actor Lash LaRue and played minor roles in his films for a short time around 1951. At that time, he made his home in Marietta, Georgia. Two years later, in May 1953, Wilson married Mary Ann Ward, who was 11 years younger than him and an amateur singer on WAPI and WAPI-TV.

By the mid 1950s, Wilson's wife was performing with him and the Golden River Boys as "Marion Worth". They could be heard over WABT in Birmingham but still performed on WAPI as well. In 1955, Wilson celebrated his 20th anniversary with WAPI and therefore, organized a two-hour long radio broadcast it the Agricultural Building at the Alabama State Fairgrounds that was attended by 3,000 people.

Around the same time, Wilson and his wife had connected with Slim Lay, a Huntsville, Alabama, DJ. They appeared with Lay's show and Wilson took a job as a DJ with Huntsville station WBHP. In 1956, Wilson, Lay, and fellow DJ Dewey Webb went into partnership to set up Dash Records. The debut release comprised Slim Lay's "Asiatic Flu" and "Trouble Along the Cable" (on which Lay was joined by Wilson) on Dash #100. More releases were planned but the the trio had to close down the label after legal action from another Dash record company from California.

In 1959, Wilson's wife released her first record. It comprised "Are You Willing, Willie" and "This Heart of Mine" (the latter written by Wilson) and was issued by Cherokee Records of Huntsville. This label seems to have been associated with Wilson as well, as all of the songs released were published through his Golden River Publishing company.

The top side of Worth's single "Are You Willing, Willie" reached #12 on Billboard's C&W charts and was the first of several moderate hits that Worth enjoyed. The disc was also taken over by the Guyden label, which released a follow-up, "That's My Kind of Love", wich went even higher and peaked at #5 in 1960. Wilson and Worth moved to Nashville to work on Worth's career. Wilson and Lay secured her a record contract with Columbia Records, where she enjoyed several more hits in the next few years. She also joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1963.

In the meantime, Wilson had built up a career in the music business as well. While he had been a popular performer in Alabama, he concentrated on music publishing, producing, and other issues of the business in Nashville. Although he worked with Central Songs since 1961, he also worked part-time as a DJ on WENO in Madison, Tennessee, as early as 1963. He left Central Songs and became director at Tree Enterprises in 1968. For some time, he even headed Capitol Records' country music department.

Wilson retired from the music business in February 1973 after 38 years of devoting his life to music. However, his retirement did not last long as he returned to working in October that same year, forming Broadland Music, Inc. with Canadian artist Gary Buck.

Happy Wilson died way too early on August 24, 1977, in Nashville through an automobile accident. He was 58 years old. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham. In 1981, Wilson was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame.

Discography

Vulcan 5000: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - I Know My Buddy's Sleeping There / Fancy Rythm (1946)
Vulcan 5001: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - This Heart of Mine / Joe Rumore with Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - I Butted In (1948)
Decca 46153: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - Go Down to the Graveyard / Forty Miles at Sea (1949)
Decca 46171: Happy Wilson and his Golden River Boys - How Long / Comes a Time (1949)
MGM K10877: Happy Wilson - Haunted House Boogie / Mister Big (1951)
Dash 100: Slim Lay - Asiatic Flu / Slim Lay and Happy Wilson - Trouble Along the Cable (1956)

See also
• Alabama Hayloft Jamboree
• Cornhuskers Jamboree

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Free State of Winston (Winston County Online Database)

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Entries for Happy Wilson on 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

• Entry for Happy Wilson and Slim Lay on 45cat 

• SecondHandSongs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• "Broadcasting, Telecasting (Volume 48)", 1955, page 95

• various Billboard news items

Jim Atkins on Coral

Jim Atkins and the Pinetoppers - I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas) (Coral #64147), 1953
(courtesy of Western Red of If That Ain't Country podcast)

Jim Atkins' "I'm A Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas)" is one of my all-time favorite "hot country" songs with its twangy lead guitar, fast pace, and catchy tune. There has never been a comprehensive overview of Atkins' career, so I thought I'd change this. Although Atkins had a long run in the music industry, and with his brother Chet Atkins an even more famous relative, there were likely different men of the same name active in the business and it is sometimes hard to tell them apart. Therefore, as I went deeper and deeper into Atkins' life and career, there appeared mentions of men named Jim Atkins where it is not clear if it's the same man or simply another musician of the same name.

James "Jim" Atkins was born as the oldest son of James Arlie Atkins, a Tennessee native, and grew up in Luttrell, Tennessee. He and his wife had three more children, Nancy Niona (born 1918), Lowell Sylvester (born 1921), and Chester Burton "Chet" (born 1924). It was of course Atkins' younger brother Chet, who rose to fame as a guitarist and later as a producer and music industry giant, being one of the persons making Nashville what it is today. Their parents divorced at some point and married other partners, both giving birth to several half-siblings of Jim and Chet.

While their brother Lowell lived a civilian life, operating his own electric motor repair shop in Kokomo, Indiana, for many years, "Jim was the first to 'make it' in the music business," as Chet later recalled. Jim Atkins got his start as a professional musician in the mid 1930s on Chicago's WLS station and its famed National Barn Dance. Although he started out as a country music performer - old-time or mountain music, as it was then rather called - he was no stranger to other music genres. In 1939, still being based in Chicago, Atkins teamed up with guitar maestro Les Paul and Atkins became part of Paul's jazz trio, playing rhythm guitar on Paul's nationwide network broadcasts. He later also had a radio show with another guitar legend: Leo Fender.

Probably starting in the late 1930s, Atkins was the featured vocalist with Fred Waring's dance orchestra and remained with that group for about ten years. During World War II, the orchestra performed countless war bond rallies and entertained troops across the country. In addition, Atkins was heard on Waring's Chesterfield Time radio show that was broadcast widely through different networks. In the 1940s, Atkins also had his on radio show on WNEW in New York City.

Though, Atkins returned to country music and we find Atkins recording as part of his brother Chet's group in November 1947. Two sessions were recorded for RCA-Victor that month. Atkins would accompany his brother again in September 1951 during a session in New York City. A certain Jimmy Atkins recorded for the independent Continental label in 1949. If this is the same Jim Atkins is unknown to me at the moment.

By 1954, Atkins had moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked for radio WBRC, sometimes billing himself as "Uncle" Jim Atkins and accompanied by an all female group known as the "Barnyard Sweethearts". During his time in Birmingham, Atkins wrote several songs and was part of many country music shows, playing alongside such Alabama veteran performers as Jack Turner, Hardrock Gunter, or Happy Wilson.

Previously, Atkins had signed a recording contract with Decca's subsidiary Coral Records and his first disc for the label had appeared in 1950, featuring "T-E-X-A-S" b/w "When Evening Shadows Fall" (Coral #60136). It was not until March 1953 that his next release appeared. It coupled covers of Lattie Moore's "Juke Joint Johnnie" and Jay C. Flippen's "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas)" (Coral #64147). Although this was "hot" music, at least for country music terms, Billboard wasn't too pleased with the performances and they passed without much notice and it became Atkins' last disc for the label.

Billboard C&W review March 7, 1953

In October 1954, Billboard reported that Atkins had become associated with Fairway Music Corporation and further, Atkins set up his own record label, Alfa Records. The first and only release comprised Atkins' recording of his own "This Doggone Fiddle" backed by "Two Ton Mama" by Tex Dixon, a singer that appeared on Atkins' radio show during this time. The record apparently sold well enough, at least in the Birmingham area, to prompt Coral to resign Atkins. In February the following year, it was announced that his recording of "That Doggone Fiddle" along with "You Can't Help Being Ugly" was scheduled for release on Coral but in the end, the release was cancelled to unknown reasons. Coral discontinued its country series that same year, which may have been a reason.

Billboard October 23, 1954

Atkins remained with WBRC in Birmingham at least until late 1955. Then, suddenly, Billboard stops to mention his name in its "Folk Talent & Tunes" column. By 1957, we find mention of Atkins working at WARF in Jasper, Alabama (just a little northwest of Birmingham). He had discovered a young singer named Hoyt Johnson, began managing him and connected Johnson with record producer Marshall Ellis in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson went on to record for Erwin and RCA-Victor but the big success eluded this young singer. Atkins and Johnson even wrote songs together ("It's a Little More Like Heaven (Where You Are)", later recorded by Hank Locklin and, differently, by Johnny Cash as "You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven"). 

Atkins was probably also involved in bringing Tex Dixon to Marshall Ellis' attention. Dixon, an Alabama native, was part of Atkins' radio show at one time and recorded for several Memphis based labels during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. 

There was a Jim Atkins, spinning records for WAPE in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1958, who was possibly the same Jim Atkins that operated Arlingwood Records in Jacksonville. In May 1959, there appeared a Jimmy Atkins on a recording by Barry Etris on the Atlanta based Leo's label plus a certain Jimmy Atkins on the Verve label in 1967. However, I found no evidence that any of these men were the same Jim Atkins.

Atkins recorded again with brother Chet in 1958 and an album was planned to be released the following year on RCA-Victor, which didn't happen though. The recordings saw release in 1963 on a Canadian RCA Camden album entitled "The Guitar Genius", which was reissued by Sundazed eventually. The recordings were also included on Bear Family's large Chet Atkins box set.

What seems to be secure information is that Jim Atkins left the performing side of the music business but remained active with radio work. He surfaced in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s, where he worked as program director of KOA as early as 1963. He retired in 1968 and not too long afterwards, an interesting record appeared on the Mountain of Colorado label in Denver featuring Big Jim with support by Jimmy Atkins' Hustlers. Coincidence? I'm not sure. The record seems to have been pressed around 1968/1969.

However, following his retirement, Atkins moved to Nashville in 1969 in order to work with his brother Chet again. In the spring of 1971, Jim Atkins was co-founder of FAME, "Famous American Musicians and Educators, Inc.", a company dealing with music education that introduced a special guitar teaching system. While Chet served as a chairman, Jim Atkins was named vice president of the company. The company lasted at least until 1973 and one of the last mentions we find of Jim Atkins is from October 1974, when Billboard reported that Atkins had appeared on the "Sunday Down South" show in Nashville. In March 1975, the Country Music Hall of Fame conducted an interview with Atkins, speaking about his career in music.

Jim Atkins died on January 6, 1977, from a heart attack while visiting his son in Denver. He was 64 years old. 

Discography

This discography shows records credited to "Jim Atkins" or "Jimmy Atkins". However, it is not assured that all of them are by the same artist. 

Continental C-1253: Scotty MacGregor - It's Santa Claus / Jimmy Atkins - Auld Lang Syne (1949)
Continental C-5115: Jimmy Atkins - An Old Christmas Card / Auld Lang Syne (1949)
Continental 11002: Jimmy Atkins with the Billy Mure Trio - (The Gang That Sang) Heart Of My Heart / On the Old Spanish Trail
Continental 11005: Jimmy Atkins - Engagement Waltz / One Raindrop Doesn't Make a Shower
Rainbow 50022: Jimmy Atkins - You Can't Take It with You / Gone Fishin' (1950)
Coral 60136: Jimmy Atkins with the Mullen Sisters - T-E-X-A-S / When Evening Shadows Fall (1950)
Coral 64147: Jim Atkins and the Pinetoppers - Juke Joint Johnny / I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (from Dumas) (1953) (also released in Canada)
Alfa 102/2: Jim Atkins and Dixie Range Riders - This Doggone Fiddle / Tex Dixon and Dixie Rangers - Two Ton Mama (1954)
Leo's 20011/2: Barry Etris / Jimmy Atkins - guitar, Uncle John Patterson, guitar - I've Met My One and Only / Faded Rose (1959)
Verve VK-10528: Jimmy Atkins with Johnny Smith Quartet - Land of the Velvet Hills / Shenandoah (1967)
Mountain of Colorado 1050: Big Jim with Jimmy Atkins & the Hustlers - Sunset Horizon / One Mistake Too Late (1968/1969)

Recommended reading

• Country Music Hall of Fame

Sources

• Secondhand Songs

• Discogs entry

• Hilllbilly-Music.com entry

• Hoyt Johnson biography on Blackcat Rockabilly Europe
• various entries on 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

• Adam Komorowski: "From Boppin' Hillbilly to Red Hot Rockabilly" (2006), liner notes, Proper Records
• The Tennessean: "Jim Atkins, 64, Brother of Chet Atkins, Dies" (January 7, 1977)

• Unknown author: "The Guitar Genius" (1963), liner notes, RCA Camden Records

Alabama Hayloft Jamboree

Birmingham News March 3, 1956

The Alabama Hayloft Jamboree was another barn dance type show that entertained rural audiences across the United States. It was aired over WAPI out of Birmingham, Alabama, and featured Ralph Rogers as its emcee and local country music acts for the entertainment. One of these acts were Happy Wilson and the Golden River Boys, a group that was quite popular in the 1940s and 1950s in the Alabama areas. One of the members was Hardrock Gunter, who later found historical acclaim with his significant recordings in the country and rockabilly music genres.

The Alabama Hayloft Jamboree was on air as early as January 1940 but it back then, it was a 30-minutes afternoon show. By December that year, the show had moved to an early morning slot with Clint Blakely as the emcee. Such artists as J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers, the Delmore Brothers, and Fiddlin' Arthur Smith appeared during this time regularly on the show. It stayed on the air throughout World War II but was taken over at some point by Joe Rumore, developing into an afternoon DJ show. By 1946, the show was hosted by Ralph Rogers (with Joe Rumore filling in sometimes in 1948) and included "cowboy favorites and hillbilly tunes".  

Happy Wilson in 1948

Around 1951, the show transformed into a live stage show, broadcasting from different locations on WAPI. A year later, the show was centered Happy Wilson and his band, the Golden River Boys. However, the Alabama Hayloft Jamboree was not the only live stage show that aired on WAPI. During 1954, there was also the Alabama Jamboree from the Bessemer City Auditorium featuring a cast of various performers.
We find last mention of the show in 1956. In the 1950s, WAPI turned to a popular music programming, probably ending the show at that time. The station features a talk radio format today.

If someone out there knows more about the Alabama Hayloft Jamboree, feel free to leave a comment or contact me via the contact form.

Sources
• Hillbilly-Music.com
• Andre Millard: "Magic City Nights: Birmingham's Rock'n'Roll Years" (2017), Wesleyan University Press, page 36
• The Decatur Daily, December 15, 1952
• The Birmingham News, November 14, 1953