Dub International / Stylo Records (Little Rock)

"The Hits Are on Dub!"

The Story of Foster Johnson's Dub International and Stylo labels

The Dub International and Style record labels were operated by local Little Rock bookseller Foster Johnson. Johnson recorded and released a slew of noteworthy rockabilly and rock'n'roll singles during the late 1950s, including the original hit version "Rama Lama Ding Dong" by the Edsels. Some of his productions achieved enduring popularity among the rockabilly fan scene. Johnson is not to be confused with another music business personality of the same name, who owned Cap City Records.

Foster David Johnson was born on February 15, 1915, to Robert Edward Lee and Lula T. Johnson. He had one brother and two sisters, all of them being several years older than him. In 1920, the Johnson family lived in Little River County, Arkansas, but Johnson eventually moved to Saline County southwest of Little Rock. There, he married Lurline Rice in 1936.

At some point, he opened a bookstore and also worked as a radio distributor. Johsnon eventually added a record shop to his repertoire as well. His shop may have been on the corner of 5024 Club Road and Kavanaugh Boulevard in the Heights district of northern Little Rock. This may also have been the location of Johnson's recording studio, which he built when he entered the recording business.

Johnson's record shop had a hard time competing with rival shops in the city. His competitor, Moses Melody Shop, furnished drug stores across the city with racks of records, which sold them for him. One of those drugs stores was right across the street from Johnson's store. Therefore, Johnson decided to found his own record label, opting for a hit and thereby opening a new profitable business for him. His first record label, Dub International, came into existence in late 1957. At that time, rock'n'roll had been on the charts for about three years and it seems that Johnson wanted to take advantage of the new music. Indeed, he was just one of countless entrepreneurs that founded independent record labels to find their own Elvis. To retain control of the original song material, he also set up J&W Music. The name of this publishing company indicates that Johnson had a partner for this venture. This might have been singer Jimmy Williams, who did not only record for Dub International but also married Johnson's daughter Sarah. Both contributed song material to the J&W catalogue as well as Foster Johnson himself, who registered a couple of songs with BMI.

The Batesville Guard reported in October 1957 that Bobby Fudge and the Rhythm Rockers had recorded two songs for the new label. However, no release of these cuts has ever appeared. The first known release on Dub International came approximately in November 1957 featuring the Martin Sisters, a local act that recorded two rockabilly songs, "Don't Run and Hide" b/w "Voodoo" (#2837). On many of Johnson's early releases, Arkansas rock'n'roll pianist Teddy Redell was featured in the background band. Redell would go on to record for Vaden Records and find worldwide acclaim in the rockabilly community for his songs decades later. Several of the Dub singles became minor rockabilly classics, including those by Jimmy Williams, Chuck Brooks, and Don Head. 

Advertisement of Don Head's Dub Int. single "Going Strong"
Cash Box March 8, 1958

Johnson seems to have been serious about his recording business, as he mailed out promo copies to radio stations as well as both Billboard and Cash Box, placed ads with those magazines, and struck a deal with Apex Records, which released and distributed Dub International and Stylo material in Canada. Those included releases by Jimmy Williams, Don Head, and Jimmy Ford. His studio was also available for custom recordings, although it is not known to which extend. The Jokers, a local group from Batesville, Arkansas, recorded "Little Mama" at Johnson's studio in the late 1950s.

In 1959, Johnson issued a song called "Rama Lama Ding Dong" by a black vocal group, the Edsels. The song did not become a hit until it received radio airplay by a New York City DJ. Johnson leased the song to Twin Records, which re-released it in April that year. "Rama Lama Ding Dong" (initially released by mistake as "Lama Rama Ding Dong" by Johnson) became the Edsels' biggest hit, reaching #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

By then, Johnson had been out of business for about a year. In 1959, he had replaced Dub International  with a new label, Stylo Records, which released singles until 1960. None of them became hits, though Jimmy Ford's two releases for the label was a strong contender and became an in-demand rockabilly collectors items as well. Stylo closed down at some point in 1960 after having one last release with Bobby Towers' "Gone, Gone, Gone Dreams" b/w "Bondage of Love" (#2108).

Johnson had been also active in local politics since at least 1952, wanting to run for congress but he was not nominated by the Democratic Party, however. In 1966, Foster ran for US Senator for the Democratic Party of Arkansas but his election campaign yielded only little attraction and he lost to veteran politician John McClellan. Johnson passed away October 8, 1997, and is buried at Pinecrest Memorial Park and Gardens in Alexander, Saline County, Arkansas.

In the 1970s, the rockabilly and rock'n'roll recordings from Johson's labels resonated with a young audience in Europe. Orignal copies were collected by music fans around the world and reissue albums began appearing. The Redia Records LP "The Sound of Rockabilly" (1973) from the Netherlands was the first two feature two cuts from Johnson's catalog, Jimmy Williams' "I Belong to You" and "You're Always Late". Next up another Dutch LP by Knockville Records, "Rock and Roll for Collectors, Vol. 2" (1975) featuring Jimmy Ford's Stylo recording of "Don't Hang Around Me Anymore", and finally, Germany's Bison Bop Records released a whole collection of Dub Int./Stylo productions on the 1980 LP "The Bop  That Never Stopped, Vol. 6". Since then, material from both labels has appeared on numerous reissue LPs and CDs. If Johnson was aware of those re-releases though a proper licensing process or if the were done without his knowledge remains unknown. 

Discography
Dub Int. 2837: Martin Sisters - Don't Run and Hide / Voodoo (1957)
Dub Int. 2838: Buddy Childress - My Lovin' Arms / Two Young True Hearts (1957)
Dub Int. 2839: Teenos - Love Only One / Alrightee (1957)
Dub Int. 2840: Don Head - Goin' Strong / Never Before (1958)
Dub Int. 2841: Kirmet Phillips - Walking Alone Tonite / I Caught You Slippin' Round (1958)
Dub Int. 2842: Jimmy Williams - You're Always Late / I Belong to You (1958)
Dub Int. 2843: The Edsels - Lama Rama Ding Dong / Bells (1958)
Dub Int. 2844: Chuck Brooks & the Sharpies - Spinning My Wheels / You Make Me Feel Mean (1958)

Stylo 2102: Jimmy Ford - You're Gonna Be Sorry / Don't Hang Around Me Anymore (1959)
Stylo 2103: 
Stylo 2104: Paul Babbitt - Shade Blue / Ooo Yah Yah (1959)
Stylo 2105: Jimmy Ford - We Belong (Together) / Be Mine Forever (1959)
Stylo 2106: Little Cameron - Kansas City Dog / She's Leaving (1959)
Stylo 2107: Johnny Roberts - My Lovin' Arms / When We're Alone (1959)
Stylo 2108: Bobby Towers - Gone, Gone, Gone, Dreams / Bondage of Love (1960)

See also

• Dub International Records Discography on Arkansas45rpm Records

• Stylo Records Discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• Foster Johnson Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entries for Dub International and Stylo

• BMI

• 1966 United States Senate election in Arkansas Wikipedia entry
• Unknown: "Arkansas Rockabilly" (Spade Records), liner notes, unknown year

Harry Blanton on Sherwood

Harry Blanton - Footsteps (Sherwood 42704), 1974

The city of Sherwood was home to a few small record labels in the 1970s, including the Sherwood record label. One of artists on that label was Harry Blanton, a local singer from Gurdon, Arkansas.

The song were featuring today, “Footsteps”, is probably one of Blanton’s earliest recordings, done in 1974 at the Browns Recording Studio in Sherwood. This studio was operated probably by Bonnie and Maxine Brown (of The Browns country group fame), who produced both sides of Blanton’s Sherwood single. Both songs were written by Dan Emory, a fellow Sherwood label artist.

Afterwards, Blanton had his own band, aptly named the Footsteps, toured with Don Gibson and reached out for Nashville. There, he recorded a few singles for the Starcrest and Firecracker labels but never enjoyed any national chart success. Blanton was still active as late as 2023, performing on the Pam Setser Show in Mountain View, Arkansas.

Recommended videos

• Video of the Pam Setser Show (Mountain View, Arkansas)

Sources

• 45cat entry

Jimmy Stewart on Step Rock

Jimmy Stewart & the Southern Country - Whose Heart Are You Breaking Now (Step Rock SRS 101), 1972

This is some slow, typical 1970s local country music. The Step Rock label was based in Sherwood, a little north of Little Rock but I couldn’t find any other releases but this label. The actual record label mentions that the songs were recorded at Rogers-Brown Studios, which was probably Brown's Recording Studio, operated by Maxine and Bonnie Brown of The Browns fame.

Jimmy Stewart is a common name and there were many recording artists of that name. One of the songs was written by Jackie Stewart and I first thought this might have been Jimmy’s wife. However, after a little online research, I did find a guy named James Alvin Stewart, whose brother was named Jackie Stewart. In addition, James Alvin was born in 1942 in Lonoke, Arkansas, and passed away in 2023 in Cabot, Arkansas, and both towns are less than 20 minutes away from Sherwood, the label’s location. So that might be our man but still, I’m not sure.

Today’s selection is “Whose Heart Are You Breaking Now”, which was written by a man named Huey P. Long (probably not Louisiana governor Huey Pierce Long, who was killed in 1935).

See also

• Step Rock discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• James Alvin Stewart obituary

• Find a Grave entry

Delmore Brothers in Memphis

Good Times in Memphis
The Delmore Brothers in Bluff City

The 1940s and early 1950s saw a lot of country music talent passing through the city of Memphis. Although it became well-known as the "home of the blues" and the "birthplace of rock'n'roll", country music had been always present in the city. Since the late 1920s, it had been a center for the major label's field recordings for blues, jazz, gospel, and old-time folk music as well. 

I have featured several Memphis country artists before, including Doc McQueen, Shelby Follin, Clyde Leoppard's Snearly Ranch Boys, Joe Manuel, among others, but the Delmore Brothers were probably the most popular and successful (commercial-wise) among those performers. Alton and Rabon Delmore were heard over Memphis radio on and off during the 1940s, spreading their blues and boogie-branded kind of country music across the Mid-South.

From the Hills of Alabama...
The Delmores hailed from northern Alabama, from Elkmont, to be precise, where Alton was born on December 25, 1906, and Rabon on December 3, 1916. The brothers grew up listening to folk and gospel music (her mother composed shaped-note gospel songs) and started singing as a duo at local fiddlers contests. The new medium of radio seemed to be perfect for their soft voices and their rising popularity led to a first record release on Columbia in 1931 ("Got the Kansas City Blues" b/w "Alabama Lullaby", #15724-D).

...to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville
This first record went nowhere, much due to the economic depression and the Columbia label's demise, but they landed a job on WSM's Grand Ole Opry in 1933. Although the Opry was just one of several barn dance shows back then, WSM's strong signal beamed their voices into the listeners' homes within a wide radius. They started recording for RCA Victor's Bluebird label the same year and stayed with the label into the early 1940s. Many of their sides were also released on the warehouse chain Montgomery Ward's in-house label, therefore enjoying even wider distribution, and some saw distribution in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and even India.

The Delmores had a bluesy style and concentrated on their own material instead of covers or standards. Their popularity grew and by 1936, the Delmore Brothers were the most popular Opry act. They began a shorter stint with Decca in 1940 which ended due to World War II. Following a disagreement with the management, they left the Opry and, like it was common for many country entertainers back then, roamed the country in search of radio station work. They came to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1943, where they began broadcasting on powerhouse WLW and signed with Syd Nathan's independent King record label - their first record was released in late 1944.

Memphis Down in Dixie
Rabon left the act for a short time, working a defense job, and Alton continued to perform solo on WLW. Near the end of World War II, the station refused to hire Rabon again (probably due to his alcohol abuse) and the brothers left Cincinnati. After a short stop in Indianapolis, they ended up in Memphis. There, they began appearing on WMC, one of the city's oldest radio stations that carried a lot of other country performers as well, including Slim Rhodes' Mountaineers and Gene Steele. 

The Delmores at WMC in Memphis

The Delmores' act at that time also included harmonica player Wayne Raney, who hailed from Wolf Bayou, Arkansas, and was living in Memphis by then. Raney had worked in Covington, Kentucky, south of Cincinnati across the Ohio River but somehow, the threesome had never met. In Memphis, Raney decided to approach them and went over to the Delmores' house in West Memphis. After a good jam on the front porch, he was in. As a trio, they also worked personal appearances around Memphis and across the Mississippi in West Memphis and surrounding Arkansas areas. Their blues drenched sound fitted perfectly to Memphis and was completed by Raney's harmonica. Sometimes, they were augmented by another harmonica wizard, Lonnie Glosson. The Delmores began experimenting with boogie elements, too, a trend in country music that just had started, and in May 1946, "Hillbilly Boogie" (King #527) was released. It was the beginning of a series of country boogie songs that foreshadowed the development of rockabilly. However by late 1946, the brothers left Memphis for the first time because they had "burned the area out" and started another trip of radio station hopping. 

By November 1947, they were back in Memphis at WMC but left again only to return for some time in 1948. In 1949, they were working in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when their "Blues Stay Away from Me" climbed the Billboard country & western charts and eventually hit the #1 spot. They were back in Memphis in the early 1950s, rubbing shoulders with another, younger brother act - Ira and Charlie Loudermilk, better known as the Louvin Brothers, who had come to Memphis as part of Eddie Hill's band in 1946 or 1947.

According to Charlie Louvin, as cited by Charles K. Wolfe in his book "In Close Harmony", the Delmores were performing on smaller stations in Blytheville, Arkansas (probably KLCN), and some in West Memphis, during this time (though they would live in Memphis). "Alton and Rabon had the identical, the same setup as Ira and I. One teetotaller and one who couldn't stay sober" Louvin recalled. One time the Louvins and the Delmores were playing a ballpark stage with Raney and Glosson: "At the time, Arkansas was dry, and Rabon, he absolutely had to have a drink, so Ira said he'd ride with him. They went all the way back to Memphis, ten or twelve miles, to get some booze. Even with Ira drinkin' a little bit, Rabon scared him to death coming back through West Memphis at a very high rate of speed."

Billboard June 1, 1946

Billboard November 22, 1947

Leaving Memphis
The Delmores left Memphis for good around 1951 and hopped from station to station, ending their career in Houston, Texas. There, Alton decided to go full-time into songwriting while Rabon had been unreliable either way due to his alcoholism. In addition, he was diagnosed with cancer and an operation in 1952 could not bring any improvement of his health. He passed away the same year a day after his 36th birthday on December 4.

Ira and Charlie Louvin were heavily inspired by the Delmores sound and they would even record a Delmore Brothers tribute album some years later. During their Memphis days, the Delmores also inspired other future stars. Elvis Presley was probably used to listen them and lots of other, future rockers and country singers would. Alton fell into oblivion after his brother's death and went out of the music business, bitter and disillusioned. He moved back to Alabama and gave it one last shot in 1959, recording his sole solo record, "Good Times in Memphis" b/w "Thunder Across the Border" for Ernie Tucker's Linco label across the border in Fayetteville, Tennessee. He passed away on June 8, 1964.

See also
• Good Times in Fayetteville - Ernest Tucker and the Preservation of Rock'n'Roll
• Wayne Raney - King of the Talking Harmonica

Sources
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Hillbilly-Music.com entry
• Alton Delmore 45cat entry
• Jeffrey J. Lange: "Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly" (University of Georgia Press), 2004, page 236
• Charles K. Wolfe: "In Close Harmony - The Story of the Louvin Brothers" (University Press of Mississippi), 1996, p. 100-102
• Charles K. Wolfe: "Classic Country - Legends of Country Music" (Routledge), 2001, p. 115
• Alton Delmore: Truth Is Stranger Than Publicity" (Country Music Foundation Press), 1977

Shady Hill on Alley

Shady Hill - Old Porch Swing (Alley 2001), 1982

Shady Hill was a local bluegrass band from Jonesboro, Arkansas. I was fortunate enough to make contacts with one of the original members, Norma Meredith. She is still living in Jonesboro and was so kind to present me with a copy of the band's Alley record "Old Porch Swing" b/w "Ida's Shoe".

The band was formed in 1981 and included Ricky Lane on guitar and vocals, Norma's husband Tommy Meredith on banjo, Bill Shoe on fiddle, Carrol Lane on mandolin and vocals and Norma on bass and vocals. Norma told me that she and Carrol actually did not play bass or mandolin but it was Ricky Lane that taught them the instruments. Norma had played piano before so musical talent was there and she soon became a solid bass player and the band got a "pretty decent sound".

Their first public appearance was at a local senior citizen center and Norma remembers that they had rehearsed only four songs - they played them several times for the crowd, which enjoyed it nevertheless. In the years to come, Shady Hill played countless shows and festivals in the northeastern corner of Arkansas. They even had a tour bus that they converted into living quarters by themselves.

In 1982, the band recorded a 45rpm single for Joe Lee's Alley record label in Jonesboro. At that time, the band was managed by Dolores Tolbert, a local songwriter who had recorded for Sonny Deckelman's Van-Deck label in the 1960s. Tolbert was the one who organized the recording session at Joe Lee's Variety Recording Studio. The band cut "Old Porch Swing", written by Tolbert, and "Ida's Shoe", a fiddle number written by Bill Shoe. As far as I can tell, this remained their only 45.

During the 1980s, Shady Hill held a couple of sessions at Raney Recording Studio in Drasco and issued the results on cassette tapes. The band disbanded in 1989. Unfortunately, Carrol Lane and Norma are the only surviving members of the band.

Sources
• Thanks to Norma Meredith for providing information on her band and the record.

Elsa (Al) Robinson

Al Robinson, late 1940s

Elsa "Al" Robinson - The Friendly Hill Billy

My good friend Marshal pointed me towards another local Louisiana musician and sooner than later, I found myself researching the story of Elsa "Al" Robinson, the "friendly hill billy". He seems to have been one of those persons that were larger than life. Among his many occupations, he was an insurance salesman, a songwriter, singer, radio announcer, politician, and probably more. He worked on local radio in both Arkansas and Louisiana, although the latter became his adopted home. He is not to be confused with several showmen of the same name: he is neither blues singer Alvin "Al" Robinson from New Orleans, nor Jamaican reggae artist Al Robinson nor ventriloquist Al Robinson.

From the research I did, it seems to me that Robinson was not only quite a "talker" but also a very conservative man. Therefore, I'd like to point out that much information used here came from the liner notes of his sole album, which he wrote himself, or from newspaper advertisements or published political statements that also used his own words.

Born Elsa Boyd Robinson on November 30, 1910, in West Tennessee, he grew up on a farm learning about and working in live stock and farming at daytime and practicing on his guitar at night. In the late 1920s, he was intrigued by the music of America's blue yodeler, Jimmie Rodgers, who became his main influence. By his own account, he graduated from high school (although census documents indicate he left elementary school after completing the 7th grade) around the same time.

He moved to Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, in 1931, and began broadcasting on KALB in Alexandria four years later. On those early shows, he appeared solo with his guitar but was not paid for his appearances. For some time, Robinson worked on a drag line on the banks of the Red River, where wrote many a song along the way. By 1940, he lived in a rented house in Alexandria with his first wife Jessie Edna and worked as an insurance salesman.

World War II interrupted his career. Robinson intended to join the US Navy in February 1942 but was rejected. A year later, he began serving in the US Army for a short time but was honorably discharged due to disability in September 1943. Robinson then became involved in local politics, running unsuccessfully for the Rapides Parish house of representatives. This setback ended his political ambitions or some years but he kept on supporting other local politicians if he considered them worth it. He continued his profession as an entertainer as well.

In 1944, it was reported that he performed on KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas, followed by a stint on KLCN in Blytheville, Arkansas. According to Robinson, he worked with such artists as Wayne Raney, Ray Duke, the Wilburn Brothers and Eddy Arnold while at KLCN. In 1945, Robinson returned to Louisiana and began singing over KALB in Alexandria from 1945 until 1946. At the same time, he revamped his act by founding a band, the Red River Ramblers. Robinson was then heard on KWKH in Shreveport from 1946 until 1948, again on KALB around 1950 and early 1951, and later that year, appeared on KVOB. Along the way, he also spent time on WNOE and WWL in New Orleans, WFAA in Dallas, and on WREC in Memphis. In those early years, he often appeared as "Elsa Robinson, the friendly hill billy" whereas he would later change his stage name to Elsa (Al) Robinson and finally to "Uncle Al" Robinson. He began a longtime association with KSYL in 1952, which would last until 1960 when the station's manager shortened Robinson's airtime, who in turn left the station. 

By 1950, he had married his second wife Clara and was living with her and their three sons in Tangipahoa Parish. Apart from entertaining, Robinson remained active in politics throughout the years and in 1952, he ran for Congress. His political agenda was ultra-conservative, to say the least, and he supported racial segregation as much as he wanted to stop immigration and supported outlawing communism. He entered the race of the House of Representatives again in 1955 and for the Congress in 1958 but apparently success eluded him.

Billboard April 24, 1962

Instead, he concentrated on his music and radio work. By April 1962, he was manager of KWCL in Oak Grove, Louisiana, a small country station in the tri-state area of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. A year later, he had a show on KVOP in Bastrop, Louisiana, in the same region. In 1966, he purchased a small, "flat broke" station in Centreville, Mississippi, and "made it pay off within a short time" (as Robinson put it in his own words). However, "two years later the Civil Rights people, in rioting from Baton Rouge to Memphis, over the route I was on, I was wiped out, my station was completely destroyed. A thorough job was done, they wrecked all equipment and had it on fire when I reached there to open up in the early morning [...]."

After this incident, Robinson mostly concentrated on writing and performing music. In the 1970s, he released what seems to be his only commercial record, an album entitled "Funny Facts and Songs" on the Slidell, Louisiana, based independent One-Way Records. It seems it sold in good quantities around Alexandria as Marshal Martin found five copies of it in just one year.

Elsa "Al" Robinson passed away on September 3, 1993.

Sources

• Official cencus records accessed through Ancestry.com

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Several newspapter items from the Alexandria News Talk
• Al Robinson: "Funny Facts and Songs" (One-Way Records), liner notes

Jerry Hopper on Royle

Jerry Hopper - St. Louis Airport (Royle No.#), 1985-1986

Jerry Hopper was a local Arkansas country singer that tried to break through into the national music business in the 1980s. I got this record from fellow collector Sean Hickey and it is a bit out of my timeline but the Arkansas location got me hooked.

Hopper hails from Flippin, Arkansas, near Mountain Home. He grew up listening to country music and some rock'n'roll, too, and learned to play guitar at an early age and eventually also mastered other instruments like piano. He began playing with his dad and later also set out as a solo performer.

He started recording in the early 1980s, having his first record out in 1981 on the Ranger label from Flippin. In the early 1980s, Nashville songwriter Ron Peterson came to Flippin to pick up a boat. The owner called Hopper and connected him with Peterson, who in turn took him to Nashville. In 1983, Hopper released his first album entitled "My Kind of Country" and continued to record throughout the 1980s on small labels, which were likely his own.

We feature Hopper's recording of "St. Louis Airport", a song written by John Dillon (probably of Ozark Daredevils fame), Monroe Davenport, and Santiago Torres. I suspect the recording was made in Nashville but it was released on the Royle label from Flippin, thus probably Hopper's own label. It was released in 1985 or 1986.

In 1986, Hopper opened his own private night club, "Hopper's" (which continued as a restaurant into the next century), and in the mid 1990s, had his own public night club where he performed regularly. He was also active as a boxing promoter and organized fights in his club. Hopper today resides in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and still performs as far as I can tell.

Sources
• Flippin Online / The Mountain Echo
• Facebook profile
• Discogs
• 45cat entry

Lois Powell

Miss Lois Powell - Woo-Ee-Baby (Jaggars unreleased demo)
There was an astonishing amount of local Arkansas musicians in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of them made records - some of them very professional, some of them a bit more amateurish and some of them even crude. However, the majority of them are unpolished documents of local music history and a glimpse into a different, past world. Miss Lois Powell was one of those performers that never were known beyond the state borders. She recorded a couple of 45rpm singles and some of them even became known in rock'n'roll collector circles.

Virtually nothing was known about Powell until 2013, when the late Gary Corry posted both sides of her Velvet disc on his blog. A regular visitor to the blog, Bruce, immediately began research and tracked down Powell's brother Charles, who played lead guitar in their band. A telephone interview yielded some highly interesting information and background on Powell, her band, and her records.

Ima Lois Powell as well as her brothers Nicki and Charles (born around 1943) were playing in a band by the late 1950s. They hailed from Searcy, Arkansas. Nicki Powell had already performed in a band with Tex Denton and black drummer James "Cootie" Brown during the mid 1950s, playing mostly the black areas of Searcy. Charles Powell had unsuccessfully tried his hand at the drums and instead learned to play guitar. By the late 1950s, they all joined forces with Lois Powell on vocals, Charles Powell on vocals and guitar, Nicki Powell on guitar, and James Brown on drums.

Lois Powell was the leader of the group and they performed countless dance halls and clubs in the area, from Searcy to Jacksonville and back. They were regulars at the Tin Top in Jacksonville, a city in the North Little Rock area. In the early 1960s, Lois decided it was time to make a record and phoned a recording studio in Little Rock. A session was set up and they cut "I Can't Think of Nothing Baby" and "The Long Wait", which were released on the Twik label, according to Charles.  A couple of hundred copies were pressed to hand out to jukebox operators, radio stations and to sell to the audiences at the appearances. Though, no copy has been found so far. According to Charles, the disc got a lot airplay locally but never went beyond the region's boundaries. 

A little later, a man by the name of Lee Harold took over the management of Powell and the band. He suggested to re-record both songs and another session was arranged at J.R. Cheatham's studio in Dallas, Texas. On this occasion, Powell was accompanied by Charles on lead guitar, Brown on drums, and Willie Ghent on piano, an elderly woman who lived in the Powells' neighborhood.  These versions were in turn released in 1964 on the Velvet label, which was likely their own imprint (judging from the fact that it was based in Searcy and pressed by Rite Record Productions from Cincinnati, which did a lot of custom pressing).

Powell continued to work with Cheatham, who worked as a songwriter and singer around Dallas. He also owned the Cheatham label and Powell recorded a few more songs with his studio musicians, including two duets with Cheatham - "Wild Wild Stallion" and "Shiftin' Heart" (Cheatum #C-116, 1964). Two solo performances by Powell appeared two years later in 1966, "Good Bye Daddy" and "Honkey Tonk Town" (#C-125). Some more tracks were recorded, including "Skid Row Woman", "Fishin' in the Spring", "One of the Gunman", and "Juke Box Blues" but none of them were apparently released. 

What happened to Lois Powell and her band afterwards escapes my knowledge unfortunately. At the time of the interview, Charles Powell was a retired welder, picked his guitar occasionally, and enjoyed life with his family. By 2022, his sister Lois was living in a nursing home. I could not find any hints to the whereabouts of the other members.

In 2008, Dutch record collector Cees Klop issued a primitive demo tape of Powell's, singing "Woo-Ee-Baby", on his Collector Records CD "41 Years Collector Records). The demo, featuring only Powell's voice and a rhythm guitar, was recorded at Jaggars Recording Studio in Little Rock at some point during the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Discography

Twik no.?: The Long Wait / I Can't Think of Nothing Baby
Velvet No.#: The Long Wait / I Can't Think of Nothing Baby (1964)
Cheatham C-116: Wild Wild Stallion / Shiftin' Heart (1964)
Cheatham C-125: Good Bye Daddy / Honkey Tonk Town (1966)

See also

• Velvet Records Discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• Discogs

• 45cat entry

• That's All Rite Mama

• France's Favorite 45s incl. Bruce's interview with Charles Powell

• France's Favorite 45s (the other side)

Ouachita Valley Barn Dance Jamboree

Over the years, there has been some interest in some of the better known and bigger barn dance shows, especially those from the 1930s-1950s period. The lesser known ones have mostly fallen into obscurity and those shows that were founded at an even later date are totally forgotten. I dug up such a show while researching something completely different - the Ouachita Valley Barn Dance from Arkansas.

The Ouachita Valley Barn Dance Jamboree began its life in June 1975 in Reader, Arkansas. The show was staged at the Reader Railroad Park, a tourist-only railroad line in Nevada and Ouachita Counties. The premiere show featured country star Red Sovine and a subsequent show on July 1975 was headlined by Claude King.

Unfortunately, it is not known to me how long the show ran or if it was broadcast on radio. If anyone knows more about the Ouachita Valley Barn Dance Jamboree, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

Sources

• "Reader Railroad adds night train for July 4-5" (Hope Star, July 2, 1975)

• Benton Courier, June 4, 1975

Merlin Bee on Razorback

Merlin Bee - Watching Grandma Twist (Razorback 106), 1963

Merlin Bee was a longtime performer in the DeWitt/Stuttgart area in Arkansas County, Central-East Arkansas. He was born Merlin Bee Bullock on June 2, 1936, in DeWitt to Bee and Mildred Bullock as the oldest of two children. His father owned a farm, so country living and agricultural knowledge were no strangers to Bee, who later worked in that field, too. He graduated from DeWitt High School in the early 1950s and attended Arkansas Polytechnic College in Russellville, Arkansas, afterwards (now Arkansas Tech University).

Following his graduation from Arkansas Tech in 1961, he moved back to Arkansas County, where he worked as a farmer and also as a field reporter for the Arkansas County ASCS (now Farm Service Agency). Bee was a passionate musician and had already played trumpet in DeWitt's high school band. He began appearing as "Merlin Bee" and founded his first band, the Knights, in 1961. This band changed name to "The Stingers" eventually.

Bee started recording for Bobby Crafford's Razorback label in 1963 and cut a total of three singles until the next year. The first one is featured today, "Baby" b/w "Watching Grandma Twist" (#106). He later switched to Grand Prairie Records, a vanity label from DeWitt, which could have been his own venture (along with Robin Hood Bray). Bee mostly relied on cover versions of recent hits or standards, including "Baby" (Little Richard), "What Am I Living For" (Jack Scott), "You Don't Love Me" (Willie Cobbs), "Tennessee Stud" (Jimmie Driftwood) or "Tore Up (Over You)" (Hank Ballard). He did compose two songs, "Share My Dreams" and "Big Red Root On" (co-written with Butch Carter) that he recorded for Grand Prairie.

Merlin Bee and the Stingers played for 25 consecutive years, performing well into the 1980s. Bee married Mary Louise Reiger in 1982. Merlin Bee Bullock passed away at the age of 74 years on November 1, 2010, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Stuttgart. 

Sources

• April Hanson: "Merlin Bee Bullock Bandleader's Life Ruled by Music" (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

• Find a Grave Entry

• 45cat entry

Carolyn Dixon on Billups

Carolyn Dixon - This Man of Mine (Billups 104), 1964

The Billups record label was based in Dallas, Texas, and possibly featured the involvement of Irvin Russ, who did not only write this particular song but also other songs for the label and even recorded for Billups, too. He also co-wrote songs with James Massey, who also released two singles on the label. Both Massey and Russ also collaborated with local songwirter J.R. Cheatham for songs on his Cheatham record label. Cheatham composed the flip side of this record, "King of the Highway".

Cheatham and Russ produced records in Dallas independently in the 1960s, which they either released on their own or leased the masters to other labels according to Billboard. Billups Record was located on Circlewood Drive on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, and active from 1962 until around 1965.

There was a Carolyn Dixon who had two released on Little Rock, Arkansas based labels, Luck and Tommy Trent's T Bar T label. If she is the same singer who recorded for Billups is a question still to answer.

Sources

• 45cat entry

• SecondHandSongs

Gene Champlin - Amanda

Gene Champlin - Amanda (No label #SPS-5018)

One of the visitors asked for Gene Champlin's version of "Amanda" due to my recent post on him. The original post contained his cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain".

Madison County Record July 14, 1977

Written by Nashville songwriter Bob McDill, "Amanda" was first recorded by country singer Don Williams, whose version was released in April 1973 on the JMI label (for which McDill also recorded). It peaked at #33 on Billboard's Country singles chart as the flip side of Williams' hit "Come Early Morning". Waylon Jennings recorded "Amanda" the following year and it appeared on his album "Ramblin' Man" but was not released at the time as a single.

It was not until 1979 that "Amanda", now edited with overdubs, that Jennings' version reappeared on a greatest hits album and saw release on single as well. It became a smash #1 country hit for him that year in the US and in Canada. It also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100 at #54.

There were a few cover version by no-name artists, too, but the song was been recorded by surprisingly few artists. One of those was Gene Champlin.

Don Williams singing "Amanda" in 1979 on TV

See also

• Gene Champlin

Sources

• Wikipedia entry

• 45cat entries for Don Williams version and Waylon Jennings version

The Tragic Case of Misty Bonner alias Barbara Kelly

The Tragic Case of Misty Bonner alias Barbara Kelly

Many collectors and researchers believed for years that Misty Bonner was a pseudonym for Bobby Lee Trammell. This was due to the facts that both songs she recorded were actually written by Trammell and that she recorded those for Atlanta Records, a label that otherwise released only Trammell material. It added to the thesis that she sounded like Trammell's voice pitched high enough to sound like a female singer. But it was not. Misty Bonner was a real person and her case is one of the most tragic and intriguing I ever found.

Misty Bonner alias Barbara Kelly was born Bobbie Lee Bonner on September 10, 1946, to George Hargrove, Jr., and Beverly Bonner. She was born and grew up in the small town of Gillett, Central-East Arkansas. The family had to bear a tragic loss when Bonner's younger brother George Hargrove III died as an infant in 1952. Singing was an early interest of Bonner and she gained experiences in local church groups and her high school Glee Club. 

Around 1962, Bonner got acquainted with rockabilly singer Bobby Lee Trammell, who had written two songs, "I Can't Sit Still" and "Watch Me Do the Twist". In the spring of that year, Trammell had a hit with "Arkansas Twist" on Joe Lee' Alley Records and it is likely that he set up a session for Bonner at Lee's studio in Jonesboro, Arkansas. She recorded both songs much in the style of Trammell's own recordings: non-sense, stomping and roaring rock'n'roll. The songs were released on Wayne McGinnis' Atlanta record label as the debut single (#1500, approx. fall 1962).

McGinnis, who also hailed from Northeast Arkansas and had recently set up his own recording company Santo Records, signed Bonner to a recording contract and there were certainly plans to release her material on one of his labels. Though sessions were scheduled in Memphis, nothing came of it in the end and Bonner was left without a second release by the mid of the 1960s.

By January 1965, Bonner's family had moved to Santa Cruz, California, where she continued her singing career. Following some show dates around town she performed several times in Las Vegas and ended up singing dixieland jazz regularly in Dick O'Kane's "The Warehouse" night club on Monterey's Cannery Row. The leader of the club's house band, the Warehousemen, had discovered her during one of her performances at Big Al's Gashouse in 1966 and signed her on the spot. It was at that time that she began appearing as "Barbara Kelly". With the Warehousemen and other groups she also appeared on other events such as the Monterey Dixieland Jazz Festival. Besides her performing career, Bonner was attending Monterey Institute of International Studies.

She had been married to Martin Theodore Oberto for a very brief time in 1971 and married Michael Simeone the following year. Her siblings got some public attention as her brother Greg was known as a talented surfer in Santa Cruz and her sister Joy who also sang.

Bonner opened up her own nigh club on Cannery Row in 1974, which was open to the public for a brief time, however. She continued to perform at the Warehouse until 1977, when she moved to the Los Angeles area, and moved in with her sister Joy in Whittier. She wanted to to take her career to a higher level. However, she reportedly performed on a cruise ship as remembered by one of the Warehouse's regular attendees. She also performed on several TV shows, including frequently on KABC-TV's "Hurdy Gurdy Show" and "The Gong Show".

Her life found a tragic and way too soon end. On October 20, 1977, Bobbie Lee Bonner was murdered in the laundry room of her apartment complex. A local newspaper wrote: "Police said that on Wednesday, Miss Kelly, who had been staying at her sisters's apartment in Whittier, went to the apartment complex garage area to do the laundry. Apartment complex residents reported hearing a loud noise and went to the garage area where they found Miss Kelly lying on the garage floor. A young man was seeing fleeing the area." Tragically, her case was never solved and it is still one of those "cold cases" that gains attention from time to time.

Discography

Singles
Atlanta 1500: Misty Bonner - I Can't Sit Still / Watch Me Do the Twist (1962)

Albums
Fly-By-Nite No.#: Barbara Kelly and the Warehousemen - Exporse Yourself! To the Music of

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• City-Data (Memories of the Warehouse) 

• Barbara Kelly Cold Case Facebook page 

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Expose Yourself To the Music of Barbara Kelly and the Warehousemen (YouTube)

Gene Champlin

Gene Champlin - The Early Mornin' Rain (No label #SPS-5018)

Gene Champlin was from the Fayetteville, Arkansas, area and a local singer active in the 1970s and 1980s. According to local Fayetteville DJ Bill Banner, who wrote the liner notes to Champlin's debut album, his first record was not a serious approach at the music business but, as Banner put it, more of a "joke". The single comprised "Early Morning Rain", the popular Gordon Lightfoot song, plus a version of "Amanda", which was a hit for Don Williams in 1973 and for Waylon Jennings in 1979. This sets the time frame of Champlin's records: these were probably recorded at some point between 1973 and 1979.

Both songs were put out by Champlin on his own private label and soon, "Amanda" became a favorite on local radio station KFAY (where Bill Banner was working). The record obviously caught people in other areas as well, as my copy comes from the estate of radio KLSZ in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The good reaction resulted in Champlin's first album, "Teardrops", which was released on the Lookout label, which was probably also his own venture. Another single was released off of that album featuring the Bill Banner compositions "Walls of Sorrow" and the album title track "Teardrops".

In the 1980s, Champlin performed under the name "Hambo Latham" and recorded several singles for the BOC and History labels in addition to an album on BOC entitled "Hambo in a Plain Brown Wrapper". Unfortunately, it escapes me what happens to Champlin after the 1980s.

Sources

• Discogs entries for Hambo Latham and Gene Champlin

• 45cat entry for Hambo Latham

KTHS & KAAY - Hot Springs and Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas, in the 1950s. The KTHS building on the far right

Kome to Hot Springs / The Mighty KAAY

The Split History of KTHS / KAAY in Hot Springs and Little Rock

One of the most powerful radio stations in Arkansas was KAAY. The story of this station began in 1924, when the station signed on the air as KTHS ("Kome to Hot Springs") in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In the early 1930s, the it became a 10,000 watt station, sending its signal clear to the state capital Little Rock as well. KTHS was the founding station of the "Lum & Abner" show, which started in 1932.

KTHS was a NBC Blue network affiliate and continued to be part of the network even after 1945, when it was renamed ABC. The station was operated by the local Chamber of Commerce until 1942, when it was sold to Radio Broadcast, Inc. from Shreveport, Louisiana, making it a sister station to KWKH. Shortly after it changed owners, KTHS became a 50,000 watt station and was moved to Little Rock in 1943, though it stuck with its call letters.

The station featured a lot of country music programming, featuring such artists as Leo Castleberry, Tommy Trent, the Shelby Cooper and the Dixie Mountaineers, the Haley Family, Jack Hunt, or the Melody Boys. In the 1930s, the station had its Country Store stage show and in the early 1950s, the station carried KWKH's Louisiana Hayride.

Cast of the KTHS Country Store, presumably the station's 1930s live stage country show.
If anyone has more information on this program, feel free to leave a comment!

The station introduced KTHV as its televison station in 1955 but in 1962, both stations were sold to different new owners. Call letters of KTHS were changed to KAAY and was turned into a top 40 station, abandoning the country music and its local programming. After 11 pm, the station featured programs that played progressive pop and rock music, making it an underground favorite among young listeners. It was especially "Beaker Street" hosted by Clyde Clifford that became extremely popular not only in Arkansas but in different states of the Mid-West, Mississippi Valley, and as far as Cuba. Other DJs at that time included Rock Robbins, Charlie "King" Scarbrough, A.J. "Doc Holiday" Lindsey, and others.

The station was sold once more in 1975 to Multimedia Radio and in the 1980s, changed to religious programming, which it continues to this day. Citadel Broadcasting announced the purchase of the station in 1997 with the official purchase taking place in November 1998. Citadel became Cumulus Media in 2011.

See also

• Tommy Trent - Little Rock's Forgotten Star

Sources

• Thomas Harold Riggs Find a Grave entry (Rock Robbins)

• Doc Holiday obituary

• KAAY 1090 blog and The Mighty KAAY blog

• Wikipedia entry

James Fred Williams

James Fred Williams

The Spiritual Ambassador of Southwest Arkansas

James Fred Williams is an Arkansas based gospel singer and minister that has been around on the music scene for more than six decades. He has recorded at least four different discs, including a gospel EP for United Southern Artists in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1963, and two more platters for Curtis Kirk on his Tyler, Texas, based Custom label, in the 1970s. Recently, my southwest Arkansas correspondent Mark Keith interviewed Williams via telephone so European roots music fans now can learn of this artist.

James Fred Williams was born in 1940 in Magnolia, Arkansas. He remembers that radio played a major role in shaping his music taste. He would place his ear near the radio to listen closely to gospel music. It was of course gospel music and nothing else but gospel that became Williams' sole influence. Naturally, his first public appearance was in a little country Baptist church south of Magnolia and later on, he would sing in a choir as well.

Williams could be also heard on local radio throughout the years, including on KMSL (which later evolved into KZHE), where he had a Sunday evening show. Mark Keith worked at that station, too, and recalls: "He'd come on playing "Standing by the Bedside of a Neighbor" and when the instrumental break came on, he'd come in and talk over it and welcome people. He has a beautiful speaking voice and sounded so warm and friendly."

The Hope Star, January 19, 1963

Williams' first record came in 1963 for the Hot Springs based United Southern Artists label. He remembers that it was Carl Friend, the label's A&R manager, who organized the deal. Williams recorded four songs during a session in Hot Springs that were released on an EP record by the label. Two more records came into existence when Williams came in touch with Curtis Kirk, who had a studio and record label in Tyler, Texas. Four songs were recorded in Tyler and on that particular session, he was accompanied by the Ambassadors of Sweetwater, Louisiana. Kirk released them on his Custom label and Williams distributed those two releases to radio stations in Magnolia, Sweetwater, Shreveport, and Houston, among others.

A special record came along in 1979, when Williams cut his own "Stay with Me Jesus" backed by Brother Eli Taylor on organ. It was re-released the next year on the Love label. Original copies are nowadays quite worthy and sought after.

Williams still works as a minister in the Magnolia, Arkansas, area and does church programs. Mark Keith conducted an telephone interview with him in January 2025 which was the main source for this text.

Discography

United Southern GLP 101: James Fred Williams - Hold On to God's Unchanging Hand / Stay with Me Jesus / I Need the Lord / Every Child of God (1963)
Custom 185: James Fred Williams - If You've Got Jesus / I Feel the Spirit
Custom 191: James Fred Williams - He Will Take Care of His Own / Thank You Lord
No label No.#: Dea James Fred Williams - Stay with Me Jesus / God Is Taking Care (1979)
Love 3607: Dea. James Williams - Stay with Me Jesus / God Is Taking Care (1980) 

Sources

• 45cat
• Discogs [1] and [2]

• Thanks to Mark Keith for sharing his memories and providing information on James Fred Williams and interviewing him at my urging.

Leon Fulgham & the Dealers on Bejay

Leon Fulgham & the Dealers - Poor Boy (Bejay 82479), 1979

Leon Fulgham's band, the Dealers, was founded in the late 1970s. Fulgham was a native of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and came from a large family. He worked as a used car dealer and operated Fulgham Used Car Center in Fort Smith. He played music with friends for years until he put together his own band, the Dealers. He was also known as the "Singing Car Dealer".

The band consisted of Fulgham on rhythm guitar, bass, and lead vocals, Harold Van on steel guitar, Louis Lyles on vocals, lead guitar and fiddle, Ramona Lyles on bass, piano, and vocals, and Billy Wise on drums. Occasionally, Fulgham's wife Maxine appeared with the band on vocals. All of the members were said to hail from the Fort Smith area.

Leon Fulgham and the Dealers, 1979
(taken from the band's LP "First Time Around")

In 1979, Fulgham and the Dealers went into Ben Jack's recording studio in Fort Smith to cut eleven songs. They probably performed those songs frequently at their shows and included a good cover of Jimmie Martin's bluegrass tune "Free Born Man", the bluesy "Poor Boy", or "The Devil and the Cowboy". All eleven songs were issued on the Bejay LP "First Time Around" and those last two songs, which were Fulgham's own compositions, were also released on a 45rpm disc by Bejay the same year.

Although many of his siblings already passed away, it seems that Leon Fulgham is still alive. His used car dealership has been closed down, as far as I can tell.

If somebody has more information on Leon Fulgham, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail through the formula at the top right of this website.

See also
• Ben Jack on Bejay
• Bobby Whittaker on Bejay
• Red Yeager on Bejay
• David & Darlene Robinson on Bejay

Sources
• Discogs
• 45cat entry
• Jimmy Fulgham Find a Grave entry

Walter (Arkie) Bittle

Walter "Arkie" Bittle & the Flying Saucers

Arkansas Country Boys Went Rock'n'Roll in Indiana

Many Arkansans moved west in the 1930s and 1940s, many moved east to Memphis in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s but few musicians moved to the northern states during that period. Walter Bittle was one of them. He lived in Indiana in the 1950s, where he cut a rare and little known rockabilly gem, "Jitterbug Drag". Like so many fellow rockabillies, Bittle later abandoned secular music and turned to the gospel.

Walter Thomas "W.T." Bittle, also known as Arkie Bittle or Reverend Walter Bittle, was born on January 13, 1931, in Prim, Arkansas, a rural area north of Heber Springs near Greers Ferry Lake. His parents, H. Gordon and Blanche D. Bittle, also gave birth to two daughters Georgia and Wanda as well as another son in 1935, Bittle's brother Loy Emery. At that time, the family was residing in an isolated place called Woodrow down the road from Prim.

Life was hard in the 1930s for rural Arkansans and Bittle worked on the farm and in the timber industry very early on. However, music was his passion and he learned to play guitar as a child. Bittle enjoyed playing and singing with family and friends; country and gospel music were likely his main influences. At age 17, he and his brother-in-law Wayne Harlan took part in a talent contest in Heber Springs and won.

By the advent of the 1950s, Walter and Loy Bittle were working with guitarist Glynn Hipp, who was also born in Woodrow but already in 1927, and played clubs along Highway 67, today known as the Rock and Roll Highway. They performed at such venues as the Oasis and the Wagon Wheel. Bittle joined the US Marine Corps in 1952 and served his country during the Korean War. Upon his discharge around 1954, Bittle took up music again with brother Loy and Hipp. They moved north to the Marion, Indiana, area, possibly in search of better working and living conditions than what they were used to in the rural South. On the personal side, he married Esther Shook in October 1954 in Marion.

Billboard September 17, 1955

Although they had started as a country music trio, Rock'n'Roll was the thing by then and naturally, the trio began performing in that style. Later in 1955, Bittle had assembled a band known as the "Sunny Slope Boys" and this group was heard over WMRI in Marion, Indiana, and the station's "Hoosier Barn Dance". The group also played on TV and in several local clubs. A year later, the Sunny Slope Boys had morphed into the Flying Saucers, adapting a more popular name for rock'n'roll audiences. By then, Loy Bittle had dropped out of the act. The group included Arkie Bittle on vocals and rhythm guitar, Hipp on lead guitar, Ray Smith on bass, and Bobby Johns on drums.

Arkie Bittle and Glynn Hipp, mid 1950s
(taken from the front cover of Collector CLCD 4495)

In 1956, Claud J. Nash, Sr., set up his own independent record label, Claudra Records, and Bittle and his group were the first to record for it. Hipp had written a rockabilly piece called "Jitterbug Drag" and together with Nash's song "I Kissed You in a Dream", was recorded under primitive circumstances as the songs sound like being cut in a kitchen. Nash released them on Claudra #CL-200 in 1956.

A second disc appeared the following year featuring "Teen Age Blues" and "Glynns Hopp", both composed by Hipp. While the A side was a vocal number sung by Bittle, the B side showcased Hipps skills on the guitar. It seems that Hipp was the driving force of the band - he was not only a talented guitarist but also wrote most of the song material. In addition, some  band members of the Flying Saucers also played on other Claudra releases.

In 1958, Bittle dropped out of the group as he became a born again Christian. Hipp took over the band and renamed it "The Jokers", which later also included Larry Kinser on vocals and Harry Miracle on vocals and guitar. The band continued to perform well into the 1960s and had two records out - one on Claudra and another one on Cliff Ayers' Lincoln label from Fort Wayne (Ayers also owned the Emerald label that released several rock'n'roll discs).

In the meantime, Bittle had begun preaching in Indiana churches and the 1960s saw Loy Bittle becoming a converted Christian as well. Loy became a deacon at Marion General Baptist Church in Marion in 1964 until his return to Arkansas. Walter Bittle returned to Heber Springs as well, where he established Sunny Slope Church in the 1960s. Loy began his work as a deacon there in 1968. In 1973, Walter Bittle received a theological degree from the Oakland City University of Indiana. Bittle also claimed to have written the song "I Hold a Clear Title to a Mansion", although different sources suggest this gospel hymn dates back to the early 20th century. He also claimed to have a recording of his (first) version and that the song was stolen from him. Bittle tried to regain the legal rights to no avail. The song has been recorded under different titles by several gospel artists.

Dutch collector Cees Klop gathered a couple of Glynn Hipp recordings and released those on his White Label and Collector reissue albums, beginning in the early 2000s. Also "Jitterbug Drag" was released on a few European CD reissues in the 2000s, probably unbeknownst to Bittle.

Walter Bittle passed away on October 21, 2016, at the age of 85 years. His brother Loy died a few years later in 2021. Glynn Hipp stayed in Indiana, where he already passed away in 1995 at the age of 67 years.

Sources

• Find a Grave Entries for Walter Thomas Bittle and for Glynn Hipp as well as for Claude Jackson Nash, Sr. and Claud Jackson Nash, Jr.

• Rockin' Country Style Entries for Walter Arkie Bittle and for Glynn Hipp

• 45cat entry

• Claudra Records on Discogs

• Obituary

• Clear Title to a Mansion (Bluegrass Messengers)

• Robert Cochran: "Our Own Sweet Sounds - A Celebration of Popular Music in Arkansas" (University of Arkansas Press), 2005, page 53