Stewart Family on Vaden

Stewart Family - Thirty Pieces of Silver (Vaden EP-200), unknown year

The Stewart Family was actually a local Arkansas group and located not too far away from Trumann, the home of Arlen Vaden, owner of Vaden Records. The Stewarts lived near Blytheville and also appeared on KLCN during the first half of the 1950s, so it is more than probable that Vaden knew them.

Bandleader was Virgil Freemont «Pappy» Stewart, who was born on August 5, 1907. He married Gladys Bell Long (1910-2004) in 1926 and they settled as farmers near Blytheville. In the 1940s, he decided to set up a singing group that included his daughters Bethel on vocals as well as fiddle and Jeanette on vocals and bass, his sister Baba Howard on accordion, and a neighbor’s daughter Wilma, among Pappy Stewart himself on vocals and guitar. Their repertoire included gospel songs but also secular country music. They started broadcasting on KLCN and by 1948, Bethel’s husband Buddy Brown joined them on guitar, while Baba dropped out eventually. She would go on to write a couple of songs for country hit maker Ernest Tubb.

The Courier News February 27, 1956

The Stewart family was friends with Slim Rhodes’ family and Rhodes had just secured a recording contract with Gilt-Edge Records, a subsidiary of 4 Star, and he might have had a hand in bringing the Stewarts to the label. Moreover, KLCN announcer Don Whitney, who sang bass with the Stewart Family occasionally, also recorded for 4 Star and was likely the power behind it. The group recorded a demo at KLCN, which they mailed to Bill McCall at 4 Star and not long after, they had a recording deal on their own. They held their first session for the label around April 1950 and recorded for 4 Star until 1953. Many, if not all sessions, likely took place at KLCN. Their biggest «claim to fame» came in 1951, when they recorded Pappy Stewart’s composition «Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)» in February, which was released on Gilt-Edge #5053 in December that year. The group’s records didn’t sell in noteworthy numbers and this one was no exception, but it caused a couple of cover versions during the 1950s, including one by Faron Young (who had a #10 hit with it a year later), Bonnie Lou, and 4 Star’s discovery Patsy Cline. It was not until 1961, when Solomon Burke’s version of the song became a top hit and the song became a classic. Artists like George Jones, Eddy Arnold, Jim Reeves, Johnny Burnette, Brenda Lee, and many others recorded versions over the years.

Back in 1952, Pappy Stewart and his family did not foresee these events or experienced any impact of their records on their daily lives. They performed on radio and played mostly schoolhouses in a one-day drive radius around Blytheville. Their two songs issued on Vaden were recorded during different sessions. «Thirty Pieces of Silver» was cut at  their first session and saw release on 4 Star #1469. Vaden thought it would probably be a good idea to reissue them as they enjoyed some local popularity a couple of years before. When Arlen Vaden re-released their recordings on Vaden, the Stewarts had already dropped out of music. By the mid to late 1950s, the family had quit. King and Starday also occasionally reused Stewart Family masters for gospel LPs and EPs.

Though, the windfall from Burke’s record in 1961 caused Pappy Stewart to buy more farmland. He passed away July 10, 1988, and is buried at Dogwood Cemetery in Blytheville, Arkansas. In 2009, Bear Family included the Stewart Family’s original version of «Just Out of Reach» on their 1951 edition of their critically much acclaimed country & western history series «Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music.»

Sources
• The above text is an excerpt from my feature story in American Music Magazine #184 from January 2024, "Hymns and Rock'n'Roll Along Highway 67 - The Story of Vaden Records"

Hoot & Curley

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

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

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

The Austin American
January 4, 1956

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

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

Shreveport Journal
June 21, 1952

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

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

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

Recommended reading

• British Archive of Country Music

Sources

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

• Find a Grave entries for Hoot Rains and Curley Herndon

• Curley Herndon Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Discogs

• 45cat entry and 45cat/78rpm entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

Gene Williams & Band on Sound of Country Music

Gene Williams & Band - Don Picks the Banjo (Sound of Country Music 1501), ca. 1970

Gene Williams was one of Northeast Arkansas' most prolific country music promoters. From the early 1960s through the 1970s, 1980s, and well into the 2000s, he was active promoting concerts, shows, recordings, and its artists. He also diversified his business interests by investing in different other branches, including real estate and newspapers but people in Northeast Arkansas regions will probably remember him best for his country music shows.

Born in 1938 in the small town of Tyronza, Poinsett County, Arkansas, Williams' father moved the family to the Dyess colony just a bit southwest of Tyronza, in 1943. Dyess was a farming community built on swamp land. The Cash family was living in Dyess, too, and one of the Cashs, namely Johnny, would go on to have international fame of course. While in high school, Williams began organizing local concerts with singers from Memphis. When he graduated from high school in 1956, Johnny Cash was already becoming a star in Memphis and inspired by his success, Williams took a job at radio KWEM in Memphis in 1957. As Williams was not a musician himself (although he later liked to pose with guitars for photos), he chose upon a career in radio and promotion.

He went into partnership with co-worker Buford Cody to found the Co & Wi label in late 1960, then started the live stage show "Cotton Town Jubilee" in early 1962 and a few months later set up his next record label, the Cotton Town Jubilee label. This imprint released several singles and albums until around 1965 by artists that appeared regularly on Williams' show. He also set out on the road with the Jubilee cast and played shows across the whole Mid-South.

In late 1963, Williams replaced the Cotton Town Jubilee show, which also aired over KWAM, with a new TV show entitled "Gene Williams' Country Junction" on KAIT-TV from Jonesboro. During the next years, this show became popular with audiences not only in Arkansas but across the Mid-South in different states. Until 1970, Williams produced records by the artists of his shows to sell at concerts. He even produced two music movies called "The Sound of Country Music" (1969) and "Country Music Jamboree" (1970) plus accompanying records. For this purpose, he set up the short-lived Sound of Country Music label, also releasing selected album tracks on 45rpm discs. This was the case with today's selection "Don Picks the Banjo", an instrumental track by Williams' band spotlighting banjo picker Don Settlemoir. The flip side was "Parkin, Arkansas", a song sung by Country Junction cast member Charlie Fritts. Both songs appeared in the "Country Music Jamboree" movie.

Don Settlemoir around 1970 as a member of the Country Junction Band

Neither the movie nor the single became a hit. Williams continued to work in country music promotions but had diversified his interests by that point. The Country Junction show came to an end in 1978 and was replaced with the "Gene Williams Show". He suffered from health problems in his later years, much caused by his lifelong smoking, and Williams passed away in 2011.

See also

• The Cotton Town Jubilee label story

Sources

• This post is based on my article "The Cotton Town Jubilee Records Story", which appeared in American Music Magazine 145 in September 2017.

Jimmy Luke on Razorback

Jimmy Luke - Ruby Baby (Razorback 104, 1963)

Jimmy Luke was the recording alias for Jimmy Ray Paulman, a talented guitarist and singer from Arkansas. Paulman was a band member of both Harold Jenkins' and Ronnie Hawkins' bands but returned to Arkansas after leaving the Hawkins unit. Upon his return, he started a solo career and recorded for several local labels throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Born around 1937 and raised in Marianna, Arkansas, next to the Mississippi River, Paulman became a member of Harold Jenkins' House Rockers, a rockabilly combo from the same area. During 1956 and early 1957, the band made some demo recordings at Sun Records in Memphis, including their theme "Rock House" (which was reworked by Roy Orbison the same year), but nothing was released from those sessions. Jenkins signed with Mercury in 1957 and brought along his band, including Paulman. The outfit recorded several sessions in Nashville throughout the year and by then, Jenkins had become Conway Twitty. They also performed regularly in Canada during this time.

The Daily World, August 31, 1965

Paulman left the band in the fall of 1957 and, back in Arkansas, did some playing with Billy Lee Riley's Little Green Men before joining Ronnie Hawkins, who was about to put together a new band. With the addition of 15 years old Levon Helm on drums and Paulman's cousin Willard "Pop" Jones on piano, they became "The Hawks". At that time, many Arkansas rockabillies did like Conway Twitty and toured Canada, like Billy Lee Riley, eventually Bobby Brown, and Ronny Hawkins and the Hawks. Paulman went north again and in 1959 and was still part of the band when they gained a recording contract with Roulette Records. He stayed with the Hawks for much of 1959 but then left, returning to Arkansas again.

Around 1962, Paulman had his first solo release but favored to record under the name "Jimmy Luke". "Luke" had been his nickname since his days with the Twitty outfit so it seemed to be fitting. In 1963, he recorded for Bobby Crafford's Razorback label, cutting a version of "You Are My Sunshine" and today's selection, "Ruby Baby". Paulman had recorded that song already a few years earlier with Ronnie Hawkins for Roulette and now did his own rendition.

In the 1960s, Paulman recorded for labels like Big Country, UNI, Metromedia, Zone, and Twin but never enjoyed any chart success. According to Larry Donn, Paulman also performed for some time with the Pacers as their vocalist and guitarist. As of 2021, Paulman lived in Hendersonville, Tennessee, near Nashville.

Sources

• Rockin' Country Style

• 45cat entry

• Discogs

• Rock'n'Roll Schallplatten Forum (German)

• Colin Escott: "Conway Rocks" (Bear Family Records), liner notes, 2003

• Ian Wallis: "Ronnie Rocks" (Bear Family Records), liner notes, 2007

Jim Harless on Shadow

Jim Harless and the Lonesome Valley Boys - Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me (Shadow 104), 1961 or 1962

The rise of rock'n'roll music created several "anti-songs" in country and bluegrass music, notably Denver Duke & Jeffrey Null's "Rock and Roll Blues" from 1956. Another prime example was Jim Harless' "Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me", which was recorded a few years later in the Bristol, Tennessee, area.

James Allen "Jim" Harless, Jr., was born on January 17, 1935, in Bristol, Tennessee, where he also grew up. Harless was a house-painter by day and eventually also ran his own paint contractor business but country and bluegrass music was his passion, which he enjoyed playing around Bristol in the 1950s and 1960s. Harless hosted his own popular radio show on WRKM in Carthage, Tennessee, during those years and led his own band, the Lonesome Valley Boys. By the early 1960s, the band consisted of Harless on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dean Millwood on acoustic guitar, Ray Kelly on electric guitar, Rhoda Kelly on mandolin, and Ray Jones on banjo.

This outfit made one record in either late 1961 or early 1962 for a local label from Bristol, Shadow Records. The disc featured "Banjo Bells", an instrumental number dominated by Jones' banjo, and "Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me". The latter is a nice banjo bopper with great vocals and moreover, it's an ode to bluegrass music when Harless sings "let that fiddle and banjo ring 'cause we still think that bluegrass is king / rock & roll fever ain't got me". It seems the record made some noise around Bristol, being played on local radio shows like "Rise and Shine Follies" and "Hillbilly Hit Parade" but didn't stand a chance on regional or national markets.

Jim Harless (center) and the Lonesome Valley Boys
early 1960s

By 1970, Harless had relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, where he led the house band at Panther Hall, a popular live music venue for years that was predominantly known for country music entertainment. Panther Hall hosted the Cowtown Jamboree on weekends, which featured Harless' group and many top-names from Nashville as guests. Also, Harless' eight years old nephew Charles Allen Bouton appeared at the Jamboree several times.

Harless continued to work as well as perform music in Fort Worth and lived there until his death on May 22, 2001, at age 66. He is buried in Fort Worth.

Discography

Shadow 104: Jim Harless and the Lonesome Valley Boys - Banjo Bells / Rock & Roll Fever Ain't Got Me 

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• Rockin' Country Style entry
• Thanks to Jim Harless' daughter-in-law Brenda, who gave us a little insight into his career.

Gene Jones

Gene Jones & the Drifters - Pride (Mississippi Sound No.#), 1979
My friend Marshal and I have been into the careers of the Jones family, four siblings that made a few country records in the 1970s. Although being active in Louisiana, they originally hailed from Mississippi. Marshal found another part of their puzzle with a previously unknown recording of Gene Jones.

Gene A. Jones was born on August 11, 1935, in Waynesboro, Mississippi, to Luther Edward and Rose Elmedia Jones. Jones' middle name was Autry, so he was named after singing cowboy star Gene Autry. Gene grew up in a musical talented family, his brothers Luke and Devon as well as his sister Nancy became recording artists well. All of the siblings - eight in total - played music instruments and often they would gather to play music together. Although Mississippi born, many of the Jones siblings were drawn to Louisiana and so was Gene - at least for some time. In 1955, Jones married Carol Jean Glover on St. Charles, Louisiana. She was his lifelong wife. They later returned to Jones' Mississippi home.

The Joneses made music throughout their lives and performed under the name of the "Roseland Drifters", playing such venues as the Moose Lodge in Natchitoches Parish or the Rose Room in New Orleans. THeir repertoire consisted mainly of cover song by artists such as Kitty Wells, Faron Young, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and others. In the 1970s, they began making recordings. Devon and Nancy Jones had a record out in the early 1970s. One of the songs, "Set You Free", was later also recorded by Gene Jones. Both Gene and Luke Jones made recordings at Precision Recording Studio in Picayune, Mississippi, a small city just across the border from Louisiana. 

The recordings at Precision resulted in one single under Luke's name and another one under Gene's name, which included his version of his siblings' song "Set You Free" plus a twangy, steel guitar-drenched song entitled "Pride". It appeared on the small Mississippi Sound label from Picayune. This is the only known record of Gene Jones. We couldn't find any newspaper mentions of him except for his obituary, though he performed in public frequently.

Jones lived around New Orleans for many years but later moved to Kentwood, Louisiana, a small town just south of the state border to Mississippi. Gene Jones passed away on October 24, 1984, at the age of 49 years. He is buried at Ellis Cemetery in Franklinton, Louisiana.

Discography

Mississippi Sound No.#: Gene Jones & the Drifters - Set You Free / Pride (1979)

See also
• Devon & Nancy / Luke Jones

Sources
• Thanks to Shannon Possoit and Debbie Cagle for providing additional information on their family's career and for Marshal Martin conducting the interview.
• Find a Grave entry
• Obituary (The Daily Star, October 24, 1986)

Adron Jumper on Landmark

Adron Jumper - I'd Hate to Be the Man (Landmark 45-102), 1962

Country, gospel, and rockabilly singer Adron Jumper is one of the great unknowns in rockabilly music. He orbited around Memphis for some time and worked with Eddie Bond a few years but he never broke out of the local scene.

Adron Claude Jumper was born on September 7, 1939, just east of Forrest City, Arkansas, in a little town called Palestine. His parents, Homer Dixon Jumper and Christine Grace Dover, had married a year earlier and he was the oldest of six children. Mother Christine was active as a minister in the local Twin Assembly of God Church and she passed on her faith to her children.

Adron Jumper

By the late 1950s, Jumper was active in Memphis, where he met Delores Chipman and married her in 1959. He was a salesman by day but performed music as a sideline. In the early 1960s, he performed frequently at Eddie Bond's Ranch and took also part in his touring shows sometimes. Possibly his first record was on the local Forrest City based Landmark label featuring two gospel songs, "Not a Landmark Left Behind" and "I'd Hate to Be the Man".

His best known disc came out on the vanity Forrest label (possibly his own) featuring "Crawdad Song" and "You Know That I Know". The songs were recorded in 1965 at Roland Janes' Sonic studio with his relatives Kevin and Gene Jumper in the backing band. "Crawdad Song", a reworking of the folk standard "Crawdad Hole", is Jumper's "claim to fame", as its rock'n'roll sound qualified it for release on two Buffalo Bop compilations in the 1980s and 1990s.

He then recorded for Eddie Bond's Stomper Time and G-Zackie labels in 1963, for Shack in 1967, and for another Forrest City label, Twin. Jumper lived all of his life in Palestine and, like his mother, was active in the Twin Assembly of God Church there. Tragic struck in 1966, when his infant daughter Andrea died.

Adron Jumper died on May 25, 2000, at the age of 60 years and is buried at Bell Cemetery in Palestine. A year later, Dave Travis released two of Jumper's Stomper Time recordings on a compilation CD.

Discography

Landmark 101/2: Adron Jumper - Not a Landmark Left Behind / I'd Hate to Be the Man (1962)
G-Zackie GZ-3565: Adron Jumper - The Joker /  Sammy Ardell - If I See You Tomorrow (1963)
Stomper Time ST-101: Adron Jumper - Just a Waste of Time / Someday I Will (1963)
Forrest 101: Adron Jumper & the Wheels - Crawdad Song / You Know That I Know (1965)
Shack 45-201: Adron Jumper - Who Am I / Satisfied / Remind Me Dear Lord / One Day Nearer Home (1967)
Twin TR103: Adron Jumper - The Suns Coming Up in  the Morning / He's Coming Closer Now Than It Has Ever Been

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Gospel Jubilee entry

The Sabers

The Fabulous Sabers

"For Your Dancing Pleasure"

The Sabers, sometimes also known as "The Fabulous Sabers", was a Northeast Arkansas based rock'n'roll band. They are predominantly known for recording with Sonny Deckelman but also had records out in their own right. The Sabers were rock'n'rollers of second generation: born in the 1940s, they grew up to hearing the music of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and locals like Sonny Burgess and Billy Lee Riley in their formative years, and didn't begin performing until the early 1960s.

The Sabers originally consisted of Kenny Trigg on vocals and saxophone, Don Trigg on lead guitar, Bob McPherson on bass, and Gary Lynn Creason on drums. Eventually, the group also included such musicians as Dub Phelps on bass, Jim Murray on drums as well as Noel Key and Dennis Morgan, although it is unclear which instrument they performed. Creason was the older brother of Sammy Creason, who also became a drummer and later found fame as a studio musician himself. The members came from the Jonesboro region - McPherson hailed from Bay but lived in Trumann most of his life and Creason was born in Jonesboro.

The Jonesboro Sun, September 21, 1970

The Sabers came to the attention of local country and rockabilly singer Sonny Deckelman, who had founded his own record label Van-Deck Records in Harrisburg in 1959. The Sabers recorded their debut release for his label the next year, coupling "Streets of Laredo", a band original, with "Walk Softly" (Van-Deck #114). There was a Memphis based group who recorded for Co & Wi and RCT in the 1960s called "Le Sabres", which was a different group altogether. However, the Sabers also recorded in Memphis in 1965 at Slim Wallace's Fernwood studio. The results, "I'll Fly High" and "Oh What'd I Do", were released on the Silver-Dollar label from Memphis.

The second half of the decade saw the Sabers working with Sonny Deckelman, backing him up on his own recordings as well as on productions by other Van-Deck artists (including Chuck Bell, Bill Urfer, and Paul Ellzey). They also appeared frequently with Bobby Lee Trammell and as a solo act at such venues as the Cotton Club (Trumann), the C&R Club (Trumann), the P&L Club (Paragould), and Benny's Club (Paragould). They also performed at fairs and other events. In 1972, the band had another record out on the Jonesboro based WHAM label, which was credited to the band's drummer at the time, Jim Murray, who had joined in 1964.

The Sabers continued to perform locally into the 1980s. Drummer Gary Creason died in 2001 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Bob McPherson in 2025 in Jonesboro. Jim Murray still resides in Jonesboro and the Trigg brothers seem to be still around, too. A couple of their recordings have been reissued, including "I'll Fly High" on the 2011 "Lost Souls, Vol. 3" compilation.

Discography

Van-Deck 114: Sabers - Streets of Laredo / Walk Softly (1960)
Silver-Dollar 1003: Sabers - I'll Fly High / Oh What'd I Do (1965)
Van-Deck 119: Paul Ellzey / Music by the Sabers - How's the World Treating You / There Stands the Glass (1968)
Van-Deck 120: Chuck Bell / Music by the Sabers - High as a Mountain / Oh What a Feeling (1968)
Van-Deck 122: Sonny Deckelman / Music by the Sabers - Lonely Weekends / I'll Be Alright (1968)
WHAM WRS-1967: Jim Murray - Longhair / Wipeout - 72 (1972)

See also
• Jim Murray on WHAM!

Sources

• 45cat entry

• Gary Creason Find a Grave Entry

• Bob McPherson Find a Grave Entry

• Discogs

• Rock'n'Roll Schallplatten Forum (German)

Charley Maybee on Rimrock

Charley Maybee - It's Lonely Out Tonight (Rimrock 208), 1966)
In a time when it seems all of the great rockabilly recordings have been discovered, the "country hick" sound is getting more prominent as the next big thing. A music field that has not been explored by thousands of collectors and researchers with lots of great unknown and undiscovered records. Charley Maybee probably belongs into this field, his "Little Judy" became one of those "country hicks" favorites.

Charles Edward "Charley" Maybee was born on August 23, 1941, in Alpena, Boone and Carroll Counties, Arkansas, to Garvin E. and Amie Pearl Sneed Maybee. Maybee had an older brother, J.R., and a sister, Lucille. He grew up in Alpena, a small town of 300 people near Harrison. 

As a young man, Maybee worked as a pipeliner and as a traveling furniture installer, mostly furnishing  churches for Turney Wood Products of Harrison. He was also a talented musician and had his own band for many years. He cut a few unreleased songs, including covers of "Night Train to Memphis" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", and recorded in the 1960s for Wayne Raney's Rimrock Records out of Concord, Arkansas.

His debut "Little Judy" b/w "I'm Writting You a Letter" (Rimrock #202) was released in 1966 as one of the label's earliest discs and became a favorite with European rockabilly collectors since the late 1990s. Maybee had a second release on Rimrock from the same year, "It's Lonely Out Tonight" b/w "I'm Putting the Collar on You" (#208). With his band, he traveled the country and played shows with many different artists.

Maybee married Barbara Auman in 1971 and the couple gave birth to a son, Kavan Brooks. This ended his traveling days and he concentrated in building his businesses. He had a full-service gas station in Alpena, purchased the Snack Shack, then operated the first supermarket in Alpena and finally ran Maybee Family Corp., a road construction business. After 20 years, he called it a day and retired to simple farming life. 

Charley Maybee passed away on January 18, 2022, at the age of 80 years in Alpena, where he is also buried. 

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat entry

Vernon Stewart

The Vernon Stewart Story

Vernon Howard Stewart was born on March 31, 1927, to John O. and Mabel Stewart. For a while, the family lived in Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, but by the advent of the 1940s, had returned to Yell County, Arkansas. Stewart served his country during World War II in the US Army as a technician. He had married by 1950 and lived with his first wife, his son, and his daughter in adjacent Pope County. He later married Betty Abernathy.

Vernon Stewart, late 1950s

Musically inclined, Stewart started out as a singer and musician around 1949, performing in and around Russellville, Arkansas. He became a DJ on KXRJ in 1956 and by 1958, was associated with the likes of Carl Blankenship and "Little" George Domerese, two popular performers in the areas around Russellville, Clarksville, and Fort Smith. Blankenship had recently started his own label, Razorback Records in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Stewart got the chance for a release. "I'm Tired of Making Believe" b/w "I'll Still Love You" (Razorback #102), both his own compositions, were two country performances that appeared around May-June 1958.

Like Blankenship and Domerese did, Stewart organized a new country stage show in Dardanelle, Arkansas, which started around March 1959. The same year, he and his band, the Skyliners, started recording for the Illinois based Blue J record label, which resulted in two singles in 1959. Stewart followed up with two more singles for Peach Records from Georgia. His Peach recordings included a remake of "I'm Tired of Making Believe" (1960) and "Mean Mean Baby" (1961); the latter was included on a few rockabilly compilations. 

He transferred from Peach to the Nashville based Chart imprint in 1962 and it was this recording deal that bestowed him with his first and only hit record. "The Way It Feels to Die" reached #17 in Billboard's Hot Country Singles in February 1963 and was picked up by Vee-Jay in March. Another record appeared in September on Vee-Jay, which could not repeat the success of its precursor. 

Stewart kept working for KXJR through 1963 and became a member of the Country Music Association a year later. However, he took a long break from recording and apparently, rather set his mind on producing records. As far as I'm concerned, Stewart got involved in a local record company from his home Yell County in Arkansas, the Tagg label. The company had several releases in 1964 and 1965 but folded afterwards. He had another shot at the record market with a single on Rimrock in 1966.

Stewart cut a single for his own Vernon label in 1974, which seems to be his last record issued. Vernon Stewart died on September 23, 1981, at age 54. He is buried at Rest Haven Memorial Park in Russellville.

Discography

Razorback 45-102: I'm Tired of Making Believe / I'll Still Love You (1958)
Blu-J BJ-303: Stay In My Arms As You Stay In My Heart / Once to Many Times (1959)
Blu-J BJ-304: Christmas Tree in Heaven / Down to the Blues (1959)
Peach 740: I'm Tired of Making Believe / I'll Still Love You (1960)
Peach 751: Mean Mean Baby / Heal This Old Heart (1961)
Chart Y-501: The Way It Feels to Die / You're Not All Here (1962)
Vee Jay VJ 488: The Way It Feels to Die / You're Not All Here (1963)
Vee Jay VJ 559: Tarnished Angel / Up on the Hill (at the Big Mans House) (1963)
Rimrock 214: Wondering If I Should Call You / If Someone (Don't Get in the Way) (1966)
Vernon LH 12741/2: Even Our Little Girl Knows / You Found Someone Else to Love (1974)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• Rockin' Country Style

• Rocky-52.net page

• Discogs

• Official census records access through Ancestry.com

Homer Monroe on Silvia

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

Fort Payne Journal May 13, 1958

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

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

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

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

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

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat

• Official census records accessed through Ancestry.com

• DeSoto Theatre on cinematreasures.com

Johnny Rion on Open Road

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recommended reading

• British Archive of Country Music

• Discogs

• SecondHandSongs

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

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Ann Rion obituary

• 45cat entry / 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Gospel Jubilee entry

George Stonebreaker on Bejay

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

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

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

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

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

See also
• Ben Jack on Bejay

Sources
• Discogs
• Find a Grave entry

The Harden Trio on Columbia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sandy Coker on Decca

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

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

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

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

The Coker Family in 1956

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

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

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

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

Charlie V. Looper

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

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

Batesville Guard
July 24, 1958

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

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

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

Discography

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

Sources

• 45cat entry

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

• Find a Grave entry

• Official census records accessed through Ancestry.com

Billy Ray Reynolds on Epic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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


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

Sources

• 45cat entry

• International Movie Database

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

• SecondHandSongs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Find a Grave entry

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

• Billy Ray Reynolds - Remembers Waylon Jennings

Bill Wimberly on Mercury

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources

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

• 45cat entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Find a Grave entry

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