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

Charlie Rich on Phillips Int.

Charlie Rich - Everything I Do Is Wrong (Phillips Int. 3552), 1960
Charlie Rich ranks among the most famous and influential musicians that ever came out of Arkansas. Rich, unlike many of his contemporaries at Sun, had a jazz background, then switched to rock'n'roll and finally found his home in country music. Though, he was adept at many styles and could switch easily from one to another.

Charles Allan Rich was born in 1932 in Colt, East Arkansas, near Forrest City and not too far away from Memphis, too. His parents, who were very religious people, influenced him through the gospel music they played and sang. Blues came to Rich through a black sharecropper named C.J. Allen, who taught him blues piano, and he found further joy in playing jazz, performing saxophone in the high school band.

A young Charlie Rich, ca. 1950s

He formed the Velvetones while doing service in Enid, Oklahoma, but he and his wife returned to the West Memphis area and became farmers in 1955. He kept on performing locally around Memphis, playing jazz and R&B covers as well as writing his own material. He auditioned at Sun Records but was rejected for being "too jazzy" but became a studio musician for the label in 1958. His piano playing can be heard on numerous recordings, including those by Johnny Cash, Bill Justis, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, and others.

He began recording in his own right for the Sun subsidiary label Phillips International in 1958 but his first two releases failed to chart. It was his third single that became a hit record, one of the last that came out of the Sun/Phillips house actually. The top side was "Lonely Weekends", a rock'n'roll song written by Rich. It reached #22 on Billboard's Hot 100. The flip side, "Everything I Do Is Wrong", an equally good rock'n'roll piece from his pen, is rather forgotten today. Both songs were recorded on October 14, 1959, at Sun' studio on Union Avenue, featuring Rich on vocals and piano, Roland Janes on guitar, Billy Lee Riley on bass, Martin Willis on saxophone, and Jimmy Van Eaton on drums. They were released on Phillips Int. #3552 in January 1960.

Rich kept on recording for Phillips Int. and Sun both as a studio musician and name artist but further success eluded him. He switched to the RCA-Victor owned Groove label, where he scored some small hits and moved once again, this time to the RCA parent label. He also recorded for Smash and Hi during the 1960s but it was not until he signed with Epic that his most successful era began. He scored several #1 country hits during the 1970s, including "Behind Closed Doors", and many of his hits also crossed over to the pop charts.

Charlie Rich, 1970s

His successful days were over by the 1980s and Rich's heavy drinking caused trouble since the 1970s. He semi-retired, playing only occasionally. He died in 1995.

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

Sammy Marshall on SPA

Sammy Marshall - Kiss Me Good-Bye Tomorrow (SPA 25-1008), 1963

I became highly desperate when looking at Sammy Marshall's 45cat entry. 71 records and many of them seem to be from different artists of the same name. He was possibly the same artist who had a joint release with Les "Carrot Top" Anderson on the Springfield, Arkansas, based Patmar label. Maybe he was also the same who recorded for Allstar, K-Ark, Pleasant Valley or Belle Meade? I did not know until fellow blogger Bob pointed me towards his research. According to Bob, Sammy Marshall's real name was 1940 in Franklin, Kentucky, as Mark Stewart Simpson. He recorded for Hi and Judd as Mark Taylor, for the Globe Studio in Nashville as Sonny Marcell or Sammy Marshall, and as Ben Tate and Marc Stewart for other labels.

Since I cannot tell you anything substantial about the artist, we continue with the record label. Between 1960 and at least 1964, the label released several discs of various musical genres. There was rockabilly, country music, instrumental rock'n'roll, and pop music. And there was Sammy Marshall with "Kiss Me Good-Bye, Tomorrow", which I would call popular music, too. Marshall shared the disc with John Greer's take on the John Roddie song "(Oh, Ho, Ho, Ho) Heartaches".

If anyone has more information on Sammy Marshall or SPA Records, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me via e-mail.

See also
• The United Southern Artists label

Sources
• 45cat entries for Sammy Marshall and SPA Records
• SPA Records Rockin' Country Style entry

Gene Barnett on Wheel

Gene Barnett - Sittin' in the Bathroom (Wheel No.#), 1971

Gene Barnett played bass in Bobby Lee Trammell's band in the early 1960s, then joined Kenny Owens' band around the mid of the decade. He also appeared on Owens' local Jonesboro TV show and recorded for his Owens' ORK record label.

Barnett was born in 1942 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, but spent his early childhood in Bay, a small town outside of Jonesboro. The family then moved to Searcy but Barnett eventually returned to Jonesboro, where he graduated from high school and then pursued a career as the city's street superintendent.

Musically inclined, Barnett had learned to play bass and was also a solid vocalist. He started out around 1962 working with Bobby Lee Trammel and became acquainted with Kenny Owens at some point in the 1960s. Owens was a popular entertainer in Jonesboro and by the late 1960s, Barnett was appearing at Owens' TV show on KAIT. When Owens set up ORK Records, Barnett was among the artists that recorded for the label.

His debut "The Right to Love" b/w "Hey, Come On Now" appeared in April 1969 on ORK. Kenny Owens moved to Nashville in the early 1970s and he might have had a hand in Barnett's next release as well, which was issued on the Nashville based Wheel label. It featured "Wrong Line", Barnett's take on an Owens standard, and the Larry Donn written "Sittin' in the Bathroom". The record appeared in 1971 and is a nice blend of country and rock/rock'n'roll with some great fuzz guitar taking the solo on "Wrong Line". "Sittin' in the Bathroom" stayed more on the country side, genre-wise.

Barnett continued to perform locally. He retired from his job with the City of Jonesboro in 2004 and passed away in 2021.

More info on Barnett will be available in the booklet to Bear Family's double CD release of Kenny Owens, "Got the Bug!", which features Owens' complete recordings and in addition, many recordings from artists Owens worked with, including Barnett's cuts. The release is slated for this year.

Recommended reading
• Dead Wax blog: Wrong Line

See also
• ORK Records discography

Sources
• Gene Barnett obituary
• 45cat entry

Chuck Bell on Alley

Chuck Bell - I'm Gonna Get You Girl (Alley 1043), ca. 1968

Here we have a nice variation concerning the music style. Arkansas is best known for its contributions to the country and rock’n’roll music fields but this record proves that there were was other great music that came out of the state.

Chuck Bell’s 45 for Joe Lee’s Alley label out of Jonesboro is a great example. Joe Lee recorded a great variety variety of genres in his Variety Recording Studio during the decades, from rock’n’roll to folk, from soul to country. And Chuck Bell cut a great Soul record there. I’m not an expert on Soul music but I really like this one. He recorded “Summer Whispers” and “I’m Gonna Get You Girl” around 1968 at Alley and it saw release around the same time.

Unfortunately, my researchers turned up nothing substantial about Chuck Bell. There was a Charles W. Bell, Jr., that was born in 1946 and passed away in 2005. He is buried in Jonesboro, so this could be the same person. Chuck Bell had one more release a couple of years later on the Shelby Singleton version of Sun Records in 1981. This is all I could find about him.

Discography

Alley 1043: I'm Gonna Get You Girl / Summer Whispers (ca. 1968)
Sun 1161: Crazy Days / I Don't Live There Anymore (1981)

See also
• Alley Records discography

Sources
• 45cat entry
• Charles W. "Chuck" Bell, Jr., Find a Grave entry

Truman Lankford on Stockyard

Truman Lankford - Every Road Leads to Texas (Stockyard SR 102), ca. 1982

Truman Lankford was a longtime performer, from the 1960s until the 1980s and probably has traveled many highways through Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. He played every roadhouse and honky tonk among those roads but in the end, never found the recognition that this talented singer deserved.

Truman McCoy Lankford was born on November 15, 1929, in Gentry, located in the northwestern corner of Arkansas near the growing metropolis of Bentovnville/Rogers/Fayetteville. By 1948, Lankford had married Elsie Jean "Jeanne" Montgomery and the couple had at least one daughter. Lankford served in the US Army during the Korean War.

Lankford was probably active as a musician before the mid 1960s but he did not record until 1965, when he was already 36 years old. He came to the attention of Skipper Records, founded the same year by Si Siman (who also co-owned Earl Barton Music with Ralph Foster and John B. Mahaffey) in Springfield, Missouri. Produced by M.A. Box, Lankford recorded the snotty country rocker "Arkansas Man" plus "Here-Comes-Heaven-Again" and both found release on Skipper #828S-1241 in 1965.

He had another three releases on local labels during the mid to late 1960s, including "Freightliner Fever" b/w "Watch Me" on the Big Orange label (#651) in 1968, which eventually became his claim to fame.Written by Lankford and L. D. Allen, "Freightliner Fever" was covered in 1970 by Red Sovine for Starday. It entered Billboard's Hot Country Songs in July that year and peaked at #54. Thought not a major hit, it became a minor classic among trucker country artists and was further covered by artists like Dave Dudley and Boxcar Willie. It also meant some welcomed income from the royalties for Lankford.

Lankford moved into a mainstream trucker country style himself in the 1970s and was a cast member of the 70s edition of the Louisiana Hayride. He continued to release singles on small labels well into the 1980s and had one of his few album releases in the late 1970s or early 1980s, "True Man" on the Louisiana Hayride label. He also appeared in the independent movie "Cody" in 1977, which was filmed in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Today's selection came from one of his early 1980s recordings that were released on the Stockyard label around 1982. The disc featured "Belly Up" and "Every Road Leads to Texas". While the A side was in a more 80s contemporary country style, "Every Road Leads to Texas" was a throwback to the old western swing days. Fiddle and steel guitar both take nice solos and Lankford supplies good, deep voiced vocals. Of course, it did not become a hit as country audiences had set their minds on other styles.

It seems this was Lankford's last release. He passed away November 17, 1987, at the age of 58 years. He is buried at Friendship Cemetery in Cale, Nevada County, Southwest Arkansas.

 Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Discogs
• SecondHandSongs
• Internet Movie Database: Cody
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Garage Hangover: Skipper Records history
• Locals Only
• Red Sovine - Freight Liner Fever 45cat entry

Jim Owens on Shock

Jim Owens - Two Shadows (Shock 1005), ca. 1972

Here were have a well-produced, early 1970s country performance from Memphis. Owens was already on the Memphis scene by the early 1960s. He had recorded "Davey Jones Locker" for Marshall Ellis' local Erwin record label, though I couldn't determine exact release information. This song later found its way on a 1986 Ace LP "Memphis Honky Tonk Hillbilly". Around the time Owens recorded for Erwin, he was also part of Gene Williams' Cotton Town Jubilee stage show that originated from Memphis in the early 1960s and also aired over KWAM. Unfortunately, I was not able to come up with more information about Owens.

Shock Records was owned by Jerry Lee "Smoochie" Smith, who came from Jackson, Tennessee, to Memphis in the mid 1950s as part of Kenny Parchman's band. He soon found work as a pianist with different bands, venues, and recording studios. He also recorded as a solo artist during the 1960s and 1970s without much success. He set up the Shock label in the early 1970s and apart from his own releases, recorded a few local Memphis artists, including Jim Owens.

See also
• Jerry Smith on Shock

Sources
• Discogs

Johnnie Leach on Round Up

Johnnie Leach and the Country Gentlemen - Faded Love (Round Up No.#), 1971

Here we have some fine Tulsa western swing, from a local outfit Johnnie Leach and the Country Gentlemen. "Faded Love" is of course the 1950 Bob Wills hit, a standard in western swing and one of my favorites. Naturally I had to buy this record.

The Round Up label (no connection to a label of the same name from Nashville) had at least three releases, all of them by Leach. It was based in Catoosa, a suburb of Tulsa, and it seems all of its releases were manufactured by Rite Record Productions from Cincinnati.

I could not really find out much about Leach or the label. Judging from a fitting Find a Grave entry, he was probably Johnnie A. Leach, born on July 2, 1926, and passed away on February 5, 2002. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Claremore, also near Tulsa. I suspect him to be the leader of a local western swing act, the Country Gentlemen. Leach was not the vocalist but co-wrote at least two of their songs, "Home Maker" and "Three Empty Chairs". Vocalists in the group included Robert Hill and Bob Bintliff.

Discography

Round Up 28531/2: Johnnie Leach and the Country Gentlemen - Three Empty Chairs / Lone Star Rag
Round Up 28533/4: Johnnie Leach and the Country Gentlemen - Home Maker / Under the Double Eagle
Round Up 28535/6: Johnnie Leach and the Country Gentlemen - Faded Love / Maiden's Prayer

Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• Information on all three Round Up discs thanks to Western Red

Arkie Shibley on Gilt-Edge

Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys - Arkie's Talking Blues (Gilt-Edge 5078), 1952

Arkie Shibley's "Hot Rod Race" became the first song to capture the enthusiasm of automobiles and racing. It introduced cars into American popular culture, especially in youth's culture. It also caused a string of similar themed songs in country music and rock'n'roll, namely such songs as "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry. Other similar themed songs were Charlie Ryan's "Hot Rod Lincoln", the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Little Deuce Coupe" or their "Little Honda", and a seemingly never ending list of rock'n'roll songs variously named "Hot Rod", "Hot Rod Baby", "Hot Rod Boogie", or other combinations with the term "hot rod".

The man behind "Hot Rod Race" was Jesse Lee "Arkie" Shibley, born on September 21, 1915, in the growing city of Van Buren, Arkansas, near the Arkansas River. His parents, David Monta and Prudence Shibley, were farmers and life was simple but hard. Shibley became a cattle farmer himself and married Evelyn Marie Breeden in 1935. The next year, the couple moved to Bremerton, Washington state, where Shibley found work building Illahee State Park for the "Works Progress Administration", which was part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Later on, starting in 1941, he also worked as a sheet metal worker at Puget Sound Navy Yard. In Arkansas,  Shibley was initially called "Buck" due to his deer hunting skills but in Washington, he became known as "Arkie" due to his origin.

After moving to Bremerton, he had bought a $5.00 guitar in a pawn shop and taught himself how to play. Soon, he was confident enough playing Bremerton's venues by night with an uptempo, swinging, style of country music. Bremerton was a US Navy town with lots of young male sailors looking for an opportunity for entertainment. Shibley first performed solo as the "Lone Cowboy" but by 1939, had teamed up with Earl Dobeas, performing in taverns and on radio. Eventually, he changed musical partners and met up with guitarist Leon Kelley from Fort Worth, Texas. The addition of Bill Drinkard  made it a trio and gave birth to the "Mountain Dew Boys". However, Drinkard, who was later known on local radio and TV as "Montana Bill", soon left the band and was replaced by bassist and banjo player Jackie Hays from Oklahoma. This line-up played the bars, joints, and dance halls for sailors, loggers, and shipyard workers. They also performed regularly on local radio, first on KBRG and then on KBRO, and Shibley acquired a night club he called "Arkie's Corral" in mid 1949. However, he was not a good business man and by the end of the year, the club had gone back to its original owner.

Shibley, Kelly, and Hays were also the core line-up for Shibley's recordings a little later on. By 1948, Phil Fregon on fiddle and "Dockie" Dean Manuel on piano and fiddle had joined the band, too. Manuel became a member of Jim Reeves' band in 1959 and died in the same plane crash as Reeves in 1964. 

By 1947, Shibley had set his mind on California-based record companies and made connections with a small record label, Hal Sarb's MaeMae Records from Hollywood. Several records were released during that year but none of them had any greater impact. Then, Shibley visited Bill McCall of 4 Star Records in Pasadena. Shibley and the Mountain Dew Boys had worked up a song called "Hot Rod Race", written by 17-years old Ronald George "Ron" Wilson from Washington state (contrary to some beliefs this was not a pseudonym for Shibley). Reportedly, Wilson's father George Erwin had approached the band while they were playing the Peedle Weezer Tavern and he shared his son's work with Shibley, who took it up for his band's act. They performed the song instantly that night to an enthusiastic reaction of the crowd.

Arkie Shibley on the front cover of "Songmakers Magazine", August 1950

When Shibley played the record to McCall, he was rejected (an event Shibley later reworked as "Arkie's Talking Blues") but Shibley in turn set up his own small label, Mt. Dew Records, in Bremerton to release the song backed by "I'm Living Alone with an Old Love" (Mt. Dew #101) on both 78rpm and 45rpm formats. He managed to press those early 200 discs through the 4 Star company and the songs appeared around August 1950 and soon became a hit in the Bremerton area. Bill McCall got word of it, overthought his initial decision and soon purchased the master for reissue on his Gilt-Edge label (#MD-101/#5021, December 1950).

With McCall promoting the song heavily, it took off (although some eastern radio stations refused to play it due to the line "we were rippin' along like white folks might") and eventually peaked at #5 of one of Billboard's C&W charts in February 1951. The song saw several releases over the years and caused rivaling cover versions at the time, including those by Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan (Capitol), Red Foley (Decca), and Tiny Hill (Mercury), which were successful as well. According to the Coeur d'Alene Press, it sold over one million copies, although this number is not assured and possibly includes combined sales figures of the original releases, reissues, cover versions or is simply exaggerated. It is undisputed, though, that it became a big influence on rockabilly and rock'n'roll music. Chuck Berry cited "Hot Rod Race" as a big influence on him to write "Maybellene", a similar themed song that became his breakthrough hit, and Charlie Ryan based his "Hot Rod Lincoln" on Shibley's original. Though some recognize the song as a rockabilly song, which would make it the first ever recording in that style, it is rather "hopped up country music", or to put it more eloquently, a primitive country boogie, which makes it an influential precursor to rockabilly and rock'n'roll.

During the 1950s, Shibley released his recordings on the Mountain Dew label and Bill McCall would pick out some of them to release on Gilt-Edge, including several continuations of "Hot Rod Race". For some time, Shibley lived in California, where probably most of his recording sessions took place but none of his later discs could match the initial success, however. Apart from his automobile saga, Shibley recorded country boogie tunes in various forms and songs aimed at the Navy audience of the Pacific Northwest areas: "Uncle Sam Has Called My Number Again", "Shore Leave", and "Three Day Pass".

The Montana Stardard, April 6, 1952

During the 1950s, Shibley and his band, which included by then also his son Jesse Frederick (alias "Arkie Jr.") who was adept at bass and guitar, traveled across Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho to play small venues. By 1952, Grover Jackson had taken over lead guitar duties from Kelly. Shibley accompanied Mary Lou (Manges) Flesher, his bass player on some of his demo tapes, to Fairbanks, Alaska, and while she stayed there, Shibley soon left again. Although the Mountain Dew Boys continued to perform, they had given up recording by 1960. Shibley's last single had appeared the previous year on the 4 Star main label, comprising "Pick Pick Pickin' (My Guitar)" and "I'm a Poor Old Oakie" (#1737). He also operated a night club in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for some time.

Eventually, Shibley moved back to his home state Arkansas, where he spent his final years. Arkie Shibley passed away on September 7, 1975, in Van Buren at the age of 59 years shortly before his 60th birthday. He is buried at Macedonia Cemetery in Uniontown, Arkansas. A definitive reissue of his complete material is still missing but Dutch Collector Records compiled 25 songs of Shibley's onto their CD "Hot Rod Race" in 1997.

Recommended reading

• Hillbilly-Music.ccom

• SecondHandSongs

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas

• Entries at 45cat and 45worlds/78rpm

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Arkie Shibley Facebook Tribute

• Hot-Rod Songs of the Northwest (HistoryLink.org)

The Lonesome Rhodes on RCA-Victor

The Lonesome Rhodes (Sandy and Donna) - "Nothin' But Heartaches Here" (RCA-Victor 47-9134), 1967

The Lonesome Rhodes were Sandra (nicknamed Sandy) and Donna Christine Rhodes, daughters of Perry Hilburn "Dusty" Rhodes and "Dot" Rhodes, who, along with Dusty's brothers Ethmer Cletus "Slim" Rhodes and Gilbert R. "Speck" Rhodes, were members of Slim Rhodes' Mountaineers, longtime Memphis country music performers and once Sun recording artists.

Of course born into a musical family, both Sandra and Donna were blessed with the same talent and naturally got their early music education from their family. A career in music was predicted and in 1964, they released their debut "How Much Can a Lonely Heart Stand" b/w "Why, Why, Why" on the local Memphis based Penthouse label (#5001) in 1964 as "The Rhodes Sisters". This record came to the attention of the bigger independent Dot label and the sisters re-recorded it for release on Dot in May that year. A single on the Dial label followed in 1965. At that time, their sound was a mixture of country and pop music.

Sandra and Donna came to the attention of country music singer Skeeter Davis, who had recorded their "How Much Can a Lonely Heart Stand" for RCA-Victor in 1963, scoring a minor hit withh it (#17 C&W, #47 Hot 100). She supported the sisters and signed them to her Crestwood publishing firm and by the mid 1960s, Sandra and Donna were recording and performing as "The Lonesome Rhodes". Their style was far from the sounds of the Rhodes family band but like their father and uncles had experimented with the new rock'n'roll sounds of the 1950s, Sandra and Donna were mixing country, soul, pop, and rock into their own brand of music.

They held their first session for RCA-Victor in August 1966 at RCA's studio in Nashville, Tennessee, produced by either Felton Jarvis or Chet Atkins. Although the exact line-up is unknown, it is probable they were accompanied by some of Nashville's A-Team musicians. From this very first session hails today's selection, the driving "Nothin' But Heartaches Here", a great slice of music with a style not clearly assigned to one genre. It's a little bit of country, a little bit of pop, and a little bit of rock. Paired with "The Least You Could Have Done", it saw release as the Lonesome Rhodes' second single on RCA-Victor #47-9134 in March 1967.

Probably too indefinable for the record company to promote on the one hand and for the public on the other, the single didn't reach the charts. All of their other RCA releases, five in total, shared the same fate and the Rhodes recorded their last session for the label in July 1967 with their final RCA disc appearing a year later in September 1968 ("The Lights of Dallas" b/w "I'm Missing You", #47-9629). A self-titled album of their recordings was released by RCA the same year.

Already in May 1967, Sandra had a solo release out on the Senat label, for which she worked with Wes Farrell. She was married to Memphis songwriter-producer-musician Charles Romain "Charlie" Chalmers and along with sister Donna they formed a trio that produced soul music under different names into the 1980s. They first recorded for Diamond and Hi as "The Joint Venture" in 1969 and 1972 respectively, then as "Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes" (later shortened to RCR) for Warner Brothers in 1975 and finally for the Florida based Radio label in 1980.

Besides that, both Sandra and Donna released solo discs during those years. Sandra recorded one single and one album for Fantasy in 1972, which was also released in the Netherlands the following year. Donna had a single on Epic out in 1968 as well as a solo album released on the same label in 1971, then recorded for Hi in 1973, Charlsand in 1974, for Unidisc in 1982 (which saw also release in Canada and the Netherlands on Ramshorn), and for Mahogany.

Chalmers also produced two releases on Sandra and Donna's mother Dot Rhodes for Epic in the early 1970s. RCR was also busy in the 1970s recording with many of Memphis' southern soul stars such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, OV Wright, Willie Mitchell, and others, therefore playing an important part in the development of soul. 

Sandra Rhodes and Charlie Chalmers eventually divorced but kept on working together closely. They recorded with British soul singer Reuben James in 1994 and also backed Al Green on his 2005 album "I Can't Stop", produced by Willie Mitchell. Around that time, Sandra was residing in Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, playing guitar at local country shows, joined occasionally by her sister Donna.

Sources

• Several entries on 45cat: The Rhodes Sisters/The Lonesome Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes, Donna Rhodes, Dot Rhodes, Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes

• Donna Rhodes on Discogs

• Rhodes, Chalmer and Rhodes on Sir Shambling's Deep Soul Heaven

• Dusty Rhodes Find a Grave entry

Lloyd Marley on United Southern Artists

Lloyd Marley and the Trebles - Ooh Poo Pah Doo (United Southern Artists 5-109), 1961

Northeast Arkansas had a lively music scene during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s but Northwest Arkansas wasn't short of it. And Fayetteville with its many students was the center of it all. One of the many performers from area was Lloyd Marley, who stayed on the scene for more than 50 years.

Samuel Lloyd Marley was born on July 22, 1940, in Bentonville, Arkansas, north of Fayetteville. His family had no money to afford a guitar for Marley, who eventually learned to play piano in the 1950s. In 1952, at age twelve, he met his future wife Dolores at a birthday party.

Blues music was Marley's first love with artists like Muddy Waters or B.B. King. But when Chuck Berry rose to fame in the mid 1950s, Marley was hooked on rock'n'roll and Berry became his hero. He wanted to become a guitarist but couldn't play. Moreover, every band in the region had guitar players but no one had pianists. So Marley began playing piano and joined local bands. When he graduated from Bentonville High School in 1958, he was voted "Most Talented" among the graduating class.

Lloyd Marley in 1958
Source: Bentonville High School Yearbook/Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Marley went on to perform with various groups over the years and played at countless spots in Fayetteville, including the Huddle Club, the Rockwood Club, the VFW, and the Y'all Come Back Saloon. He joined the Cate Brothers for a while around this time, and around 1961, joined a group known as the Trebles.

The circumstances are foggy but the Trebles managed to secure a recording deal with the newly started United Southern Artists label and talent agency from Hot Springs, Arkansas. They recorded Jesse Hill's 1960 R&B hit "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" along with Marley's original "Fade with the Time", released around September that year (#5-109). It possibly sold good regionally, but United Southern didn't call the band back for a follow-up.

Billboard September 4, 1961, pop review

Marley left the Trebles probably shortly afterwards and then joined rocker Ronnie Hawkins on a tour through Canada. Following that tour, Marley and his own band also spent two weeks playing the Peppermint Lounge in New York. When he returned to Arkansas, his association with Hawkins helped him landing jobs all around and he became an even more popular performer than he had been prior to the tour. He was also booked in places such as Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Tulsa. When local Fayetteville bandleader Johnny Tolleson left town, Marley stepped in and took over leadership of the band for a time.

Constant performing and playing also meant constant partying and drinking over the years. Health problems followed and it took Marley a few years to get on the right track again. In 1981, he reunited with one of his old bands, the Mudflaps, and started performing again. He frequently played the clubs on Dickson Street in Fayetteville during these years and his band became residents at the Swinging Doors club in the 1970s, which became the Whitewater Tavern in 1981. During the 1990s, Marley also appeared with German blues musician Frank Burkhard, who lived in Arkansas for about ten years.

The Cate Brothers, Ernie and Earl, who had enjoyed some chart success, later called Marley a huge influence for Arkansas' northwestern music scene. Marley had eventually also learned to play guitar and played whatever was needed - blues, country, rock. A successful recording career - or at least a long-lasting recording career - eluded Marley, however. Columbia Records rejected him, demo tapes to other companies never reached them. At least, Marley recorded an album in the late 1980s.

He encountered health issues again late in his life and was not able to perform for much of 2019. He died on October 12, 2019, in Fayetteville, at the age of 79 years.

See also
• United Southern Artists from Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Johnny Tolleson on Chance

Sources
• Jocelyn Murphy: "Marley's music: Rocker and friends remember a lifetime of tunes" (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
• 45cat entry
• Q24 Pirna (German)
• Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette obituary
• Anthony C. Wappel, Ethel C. Simpson: "Once Upon Dickson: An Illustrated History, 1868-2000" (Phoenix Int./Arkansas Libraries Special Coll. Dep.), 2008, p. 199

Houston Turner on Do-Ra-Me

Houston Turner - "Buenos Noches" (Do-Ra-Me 1437), 1963
One of the many talented musicians that orbited around the Dixieland Drifters band was Houston "Buck" Turner, who left his mark by singing on "Bongos and Uncle John", the Drifters' most popular tune. Turner also performed with Tani Allen's Tennessee Pals, leaving another mark in music history through composing "Tennessee Jive", which became later known by Bill Haley as "Real Rock Drive".

Singer and songwriter Houston Edgar "Buck" Turner, Jr., was born on April 16, 1922, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During World War II, he served his country as an Air Force sergeant. Upon his return, Turner pursued a career in local music. 

By 1950, he had built up a reputation as a talented singer in the Chattanooga area and was approached by band leader Tani Allen that year to join his band. Steel guitarist Allen had founded his own country music outfit, "The Tennessee Pals," in Memphis shortly before. He contacted Bullet Records in Nashville, hoping to secure a record deal with the independent label. Bullet agreed to record the band on condition that Allen would exchange the vocalist. Allen, who also originally hailed from Chattanooga and remembered Turner as a vocalist, brought him into the band. 

Turner recorded a total of six singles with the band for Bullet from 1950 up to 1952, including their debut "Tennessee Jive," a Turner original. This song somehow came to the attention of Bill Haley, who reworked it under the title of "Real Rock Drive" in late 1952. This version saw release on Essex in early 1953 (Essex #310) without any songwriter credits. Interestingly, "Tennessee Jive" was also covered by Johnny Horton in 1953 on Mercury under its original title (Mercury #70010-X45).

Jim Bulleit, owner of Bullet, offered Turner to record solo for the label but Turner turned down the invitation. Tani Allen, however, encouraged Turner to continue his solo career. It is likely that Turner continued to perform around Chattanooga and by 1958, he teamed up with local singer and label owner Gene Woods, with whom he penned "How Big a Fool Can You Be" and performed with Woods' band, the Tune Twisters.

In 1960, he began working with the Dixieland Drifters, a group also from Chattanooga. They had recorded earlier for Sun, Murray Nash's B.B. Records and Dub, when Herbert "Happy" Schleif and Peanut Faircloth (also member of the Dixieland Drifters) released two singles of the band on their Hap record label. One was "You Won't Fall in Love" b/w "Will Angels Have Sweethearts" in 1960, the other "Bongos and Uncle John" b/w "How Big a Fool."

Members of the Dixieland Drifters, ca. July 1961 (left to right):
Howell Culpepper, poss. Charlie Evans, Houston Turner,
and Norman Blake

"Bongos and Uncle John" was published by Murray Nash's Ashna Music and recorded at his studio in Nashville. He re-released the song on his Do-Ra-Me label twice and it must have been a good seller for the band, since it was picked up by 20th Century Fox in the US and Sparton in Canada. Turner also recorded solo for Do-Ra-Me and for Big Country. He also did personal appearances with his own band, the Town and Country Boys, which also included Norman Blake. The Dixieland Drifters disbanded around 1963 and Turner died in 1999.

Today's selection "Buenos Noches" was written by a team of blind songwriters. The married couple Floyd and Mary Biggs and session pianist Hargus "Pig" Robbins also penned a couple of other songs for Murray Nash. Turner recorded it probably at Murray Nash's Sound of Nashville studio and released in July/August 1963. It also saw release in Canada on Sparton.

See also

• Save the Memory of  Floyd and Mary Biggs

• Country Boogie from Memphis: Tani Allen and his Tennessee Pals

Sources

• Find a Grave Entry

• 45cat entry

• BMI repertoire search 

• David Carroll: Hello, Chattanooga! Famous People Who Have Visited the Tennessee Valley (Fresh Ink Group), 2021

Linda Flanagan on Razorback

Linda Flanagan - Street of No Return (Razorback 45-107), 1959

There was a time in the early to mid 1960s when it seemed that Linda Flanagan was heading for stardom. Obviously, she never achieved that, although working with such top names as Webb Pierce or Ernest Tubb, but she graced the world with a series of fine country singles. Her debut record on Razorback Records is featured in today's post.

Linda Flanagan hailed from Arkansas, although I could not find details on her birth place or birth date. Her father was Harold Flanagan, who was a local country music performer in his own right. A 1956 Cowboy Songs article mentions that she started her professional career at age 13 (although she started singing even earlier at age 3), which puts her birth date into the early 1940s. By 1956, she was performing over KFSA in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on both radio and television. She also dabbled in songwriting around this time, penning songs with Louisiana Hayride member Jimmie Helms.

From Fort Smith, located on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border, she made her way to nearby Muskogee, Oklahoma, where she not only appeared on a local TV show entitled Big Red Jamboree, but also recorded for Carl Blankenship's Razorback label. "A Life That's Hard to Live" b/w "Street of No Return" (Razorback #107) was released in late 1959. The top side was co-written by the duo of Jerry Roller and Hershel Parker, the latter being also an Arkansas born singer and songwriter, who recorded a few singles in his own right and worked with Flanagan during this time frame.

From left to right: Linda Flanagan, Charlie Walker, Herschel Parker
at the 1956 Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Day in Meridian, Mississippi
(courtesy of Western Red)

Flanagan's next stop in her career was Nashville, Tennessee, where she was given the opportunity to appear on Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree. Likely from this appearance resulted a recording session on June 29, 1961, at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio with a top band behind her, including Grady Martin, Buddy Emmons, Hargus Robbins, and producer Owen Bradley. The result was only one song, "Pass Me By", which in fact saw release in 1962 on a various artists Decca album simply entitled "Midnight Jamboree" featuring different artists that appeared on the show. The LP was also released in the UK and New Zealand. Flanagan's "Pass Me By" was furthermore issued on a special DJ 45rpm with the flip side filled by Webb Pierce's "Sweet Lips". 

The release of the LP in the UK was to some historical importance. Not for Ernest Tubb or any of the other better known artists on the record but for Flanagan. At that time, the Beatles were making their first steps and the band's drummer Ringo Starr was introduced to Flanagan's "Pass Me By" by his best fried Roy Trafford, who was a big country music fan, owned the "Midnight Jamboree" album and was especially fond of "Pass Me By". He even learned it for performing and the song inspired Starr to take up songwriting and he wrote his own "Don't Pass Me By", similar in its lyrical content but otherwise different, as Starr put a piano boogie beat behind it. The song probably wasn't even a minute long and band mates Paul McCartney and John Lennon dismissed it as a "rewrite of a Jerry Lee Lewis B-side". The song, if you can call it even a song, never made it far but Linda Flanagan's recording was an early influence on Ringo Starr's songwriting.

Unknown to Flanagan back then, she tried to find her own way to success. A second Decca session was not arranged for her until October 3, 1963, this time at the Columbia Recording Studio but again produced by Owen Bradley. Four songs were recorded that day and released by Decca in late 1963 ("Hold on to Happiness" b/w "The Keeper of the Key", Decca #31569) and July 1964 ("There's Love All Around Me" b/w "Mama Kiss the Hurt Away", Decca #31647). However, none of her two singles released by the label seem to have caught on with the public.

Although Decca dropped her, the independent and much smaller Boone record label gave Flanagan a chance once more. She recorded for the label in 1966 and 1967, releasing two singles, but these did not chart either. She had one more record out in Nashville in 1970, a duet with Lex Thomas entitled "South Bound Train," which was produced by guitarist Howard White for Spar Records - again without much success.

She left Nashville in the early 1970s and worked the Western Lounge club in Creve Couer, Illinois, with her husband Pete Blue from 1973 until 1975. She held one more session in Nashville in late 1985, which resulted in another record for the tiny Password label. At some point afterwards, she dropped out of the music business but was still residing in Nashville as late as 2017.

See also
• Arkansas-Oklahoma Jamboree

Sources
• 45cat entry
• Hillbilly-Music.com entry
• Steel Guitar Forum
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Mark Lewisohn: "Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years" (2013), Crown, page 691

Cathy Collins on Whirlwind

Cathy Collins - This Tie That Binds (Whirlwind 1), 1970
This is really a mysterious release. Obscure label, obscure singer, obscure songwriter. Cathy Collins had a crystal-clear voice and two releases on Whirlwind, this being the first, and there was another disc on the infamous California based Rural Rhythm label, which could have been of another singer of the same name, though. That's it for Collins.

Billboard May 23, 1970

Both songs for this release were written by Elton Mitchell, who also penned two further tracks that were recorded by Collins for her second Whirlwind single. Mitchell is likely not the singer of the same name who recorded for a gospel label called Universal out of Denham Springs, Louisiana, in the 1980s. Further research on Mitchell resulted in the perception that Elton Mitchell is quite a common name.

Producer John Hurley is probably the best known person among the figures that were involved with this disc. He is best remembered as a songwriting partner of Ronnie Wilkins and both penned several tunes in the 1960s that became hits, including "Son of a Preacher Man" for Dusty Springfield or "Love of the Common People" for Waylon Jennings. They were both living in Nashville by the mid 1960s but left for California in 1970, so I assume this was one of Hurley's last productions in Music City USA. Which, in turn, leads me to the assumption that Collins' recording session took place there.

The Whirlwind label was based in Sheridan, located south of Little Rock in Central Arkansas. Little Richie Johnson, who was based in Belen, New Mexico, and who promoted and plugged numerous small labels across the country in the 1960s and 1970s as well as working with such stars as Willie Nelson, George Jones, or Merle Haggard, was involved with the label. Dalton Edwards, who is credited as a manager on Collins' releases, could have had a hand in it, too. Only four releases are known so far on Whirlwind and by 1971, the label seems to have folded.

See also

• Whirlwind discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources
• 45cat entry

• Discogs

• Wikipedia entry on John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins

Sammy Barnhart on OKeh

Sammy Barnhart - Get Off My Telephone (OKeh 4-18002), 1953

Sammy Barnhart's name could be seen on a few records during the 1950s, on Louisiana Hayride advertisements, and in programs of several radio stations. Though, he remained only a local fixture, most notable in Arkansas. This is my attempt to document the career of an artist that has fallen through the cracks and never gained the attention he deserved.

Samuel "Sammy" Barnhart was born on December 29, 1917, in Nacogdoches County, Texas (contrary to some sources that claim his birth state was Arkansas), to Levi and Lizi Eliza Barnhart. With two brothers and two sisters, he was the couple's second youngest child.

Barnhart started his career in the 1940s and had moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, by early 1947. By then, he had joined Alma "Little Shoe" Crosby's Cowboy Sweethearts, a group that appeared on local KLRA and were the main act on the station's "Arkansas Jamboree Barn Dance". Also frequently on the bill was an act called "Union County Boys" that might have included Barnhart as well.

Approximately in 1948, Barnhart left Arkansas for a couple of years and headed south to Shreveport, where he performed on KWKH with the Union County Boys, which included such musicians as Ted Rains and Fiddlin' Rufus at one time or another, and they also appeared on the station's famous Louisiana Hayride show. He worked with such artists as Hawkshaw Hawkins during this time but left Shreveport in 1950. The next two or three years are a bit sketchy but we find him working with Tommy Scott's show in Denver, Colorado, around June 1953 with Jimmy Winters. This job did not last long for Barnhart though, as Billboard reported the next month that both men had left the show.

Billboard June 17, 1950

Barnhart moved east again and wound up in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he worked at WNOX. Already in late 1952, he had signed a recording contract with Columbia's OKeh label and a session from December 8 that year at Castle Studio in Nashville yielded four songs, which saw release on OKeh the next year. The first of them appeared in the summer of 1953, comprising "Wedding Bell Waltz" b/w "Get Off My Telephone" (OKeh #18002).

Billboard December 5, 1953
Country & Western Artists' Directory

Barnhart returned to Little Rock in either 1954 or in 1955. By then, the Arkansas Jamboree Barn Dance had been replaced by a live stage show entitled "Barnyard Frolic" and Barnhart became not only a cast member but also the emcee of the show. In addition, he could be heard on KLRA during the week. Barnhart was part of an all-star show featuring Elvis Presley in February 1955 and again in August 1955 at the Robinson Auditorium.

From 1953 until 1954, OKeh had released a total of four singles by Barnhart but none of them showed enough success to encourage the label to extend his contract. Following his affiliation with OKeh, Barnhart signed with Decca Records and held one session for the label on June 14, 1955, at Bradley Studio in Nashville. From the four songs recorded that day, only "I Don't Want It on My Conscience" and "Blue Mountain Waltz" (Decca #29640) were released around two months later. "Idle Hours" and "Honky Tonk Fever" remained in Decca's archives. It remained Barnhart's only session for the label.

After 1955, hints to Barnhart's musical career become rare. The last mention I could find was an advertisement in the New Oxford Item in its August 6, 1959, issue, announcing a personal appearance by Hawkshaw Hawkins and Barnhart, among others. According to his obituary, he spent most of his life in Cushing, Nacogdoches County, Texas, though this may not apply to the 1940s and 1950s. The obituary further mentioned that Barnhart was a welder as well as a construction worker and it's probable that he returned to these occupations after his music career. Apparently, he had worked for the Rusk State Hospital prior to his retirement in 1982.

Sammy Barnhart died on February 4, 1997, at the age of 79 years at his home in Cushing. He is buried at McKnight Cemetery in Cushing. His wife Ercil followed him in 2015.

Recommended reading

• Recordings by Sammy Barnhart on Honking Duck

Sources

• Hillbilly-Music.com entry

• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry

• Detailed history on Elvis Presley's Little Rock appearances on ScottyMoore.net

• 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Find a Grave entry

• Peter Guralnick: "Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing" (Hachette UK), 2020
• various Billboard issues