Bud Standridge on SOH (Select-O-Hits)

Bud Standridge and the Mesilla Valley Boys - What Have You Got (SOH 016), 1972

Here we have another enjoyable Memphis country record from the 1970s. It's Bud Standridge and his Mesilla Valley Boys with "What Have You Go" backed by "Morning" on SOH 016 from 1972. I looked it up, the Mesilla Valley is located in South New Mexico and West Texas along the Rio Grande from Radium Springs, New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas.

The singer's full name was probably Lloyd Victor Standridge, judging from the composer credits, and I found several Lloyd Standridges living in Arkansas but only one Lloyd Victor Standridge from Del Rio, Texas, which is more than 400 miles away from El Paso, though. He was born in Del Rio on July 25, 1935, and died there on December 26, 1992, at the age of 57. He was buried in San Miguel, Doña Ana County, New Mexico, which is indeed located in Mesilla Valley so I guess, we have the right Lloyd Victor Standridge here.

"Organ Mountains resemble a giant organ extending into the sky. These are the stately guardians
of the Mesilla Valley, through which runs the Rio Grande River" (from the back of this post card)

I don't have an answer to the question how he got to Memphis but obviously he did. Standridge had two records out on SOH, a shortcut for Select-O-Hits, which was a record store and retail shop operated by Tom Phillips, Sam Phillips' brother, on Chelsea Avenue. The company had several record labels throughout the years, including SOH, which was active from 1970 to 1974. Select-O-Hits is still in existence, though rather in the distribution field.

Back to Standridge. He returned to the Mesilla Valley region, where he and his band continued to perform. They had another release on the Goldust label, which was based in Mesilla Park, New Mexico.

Discography

SOH 014: Webb of Love / It's a Lie (ca. 1972)

SOH 016: What Have You Got / Morning (1972)
Goldust 45-5045: Party Lights / The Hands You're Holding Now

Sources

• Find a Grave entry
• Family Search entry
• Discogs
• 45cat entry for Select-O-Hits

Jimmy Stayton on Chattahoochee

Jimmy Stayton - Your Heart Is My Prison (Chattahoochee CH 661), 1964
About 15 years ago, when I first heard Jimmy Stayton's "Hot Hot Mama", there was virtually no information available on him. This has changed in the last years as Steve Kelemen tracked Stayton down and interviewed him for the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2013. Since then, he has been recognized as Delaware's first rockabilly musician.

James H. Stayton was born August 4, 1939, in Milford, Delaware, near the US Atlantic coast. Milford was a small town with a population around 4,000 at that time and, as Stayton put in, "most of the music in those days was either country, swing, big band or maybe some jazz. I didn't think there was much of a choice." Country music became his first love and Hank Williams his first hero. He was presented with a guitar from his grandfather and Stayton practiced until his finger bled.

In the summer of 1954, Elvis Presley started the rockabilly craze from his Memphis base and it set out all across the southern states. In Delaware, this new brand of music was still unheard, however. In late 1954, Stayton visited his sister in Virginia, where rockabilly was already starting to get popular among young music fans. On a ferry trip there, Stayton heard Presley's version "Blue Moon of Kentucky" in a jukebox and was instantly converted to rockabilly. "I went into a record shop in Norfolk , Virginia, and asked if they had 'Blue Moon of Kentucky'. The owner said that they didn't have it so I told him 'to get on it' because Elvis was going be the biggest thing ever! After that they started to carry his Sun singles," Stayton told Steve Kelemen.

In 1955, Stayton met guitarist Morton Marker at a talent contest in Dover, Delaware. Marker and his sister were contestants there, too, and apart from that, Walker backed up Stayton on the show. Both had the same taste in music and decided to start as a band with Stayton on vocals and rhythm guitar, Marker on lead guitar and with the addition of drummer Honey Voshell, the group was complete, taking the name "Rocka-Bye Band" (suggested by their manager Reece Harrington). They had no bass player but sometimes used guest musicians on their shows.

Jimmy Stayton and the Rocka-Bye Band, 1956 (from left to right):
Morton Marker (lead guitar), Jimmy Stayton (vocals/rhythm guitar), Honey Voshell (drums)

They started playing shows in places all over Delaware and soon became popular with their brand of music. Rockabilly was still unheard till then and Stayton and his band were probably the first musicians to perform this music style publicly in Delaware. One of the first venues they played was the Milford Canteen, where they used to play in front of a packed house. From there, they went on to perform shows in Frederica, Smyrna, Camden, and Dover. They also started playing shows in other east coast states such as Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia.

In late 1955 or early 1956, Stayton became acquainted with Sam Short, who ran a grocery store in Harrington, Delaware. Out of this store, he also operated the Blue Hen label that had released mostly country music since 1954. Rockabilly became the hottest thing in the country and Short decided to give it a try and recorded Stayton's band. A session was set up at WBOC-TV in Salisbury, Maryland, which produced "Hot Hot Mama" paired with a country flip side, "Why Do You Treat Me This Way". Released in the spring of 1956 on Blue Hen #220, the record was credited to "Jimmy Stayton with Morton & Honey" rather than the "Rocka-Bye Band" but it proved to be a good seller in their three state radius. Moreover, it was the first rockabilly record ever released in the state of Delaware - a pioneering disc in that area.

The success led to another recording session a few months later. On this occasion, Stayton had organized a recording studio in Baltimore, Maryland, and this session produced "You're Gonna Treat Me Right" and "Midnight Blues". By then, the group included Patsy Saunders on drums as Voshell had left following the release of "Hot Hot Mama", and the group became the "Country Cats". However, Saunders was not present at the second session and the line-up instead included a bassist. Stories differ how they picked them up - Morton Marker recalled they met him while playing the Sunset Park in Westgrove, Pennsylvania, and used him on several shows, while Stayton later remembered him as a studio musician.

However, both songs were prime examples of rockabilly with its sparse line-up and appeared in late 1956 in Blue Hen #224. Though they continued to perform successfully until 1958, no more recordings were made. That year, Stayton joined the US Army and was sent overseas to Germany. It meant the end of the Country Cats. Stayton got to know his future wife in Germany and upon his return, moved to California, where he attended college.

Music was still on his mind. While in California, he signed a recording contract with 20th Century Fox (Stayton later claimed that Robert Mitchum had a hand in it) and his debut on the label, "More Than You'll Ever Know" b/w "Losers Can't Win", was released in 1962. It was the first nationally distributed record for Staytion as Blue Hen had no proper distribution network (records were sold from the counter of Short's grocery store for example). However, the record did not reach the charts and shortly afterwards, Stayton returned to Delaware.

He was soon back at recording, again with Sam Short, and recorded for Short's and "Bailin' Wire" Bob Strack's Del-Ray label, which Stayton later co-owned, too. The A side was "The Hep Old Frog", a novelty comedy number that he had written back in California for a Hollywood-produced Hanna Barbera TV cartoon that never came into existence. It was paired with a Don Gibson-styled, very commercial country number, "The Only One (for Me)", on Del-Ray #212 in 1963. Another single followed on Del-Ray under the pseudonym of "Leappo the Frog" with more frog-themed novelty content.

Probably his last record came in 1964 for Ruth Conte's Chattahoochee label from Los Angeles. "Politickin's Here" was a humorous comment on politics and election campaigns, while "Your Heart Is My Prison" is another enjoyable country performance. My copy of the record has "Area Test Record" on its label written, whatever that means.

Stayton told Kelemen that he had enough of music at one point in his life and became a salesman at WKEN in Dover, an occupation he held for 15 years. He also was a DJ on that station for some time. Eventually, he formed a new band, the Country Sounds and returned to performing. He also wrote a new song, "The Ballad of Herman Brown" for Republican Herman Brown's 1968 election campaign.

In the 1990s, European rockabilly CD compilation started featuring Stayton's songs "Hot Hot Mama" and "You're Gonna Treat Me This Way". They had been forgotten for years and so had been Stayton. Collectors and researchers failed to track him down until 2013, when Steve Kelemen succeeded and conducted an interview with both Stayton and Morton Walker for the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In the wake of his rediscovery, Knock Out Records released a CD of Stayton's recordings that also includes a lot of originally unissued material. Since then, Stayton and his band have been acknowledged several times as Delaware's first rock'n'roll recording artists.

Stayton nowadays resides in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, while Morton Marker lives in Glendora, California. Honey Voshell remained active as a musician in Delaware and opened a music shop in Felton, "The Drum Pad".

Discography

Blue Hen 220: Jimmy Stayton with Morton & Honey - Hot Hot Mama / Why Do You Treat Me This Way (1956)
Blue Hen 224: Jimmy Stayton and the Country Cats - You're Gonna Treat Me Right / Midnight Blues (1956)
20th Fox 310: James H. Stayton - More Than You'll Ever Know / Losers Can't Win (1962)
Del-Ray 212: Jimmy Stayton - The Hep Old Frog / The Only One (for Me) (1963)
Del-Ray 213: Leappo (The Frog) - Christmas in Frogville / Look Before You Leap (1963)
Chattahoochee 45-6x: Politickin's Here (Nobody Needs Automation) / Your Heart Is My Prison (1964)

Recommended reading

• Dead Wax: Christmas in Frogville

• Bear Family Records (Knock Out CD)

Sources

• Blue Hen Records (Greater Harrington Historical Society)

• Rockabilly Hall of Fame interviews (Wayback Machine)

• Jimmy Stayton on the Delaware Rock and Roll Society website

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• 45cat entry

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

Johnny Hughes on UBC

Johnny Hughes - Pretty Little Girl (UBC 1017), 1960

Pre-teenage Johnny Hughes cut three records for the Fort Smith, Arkansas, based UBC label in 1960 and 1961. We feature his debut release from December 1960, "Johnny Blue" b/w "Pretty Little Girl". The exact artist credit on this disc reads "(12 Year Old) Johnny Hughes", which places his birth date around 1948.

And indeed, further research substantiated this date. John Lee Hughes was born October 23, 1948, in Midwest City, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City. He was born to Floyd A. and Thyra Juanita Hughes and had a couple of siblings. The family later moved to the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Oklahoma City, where Hughes started his career as a singer. He attended several music schools to train his voice and also took up the guitar.

By 1959, Hughes began making appearances in the city and surrounding areas and his mother Juanita began acting as his manager. A year later, Hughes was popular enough that UBC Records from Fort Smith, Arkansas, became interested in the young boy and signed a recording contract with him. Hughes' recordings for UBC were teenage rock'n'roll and aimed at the flourishing teen market, although he was likely a bit too young for that target group. His debut session was likely cut in Oklahoma City, as Bobby Boyd, who also owned the Boyd label there, produced today's disc. "Johnny Blue" b/w "Pretty Little Girl" was released at the tail end of 1960 and according to former radio KOMA's Wax Museum curator Larry Neal, "Johnny Blue" became a local hit in Oklahoma City. 

Johnny Hughes in 1963

UBC had possibly high hopes to build Hughes as a kiddie star. After his debut, UBC also released "After Tonight" b/w "Junior High Doll", which was recorded in Nashville with the Jordanaires, and "Doll Baby" b/w "Grounded", both in 1961. Some of Hughes recordings were written by some of the top names in the business. For example, "Johnny Blue" was penned by Jerry Crutchfield and Gerald Nelson, and "Junior High Doll" was composed by Mae Axton (co-author of "Heartbreak Hotel") and Lew Williams (rockabilly recording artist for Imperial).

Billboard May 22, 1961, pop review

UBC had possibly high hopes to build Hughes as a kiddie star. Although "Junior High Doll" became another strong seller in Oklahoma City, Hughes' records never brought him the desired breakthrough and he was dropped from the UBC roster soon after. He teamed up with another young singer, Debbie Ray, who also hailed from Midwest City, and appeared with her on several occasions in the region. Hughes' mother organized an audition at Rainbow Studios in Hollywood, California, and a contract was signed for a session in 1963, although no records are known to have been released.

Hughes remained in the music business and led a band known as the Fender Benders from 1965 up to 1968. This group played extensively across the state of Oklahoma. He later worked as a trim carpenter but unfortunately, it escapes me what Hughes did music-wise after the 1960s. Johnny Hughes passed away May 7, 2004, at the age of 55 years in Norman, Oklahoma.

If you have more information on Johnny Hughes, please feel free to leave a comment or share your memories via e-mail with us.

Discography

UBC 1017/18: (12 Year Old) Johnny Hughes - Johnny Blue / Pretty Little Girl (December 1960)
UBC 1024: Johnny Hughes - After Tonight / Junior High Doll (May 1961)
UBC 1034: Johnny Hughes - Doll Baby / Grounded (1961)

Sources

• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry

• Johnny Hughes - Junior High Doll YouTube video (info in comment section)

Johnny Mystery on Tagg

Johnny Mystery and the Phantoms - The Big Deal (Tagg 6402), 1964

There is neither substantial info available on Johnny Mystery and his band, the Phantoms, nor on Tagg Records from the small town of Plainview, Arkansas. The city is located roughly halfway between Little Rock and Fort Smith in the forested hills of Yell County. It was a growing city in the early 20th century thanks to the lumber industry but once the sawmill was closed, its population declined and Plainview suffered from different problems.

The Tagg label had several releases out in 1964 by different artists (and always different producers) as well as one more release in 1965. The artists seem to be local as I could not find any info on most of them either. It is noteworthy to mention that Memphis country music stalwart Eddie Bond had two releases on Tagg, including his version of the blues standard "Big Boss Man".

"The Big Deal" was written by producer Bob Scheick, while the flip side was penned by the team of Newhart and Johnson, who were possibly members of the Phantoms. The Phantoms also accompanied Tagg recording artist Skip Haston, who recorded another Newhart-Johnson song, "Ozark Waltz" (its flip, "Skip's Boogie" was reissued on Collector Records "Wild Rock & Roll Instrumentals" CD). This disc was produced by Haston. Other producers on the label included Oklahoma DJ Bob LaFitte (producing his own release), Arkansas born musician James D. Hastings and Pappy Goodman.

Fellow blogger and music collector Bob gave me a hint that the Tagg label probably featured the involvement of Arkansas DJ Vernon H. Stewart (1927-1981), who recorded for different labels between 1958-1974, including for Carl Blankenship's Razorback label. However, details sadly escape us on his involvement.

If someone has more information on Tagg Records or Johnny Mystery, please feel free to either leave a comment or contact me via the e-mail formula.

See also

• Tagg Records discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• Discogs

• Rockin' Country Style entry

• Tagg Records 45cat entry

• Bob LaFitte Find a Grave entry

• James D. Hastings obituary
• Thanks to Bob

Carolina Cotton & Bob Wills on MGM

Carolina Cotton with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Three Miles South of Cash in Arkansas (MGM 11288), 1952

A versatile entertainer, Carolina Cotton was active in various fields of the business, being an actor, a singer and musician, a rodeo rider, and much more. She was raised in Northeast Arkansas and one of her most famous songs, though she never reached the charts, was "3 Miles South of Cash in Arkansas", covered her upbringing in this area. She was known to have various nicknames, including the "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell".

She was born Helen Hagstrom on October 20, 1925, in Cash, Arkansas, to Fred and Helen Hagstrom, who had a farm outside of Cash, raising cotton and peanuts. Cash was a small village with less than 200 habitants, located just west of Jonesboro. It was a hard life and the Great Depression made it even harder, therefore father Fred moved his family to San Francisco, California, in 1937.

Hagstrom began her career by appearing in traveling stage shows, including the O'Neille Sisters Kiddie Revue. She regularly watched shows by Dude Martin and his Roundup Gang on KYA. Martin, a local Bay Area country music performer, asked her to join his group, after the band's yodeler left and Hagstrom came in as a replacement - although she had never yodeled before. It was at that time that Hagstrom was named Carolina by Martin. The yodeling became one of her signatures.

Her next career step came when she met songwriter Johnny Marvin while picking up costumes in Hollywood. Marvin soon after offered a role in the film "Sing, Neighbor, Sing" with Roy Acuff, which Hagstrom accepted. She made the move to Hollywood in 1944 and began a career as an actor, appearing in various B western movies along such stars as Ken Curtis, Eddy Arnold, and Gene Autry throughout the 1940s and early 1950s.

1944 Billboard ad for Spade Cooley,
incl. Carolina Cotton

Musically, she placed herself in the western swing genre rather than in  western and cowboy music like fellow actors such as Autry (though both styles are very contiguous). She joined Spade Cooley's western swing orchestra in 1944 as a vocalist and a year later, married orchestra member Deuce Spriggins. They left Cooley and formed their own group, performing at the Western Palisades Saloon, making appearances in four movies and even recording for Mercury. Though, after only three months, it came apparent that the marriage won't last and they divorced in 1946.

Carolina Cotton in the studio, likely 1940s

By then, Hagstrom had received her full stage name "Carolina Cotton", either due to Cooley or west coast DJ Cottonseed Clark. She signed with King Records in 1946, having two singles released, including her self-written "3 Miles South of Cash in Arkansas". She then recorded for Crystal and Mastertone and finally, beginning in 1950, for MGM.

Through the second part of the 1940s, she regularly performed with such acts as Hank Penny in 1946 (whose band backed her up for King), and with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys in 1947. She also guested on various radio and television shows, including the Hoffman Hayride, KMPC Country Carnival Barn Dance, KLAC-TV's Ranch Time and KTLA-TV's Sunset Ranch, among others. She also hosted her own DJ show on KGER in Los Angeles.

During her two-years stint with MGM, she recorded two sessions, one in Nashville and one in Hollywood. It was on her second session on September 17, 1951, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood that she was backed up by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, recording five songs, including a remake of "Three Miles South of Cash (in Arkansas)". It saw release on MGM #11288 around July 1952 with "I'm All Alone" on the flip side but did not reach the charts. It was her second to last MGM disc, followed by "Boo Hoo Blues" b/w "Yodel, Yodel, Yodel" (#11329) a few months later. Though she had a rather sporadically recording career in commercial terms, Hagstrom left behind a wealth of recordings, consisting also of radio and TV transcriptions as well as movie soundtracks.

August 2, 1952, Billboard folk review

She made her last movie appearances in 1952 in "Blue Canadian Rockies" and "Apache Country" with Gene Autry. During the first half of the 1950s, Hagstrom did various USO tours, entertaining troops in Europe, Korea, and other countries. She was also part of various AFRS radio transcriptions for overseas troop entertainment, including her own show "Carolina Cotton Calls". While being on her last USO in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1956, she visited children hospitals and decided to work for the future of the disabled and poor, if she would ever get out of show business.

By the mid 1950s, western swing and B western movies had gotten out of fashion and Hagstrom ceased her appearances. She married musician Bill Ates in 1956, with whom she had two children but they had divorced by the early 1960s. Although she would appear at rodeos, parades, western film festivals, and other special events throughout the years, she went into education, earning a masters degree, and worked as a teacher for the next decades. She moved to Bakersfield in the 1970s.

In 1994, Hagstrom was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer and retired in March 1997 from her work as a teacher, spending her last months in hospital. Helen Hagstrom alias Carolina Cotton passed away on June 10, 1997, at the age of 71 years.

Her daughter Sharon keeps her legacy alive, running a website and Facebook fan page in memory of her mother. German Cattle Records released two albums with Hagstrom's recordings, 1993's "I Love to Yodel" and 2003's "Yodel, Yodel, Yodel". In the 2000s, Kit Fox Records released three volumes of her recordings entitled "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell", also including many of her non-commercial transcriptions and radio recordings.

Discography

King 572: Carolina Cotton - Three Miles South of Cash (In Arkansas) / Singing on the Trail (1946)
Crystal 157: Carolina Cotton - You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Finger / Chime Bells (1948)
King 816: Carolina Cotton - Mocking Bird Yodel / I Love to Yodel (1949)
Mastertone: Carolina Cotton - Put Your Shoes on Lucy / The Hoosegow Serenade (1949)
MGM 10692: Carolina Cotton - You're Getting a Good Girl / Betcha I Getcha (1950)
MGM 10798 Carolina Cotton - Boo Hoo Blues / Lovin' Duckin' Daddy (1950)
MGM 11130: Carolina Cotton with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - 'Cause I'm in Love / You Always Keep Me in Hot Water (1951)
MGM 11288: Bob Wills & Carolina Cotton with the Texas Playboys - I'm All Alone / Three Miles South of Cash in Arkansas (1952)
MGM 11329: Carolina Cotton - Nola / Yodel, Yodel, Yodel (1952)

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• International Movie Database entry

• Official Fanpage

• 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Discogs

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

Cecil Buffalo on Sho-Boat

Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - The Big Red (Sho-Boat 102), 1964
Cecil Buffalo was obviously a big football fan, as the majority of his recorded output were football themed. He had a short music career while studying in Little Rock and was associated with J. Paul Scott, who wrote several Arkansas football related songs.

Cecil Miles Buffalo, Jr., was born on November 28, 1944, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Cecil Miles, Sr., and Melba Rose Buffalo. Buffalo had two sisters, Connie Jean and Shearon. In the early 1960s, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and eventually earned an Art degree.

While being a student at UA, Buffalo had a short-lived career in music, as he began recording for local Arkansas labels in 1964. The Arkansas Razorbacks football team was as popular and successful as ever at that time and the same year, Buffalo and a band known as "The Prophets" recorded "The Big Red" (about the Razorbacks' 1964 win over Texas) and "The Wild Hogs". Both songs were written and produced by J. Paul Scott, who was responsible for several Razorbacks themed songs and even a whole Razorbacks album. In fact, Buffalo and the Prophets were present at the actual game, performing another J. Paul Scott song "Jon Brittenum, Quarterbackin' Man".

By then, Buffalo was probably living in Hot Springs, Arkansas. "The Big Red" b/w "The Wild Hogs" were released on the Sho-Boat label (#102), which had ties to the city as well - although I'm not quite sure if the label was actually based in Hot Springs. He had another record out on Marshall E. Ellis' Zone label from Memphis, comprising "Crazy Eyes" and "Don't Hold Your Breath Till I Cry" (#Z-1075, 1964).

Probably the following year, Buffalo recorded one more of Scott's songs, "Razorback Number One", which was coupled with a garage instrumental by a local band called the "Five Sounds". Both recordings were released first by the GalARK label and then by Lakeside Records from Hot Springs. All three of his recordings were also featured on the LP "The Big Red Album" on Bobby Crafford's Razorback label.

It seems that Buffalo maintained music as a sideline and took a day job to earn a living. He later owned Buffalo Oil Company in Hot Springs. I found another mention of him in the 1970 Catalog of Copyrights with his composition "Scooter Joe".

Cecil Buffalo passed away on August 17, 2010, in Hot Springs. He is buried at Edgewood Memorial Park in North Little Rock.

Discography

Sho-Boat 102: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - The Big Red / The Wild Hogs (1964)
Zone Z-1075: Cecil Buffalo - Crazy Eyes / Don't Hold Your Breath Till I Cry (1964)
GalARK 2001: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - Razorback Number One / The Five Sounds - Clumsy Dragon (ca. 1965)
Lakeside 2001: Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets - Razorback Number One / The Five Sounds - Clumsy Dragon (ca. 1965)
Buffalo BR 809: Cecil Buffalo, Jr. - Rootin' the Razorbacks On / Razorbacks, Razorbacks

Sources

• Discogs

• Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Obituary

• Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entry

• Orville Henry, Jim Bailey: "The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas Football" (University of Arkansas Press), 1996, page 222

• George Schroeder: "Hogs! A History" (Fireside), 2005, page 53

Verna May on Twin Town Productions

Verna May - Mama Call Me Home (Twin Record Productions No.#), ca. 1972
This caught my eye as the label was located in North Miami, Florida. I couldn't come up with any substantial information on Verna May, therefore we focus on the label.

Twin Record Productions was a label active in the 1960s and 1970s. A division of Bill Stith's Trip Universal from North Miami, it was also associated with Stith's "Great World of Sound" (GWS) imprint. Stith was a musician, songwriter, and producer originally from Cincinnati, who was operating several labels and companies during the 1960s and 1970s. He also released a few singles under his own name.

Arranger of this disc was William George "Bud" Reneau, who was a songwriter, producer, and record label owner. Reneau was involved with Stith's business as well as operating his own Saxony label with Paul Trefzger in Cincinnati. He wrote several hit songs and produced/arranged records for Musicor, Nugget, Jamie, among others. Doyle Marsh, who is the co-writer of Verna May's "Mama Call Me Home", often wrote songs with Reneau.

The Twin Record Productions label first came onto the scene in 1968 and had more than 100 releases. It lasted at least until 1973.

Sources
• Discogs
• Bill Stith 45cat entry
• Bud Reneau Discogs entry
• Bud Reneau SecondHandSongs

B. Bumble & the Stingers on Rendezvous

B. Bumble & the Stingers - Apple Knocker (Rendezvous R-179), 1962
I recently acquired a couple of records by B. Bumble & the Stingers. I mainly bought them because of the band's catchy name. I wasn't familiar with neither their story nor their music and for years, I had assumed them to be some kind of a mid-west rock'n'roll band. Little did I know! I was surprised when I found out B. Bumble & the Stingers was the name of an ever-changing line-up of California studio musicians.

B. Bumble & the Stingers was the brainchild of black studio musicians Rene Hall, Earl Palmer, and Plas Johnson. All of them hailed from Louisiana but had relocated to California by then and were busy studio musicians of the early 1960s. Due to their hectic studio schedule, they weren't able to tour but nevertheless opted to release recordings to earn make some money along the way. Their first studio project was a rocked up version of the Glenn Miller classic "In the Mood", which was released as by the Ernie Fields Orchestra on Rendezvous Records in 1959, hitting the #4 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 and it also charted in the R&B field. 

Billboard May 1, 1961

Encouraged by this success, Rene hall came up with the idea of B. Bumble & the Stingers, recording a rock'n'roll version of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's classical piece "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" with probably Hall and Tommy Tedesco on guitar, Ernie Freeman on piano, Plas Johnson on saxophone, Red Callender on bass, and Earl Palmer on drums with Kim Fowley producing the session. The piece was based loosely on Jack Fina's arrangement "Bumble Boogie" from 1947 (which had become a #7 hit credited to Freddy Martin & Orch.). Released early in 1961 as "Bumble Boogie" with "School Day Blues" on the flip (Rendezvous #140), the song made the #21 spot on Billboard's Hot 100. The successful principle to rock up classical pieces was set.

As it became obvious, a touring band was needed to handle gigs and promotional appearances. As none of the studio musicians were available, a teenage band from Ada, Oklahoma was engaged to go on tour. This group comprised Fred Richards, Don Orr on drums and R.C. Gamble, who acted as B. "Billy" Bumble on piano. Later incarnations also included Terry Anderson and Jimmy King on guitars.

Their follow-ups to "Bumble Boogie", again recorded with the same group of session musicians, failed to repeat the success. "Boogie Woogie" b/w "Near You" (Rendezvous #151, June 1961), barely made it to the Hot 100, reaching #89 for just one week. Subsequent releases failed to chart altogether and Rendezvous Records started to lose interest in the project.

Producer Kim Fowley had worked out a rock'n'roll arrangement on Tchaikovsky's "March of the Wooden Soldiers" from the Nutcracker Suite, which he copyrighted. Due to Rendezvous' owner Rod Pierce's lack of interest, Fowley took the piece to H.B. Barnum, a pianist who recorded it with his band on Del Rio Records as "Nut Rocker", credited to "Jack B. Nimble and the Quicks". Rod Pierce got word of that release, thought the "original" B. Bumble & the Stingers could do better, and sensed a hit. The group was called back into the studio (with Ernie Freeman being unavailable due to a hangover and spontaneously replaced by Al Hazan).

Released with "Nautilus" on the flip side in early 1962 (Rendezvous #166), the song became a #23 hit for B. Bumble & the Stingers. It became even more popular in the UK, reaching the top of the charts there on the Stateside label. In the wake of this success, Del Rio re-released the original version through Dot as "The Original Nut Rocker". The touring version of the band flew over to the UK for a tour to promote "Nut Rocker" as well as one of its follow-ups, "Apple Knocker", which went nowhere, however.

Billboard July 14, 1962, spotlight review

Of course, the difference between the studio take and live performances were recognizable due to the different line-ups. The studio musicians were professionals, playing on hundreds of recordings a year, while the live members were not (though they probably weren't bad either). It was, in most cases, Rene Hall, who taught them the arrangements of the songs. Though, a difference was there. B. Bumble & the Stingers played the Cavern Club in Liverpool on October 19, 1962, during their UK tour. Spencer Leigh cited David Boyce, an eyewitness to the group's appearance there, in his book "The Cavern Club": "I remember standing in Frank Hessy's the night B. Bumble & the Stingers were on at the Cavern as they wanted to borrow a double-bass. They were travelling around on trains and they had no equipment with them. The drummer had a snare drum and the pianist played the Cavern piano." Leigh further cited Billy Hatton, another witness: "The most disappointing band I ever saw at the Cavern was B. Bumble & the Stingers, but it wasn't all their fault. They featured a piano on 'Nut Rocker'. There was an old upright piano against the wall at the Cavern and no one had tuned it. It wasn't even miked up. The sound wasn't right and you could tell that they weren't into it. I said to the guitarist: 'Do you want someone to stand by the piano with a microphone?' and he said 'No, he's got such a strong left hand, he'll be all right.' They didn't even have a bass player. [...]" 

Billboard May 22, 1961
This was a fake bio of the band, likely made up by Rendezvous Records for better promotion

A few more recordings were made and released on Rendezvous but none of them reached the charts. The band's last disc was released in November 1962, comprising "Baby Mash" b/w "Night Time Madness" (Rendezvous #192). R.C. Gamble, the "live" B. Bumble, to continued to tour under this name for some time and a few more records appeared, produced by Rod Pierce and Kim Fowley, on such labels as Dymo, Wax, and Triad. It is likely that these recordings were made by studio musicians, although the line-up might have differed from the original studio band. Gamble stopped touring as B. Bumble at some point and eventually worked with bands like Spiro and Cornbread in the eastern Oklahoma area.

"Nut Rocker" unexpectedly had a second career in 1972, when Stateside re-released it and the song went straight to the Top 20 again. UK Ace Records released a CD with the complete output plus unreleased recordings of the band in 1995, entitled "Nut Rockers, Bumble Boogie, Apple Knocker, and all the classics". Some of the original touring equipment, donated by Gamble's family, is now in the possession of the Fort Smith Museum of History in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Recommended reading:

• Ace Records' B. Bumble & the Stingers CD on Bear Family Records
• Facebook Fanpage

Sources

• Blackcat Rockabilly

• Nostalgia Central

• 45cat entry

• Spencer Leigh: The Cavern Club: "The Rise of the Beatles and Merseybeat" (McNidder and Grace), 2015

Sonny Meador on Meadowbrook

Sonny Meador - Sweetheart, Can't You Hear Me Crying (Meadowbrook MS-1245), unknown year

Here we have some nice bluegrass music from the state of Arkansas. I wouldn't say bluegrass from the Natural State is exceptionally rare but you don't find such a record from that area too often.

Sonny Meador was probably Elmer Lee Meador, who was born on June 24, 1912, in Bluff City, Ouachita County, Arkansas. He married Goldie Barksdale, with whom he had four children. Meador also fought during World War II in the US Navy.

By the time he began to record, he was already in his sixties, as his three 45rpm singles for the Meadowbrook label probably all came from the early 1970s. One disc contained a song entitled "I'm Going Back to Nevada County". Bluff City is part of Nevada County and located in the southwest of Arkansas, which leads me to the conclusion that Meador was strictly a local artist. Meador died May 27, 1996, at Baptist Hospital in Arkadelphia at the age of 83 years. He is buried in his hometown at Bluff City Cemetery.

There was John Merlino's Meadowbrook label from Detroit but I doubt that the label Meador recorded for is the same company. It was rather his own private venture to release his music. I further suspect that two of his records were pressed by Rimrock.

Discography

Meadowbrook 101: Sonny Meadow - Sometimes I Smile / I'm Going Back to Nevada County (1973)
Meadowbrook 1245: Sonny Meador - Too Old to Handle It But It's On My Mind / Sweetheart, Can't You Hear Me Crying
Meadowbrook 1246: Sonny Meador - It's a Mighty Lonesome Road / You Made Me What I Am Today

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Obituary

Leo Castleberry

Leo Castleberry in the late 1960s
(taken from his Torche LP "Riding the Range for Jesus)

The Star of Hot Springs, Arkansas
The Story of Leo Castleberry

Leo Castleberry was Hot Spring's country music entrepreneur, like there were so many back then in the United States. Memphis had Eddie Bond, Abilene had Slim Willet, Cleveland (Tennessee) had Gene Woods, Little Rock had Tommy Trent - and Hot Springs, Arkansas, had Leo Castleberry.

Leo Alexander Castleberry was born on August 21, 1931, to George W. and Mable A. Castleberry just outside of Hot Springs in the Ouachita Mountains. Castleberry developed a passion for music at an early age but owning a guitar was a distant dream for the poor Castleberry family. A local garden seed company once announced a contest, presenting a violin to the person that sold the most seed. Castleberry took part with determination and won the violin. After some time, his parents bought him a $ 5.00 guitar as they couldn't stand his nightly violin rendition of "Home Sweet Home" anymore. At that time, Castleberry was around twelve years old.

Religion was another strong influence on Castleberry. His grandfather, J.M.S. Merriott, was a traveling preacher and preached the gospel across the hills of Arkansas and eventually, Castleberry and his brother Dale accompanied him on many of his journeys. They rounded out the sermons with singing and guitar playing. Castleberry's deep faith, which was without a doubt shaped by his grandfather, was reflected in the high number of sacred songs he eventually recorded.

He began appearing on local radio stations at the age of 15 years and already had his own show about three years later. He formed the Jessieville Hillbillies while in high school, with whom he also appeared on radio, and after graduating, he started a Sunday morning gospel program in the early 1950s on KTHS that also featured his brothers and members of his future wife's family. They developed into a touring gospel group, playing countless churches in Arkansas and adjacent states.

Castleberry married Opal Whitfield in 1952 and the couple had a total of five sons (of which Bruce unfortunately died as an infant in 1957). His sons Leo Jr., Dennis, Ronnie and Richard ("Ricky") all were musically inclined and later joined his father's music act.

During the 1950s, Castlebery's popularity in and outside of Hot Springs grew. His Sunday morning program was carried by as much as 17 radio stations across the United States. He also appeared on the Grand Ole Opry as well as the Louisiana Hayride and over the years, shared the stage with some of the big names in country music, including Jimmie Davis, George Jones, Billy Grammer, David Houston, Sonny James, Tillman Franks, Slim Whitman, Martha Carson, and several more.

In 1959, Castleberry made his recording debut, a six track sacred material EP (custom pressed by Capitol) that was released on his own Leo label. The disc was credited to the "Leo Castleberry Singers, Hot Springs, Ark." which probably included his family. He followed that release with a rock'n'roll performance, surprisingly, but he jumped on that train a bit too late, it seems. "Teenage Blues" b/w "Come Back to Me" was first released on entrepreneur John Roddie's SPA label in 1960 and then became also the initial release on Roddie's new United Southern Artists label the same year. Castleberry also went on to work as an A&R scout for Roddie and his labels.

It was around that time that Castleberry became active as a business man, establishing Castleberry Riding Stables, Inc., in 1960. He did not only work as an A&R scout but reportedly also had his own recording studio (members of the band "Beau Hannon & the Mint Juleps" remember recording there) and set up more record labels: Torche Recording Company and its subsidiary Castletone Records plus Castletone Publishing, Leo Castleberry Enterprises, and L.A.C. Productions. He released his own music as well as other artists' recordings on both labels. In 1969, he even cut a whole album entitled "Riding the Range for Jesus".

Catalog of Copyright Entries 1976

In the following decades, he continued to work in local radio and TV business (including performing on KBHS and KBLO in Hot Springs  as well as other stationss as late as the 1980s). Castleberry's son Ronnie was a cast member of Hot Springs' Music Mountain Jamboree around the 1980s and 1990s and unfortunately, his son Richard had already died in 1984. Castleberry Riding Stables closed its doors in 2011. Leo Castleberry passed away on June 9, 2016, at the age of 84 years. He is buried at Mountain Valley Cemetery in Mountain Valley near Hot Springs. His wife Opal followed him in 2017.

Discography

45rpm Singles
Leo 10-101: Leo Castleberry Singers - I've Got My One Way Ticket to the Sky / Take My Hand Precious Lord / I'll Tell It Lord Wherever I Go / Way Down Deep in My Soul / Beautiful Life / Oh! What a Friend (1959)
SPA 100-10: Leo Castleberry - Teenage Blues / Come Back to Me (1960)
United Southern Artists 5-101: Leo Castleberry - Teenage Blues / Come Back to Me (1960)
Torche 689C-8373: Leo Lion and the Eagles - I Can't Forget You / Sugar Cane Time / Under the Double Eagle / Why (1964)
Torche 689C-8452: Leo Castleberry with the Plainsmen - My Journey to the Sky / Whatever the Future Holds / ? / ? (1964)
Castletone 689C-2183: AringTones - Great God / Leo Castleberry & Opal with the AringTones - Where Will I Shelter My Sheep / My Lord's So Good to Me / AringTones - Gotta Keep on the Move (1964)
Torche 689 C-4741: Leo Castleberry - Seeing Eye Dog / Bouquet of Roses (1967)

33rpm Albums
Torche 90325: Leo Castleberry with the Plainsmen Quartet - Riding the Range for Jesus (1969)

See also
• United Southern Artists Records
• Sammy Marshall on SPA
• The SPA label
• Music Mountain Jamboree

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• Obituary
• Opal Castleberry obituary
• Rockin' Country Style and Gospel Jubilee entries
• Discogs

The Five Sounds on Lakeside

The Five Sounds - Clumsy Dragon (Lakeside 2001), 1964
The Five Sounds were an instrumental surf and garage rock band from Hot Springs, Arkansas. Not much is known about this group and I had puzzle together this feature from various snippets available on the internet. Some of the information given came from original Five Sounds bassist John Bostic.

Songwriter, lead guitarist and probably leader of the band was Larry Gill, who was likely William Larry Gill (1947-2020). His obituary stated he was an "accomplished musician", so that is probably our man. Gill was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but probably lived in Hot Springs by the early 1960s. Other members of the group included Dan McKinney and Mike Nowell on rhythm guitars, John Bostic on bass, and Lynn Morgan on drums. Their manager was Ron Oberlag.

The Five Sounds, not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name, cut at least two records. They recorded in 1965 for the Majesty label, comprising Gil's compositions "Explosion" and "Emperor Holiday". Strangely, the latter was credited to the "Commandoes with the Commandettes" and not to the band's actual name.

The Five Sounds recorded another song, "Clumsy Dragon", for the GalARK label. The other side was occupied by another group, Cecil Buffalo & the Prophets with their football tribute "Razorback Number One". Both songs were also released on the Hot Springs based Lakeside record label, which released a few singles during the mid 1960s. The Five Sounds release is probably from 1964 and the actual recording session was set up by DJ Doc Holiday at KAAY in Little Rock. The band's manager Ron Oberlag played tambourine on "Clumsy Dragon".

The fact that the Lakeside release exists on two different pressings suggests that it was - at least locally or regionally - a good seller. The Five Sounds enjoyed some regional popularity in the mid 1960s, as they opened for the Beach Boys and the Kingsmen in 1965.

"Clumsy Dragon" was reissued twice in Europe. The first time on Cees Klop's White Label LP "Early Rockin' in Arkansas" in 1989 and a second time on the Buffalo Bop Records CD "Strictly Instrumental, Volume 6" in 2001.

See also

• Lakeside Records discography

• GalARK Records discography

Sources

• 45cat entries for Lakeside Records and Cecil Buffalo

• Discogs entries for the Five Sounds, 

• William Larry Gill obtiuary

• YouTube video of Clumsy Dragon with memories by John Bostic

Little Dippers on University

The Little Dippers - Two By Four (University U-210), 1959

This record is almost forgotten today, although one side, “Forever”, reached #9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts in 1960. It was a smash pop hit back then. A bit unusual for this blog as my selections usually come from the American roots music fields.

The Little Dippers were made up of studio musicians Floyd Cramer, Hank Garland, Buddy Harman, Kelso Herston, Bob Moore, and the Anita Kerr Singers. They recorded both “Forever” and the Duane Eddy styled instrumental “Two by Four” in the fall of 1959 in Nashville. The producer of the session and composer of “Forever” was Buddy Killen, a Nashville record producer and publisher who had some connections to an Arkansas business man.

Killen knew Chevrolet car dealer Harold Sadler from Little Rock, who had founded Unirock Music in 1959 to break into the music business. Sadler also operated the University record label and Killen even cut a single under his own name for the label that year and some of the other productions on the label were Killen productions as well. “Forever” and “Two by Four” were produced at the end of a Smilin’ Eddie Hill session for University and released in December 1959 under the name of the “Little Dippers”. The song became a hit early in 1960, reaching #9 in the US and #13 in Canada. It was also released in many other countries, including New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Germany, France, and some more European countries.

Dick Clark contacted Killen and invited the group to perform on his “American Bandstand” show but there was no real group to appear – most of the musicians had responsibilities in Nashville. A touring group was put together for these purposes. Killen and his session band tried to repeat the success with some more Little Dippers productions, two more for University and one more for Dot, but the success could not be repeated. By early 1961, the University label had folded.

A 1960s edition of the Anita Kerr Singers (Kerr on far left)

Sources

• 45cat University Records entry

• "Forever" Wikipedia entry

• Discogs

Wayne Raney on Decca

Wayne Raney - Shake Baby Shake (Decca 9-30212), 1957

We have explored the career of this performer extensively, the legendary Wayne Raney. Raney became known for his harmonica playing, for selling millions of harmonicas, and for his long-lasting association with the Delmore Brothers and King Records. Today’s selection is a lesser known song of his, in fact it’s a rockabilly tune.

Wayne Raney was born on August 17, 1921, in a log cabin on a farm near Wolf Bayou, a tiny place in Cleburne County, north-central Arkansas. By the mid 1930s, Raney had made his way onto Mexican-Texas border radio stations, followed by stints on several other stations across the country. He became acquainted with Lonnie Glosson around that time, which resulted in a lifelong friendship and business association. Both sold millions of harmonicas through their mail-order business.

By the mid 1940s, both were associated with the Delmore Brothers, who became an influential country music act on King Records, combining old-time folk with boogie and blues elements. Raney’s harmonica playing was an avid part of the sound and he recorded countless songs – solo and as a backup musician – at King with the Delmores. His biggest hit came from that era – “Why Don’t You Haul Off and Love Me”.

However, sales began to decline in the 1950s and the Delmores’ act broke up due to Rabon Delmore’s death in 1952. Raney’s contract with King ran out in 1955 and he switched to Decca Records, for which he recorded only one session on December 9, 1956, at Music City Recordings with Hank Garland and Grady Martin on guitars, Owen Bradley on piano, and Bob Moore on bass. Produced by Paul Cohen, the session produced “40th and Plum” and Raney’s rockabilly tryout “Shake Baby Shake”. He had recorded numerous songs with King that were hot country boogies, laying the foundation for rockabilly with these cuts, but „Shake Baby Shake” remained his sole rockabilly effort. It was released on February 1957 on Decca but likely did not sold well enough to keep him on the label.

Billboard February 16, 1957, C&W review

Interestingly, this was Raney’s last outing with hot, sinful secular music. His next session marked a turnaround as it was the first of many sessions that produced gospel music. Raney cut primarily sacred material during the next decades and became somewhat of an antagonist to rock'n'roll, preaching “We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (And a Lot Less Rock’n’Roll)”.

Raney went on to become a record producer, founding a studio in Oxford, Ohio, and the Poor Boy record label in Indiana, followed by his Rimrock studio, pressing plant and label in Concord, Arkansas, which became an institution for many local labels in the south. He did not bother to record garage rock as well at Rimrock, including singles on his son Zyndall, although he had proclaimed the world needed "less rock'n'roll". Raney died in 1993.

See also
• The Poor Boy label
• Wayne Raney - King of the Talking Harmonica
• Wayne Raney's Lost John Boogie

Sources
• 45cat entry
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

Jimmy Wakely on Decca

Jimmy Wakely - Mississippi Dreamboat (Decca 9-29756), 1955
Jimmy Wakely was a second generation singing cowboy, following the success of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and the Sons of the Pioneers. He made his way to Hollywood in the early 1940s and recorded steadily through that and the following decade. Although he became known as one of the silver screen cowboys and a country music star, his biggest charts successes became pop crossovers like "Slipping Around" (with Margaret Whitting) and the Christmas classic "Silver Bells".

James Clarence "Jimmy" Wakeley was born on February 16, 1914, in the small community of Mineola, western Arkansas. The family moved to Oklahoma at some point and as a teenager, Wakely started playing piano and singing in gospel groups. Following his move to Oklahoma City, he, Johnny Bond, and Scotty Harrell formed the Bell Boys in 1937 (named after their sponsor Bell Clothing) and appeared locally and on radio stations WKY (Oklahoma City) and KVOO (Tulsa).

Jimmy Waley, ca. 1940s

It was Gene Autry who discovered Wakely and the Bell Boys during a tour through Oklahoma and invited the group to join his new radio show, "Melody Ranch". They moved to California and besides his engagement with Autry's show, also signed a recording contract with Decca and started releasing discs in 1940. He and the band, which had changed its name to "Jimmy Wakely Trio" in the meantime, also began playing supporting roles in B western movies in the early 1940s.

In 1944, Wakely signed with Monogram Pictures and starred in a total of 28 westerns between 1944 and 1949. His contract with Decca lasted until 1947, followed by a short stint with Sterling and he then signed with Capitol, where he enjoyed his biggest commercial successes. His hits included "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)", "Slipping Around", and "Silver Bells". He got more national exposure through the CBS radio feature "Hollywood Barn Dance", which soon developed into the "Jimmy Wakely Show" and lasted from 1952 until 1958.

Today's selection "Mississippi Dreamboat" was recorded on November 9, 1955, at Decca's recording studio in Hollywood. It was a popcorn rock'n'roll exotica piece and, coupled with the Glorida Wood duet "Are You Satisfied?" from the same session, was rushed out on Decca #9-29756 in early December. Though Wakely adapted his sound to modern trends, this single failed to hit the charts.

Like many of his fellow cowboy actors, Wakely's popularity began to wane in the 1950s. He returned to recording for Coral/Decca in 1954 and founded his own label, Shasta Records, for which he recorded numerous singles, beginning in 1958. He also had his own recording studio on his ranch. He kept on performing as well as recording throughout the decades and in later years, appeared at western film conventions. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Western Music Association Hall of Fame in 1991.

Jimmy Wakely died on September 23, 1981, in Mission Hills, California. He was 68 years old.

Sources

• 45cat entry, 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry