Big Howdy Records

Big Howdy Records

Country Sounds from the Pear River Valley

Big Howdy Records was a local record label from the Louisiana-Mississippi border region. Based in different towns of the Pearl River Valley, the label released numerous singles between 1959 and 1977. The man behind this operation was Hack Kennedy, who mostly relied on country material for his releases.

Daily News, December 19, 1958

Big Howdy Records came into existence in the first half of 1959 and was the brainchild of Hastel Joseph "Hack" Kennedy (1915-1994). Kennedy was born in Washington Parish, Louisiana, and by the 1930s, had made the move to New Orleans. He had acquired basic skills on the guitar and joined the city's thriving music scene. He also developed a sense for a profitable business during those years and eventually began promoting country music shows. By then, he had relocated to the Pearl River Valley in the Louisiana-Mississippi border region.

There was, maybe, another man involved in the  Big Howdy label, too, namely country radio engineer and DJ Hardin Leon "Red" Smith (1928-1995). Smith had built up a reputation as a popular radio disc jockey by then, having worked at WBOK in New Orleans and WCKY in Cincinnati, among smaller stations in Texas and Kansas. By late 1958, he was at WHXY in Bogalusa and hosted the "Big Howdy Show" weekdays, which he had already aired over WBOK. In December 1958, he added a Saturday night live stage show called the "Big Howdy Jamboree" from the Redwood Theatre in Bogalusa and this show was broadcast over WHXY, too.

When WHXY changed owners in February 1959 and became WBOX, Smith and the show moved to WIKC. Already in January 1959, Smith had reinstalled the "Big Howdy Show" on local WARB in Covington, Louisiana. It was around that time that Hack Kennedy started Big Howdy Records in Bogalusa and the label was seemingly intended as an outlet to release recordings by the Jamboree's regular cast members. The name of the record label came almost certainly from Smith's shows. When Dave Travis purchased Big Howdy Records in 1990s, he spoke extensively to Hack Kennedy but in his memory, no one talked about neither Red Smith nor the radio shows being part of the company cosmos. In case Smith was a part owner of the Big Howdy label, he dropped out at an early age, leaving Kennedy as the sole owner.

The debut release went to Jeff Daniels alias Luke McDaniel, a Mississippi born country and rockabilly singer. McDaniel had just split with Sun Records from Memphis, an unsuccessful collaboration, and appeared on the Big Howdy Jamboree frequently during late 1958 and early 1959. His record, "Switch Blade Sam" b/w "You're Still On My Mind", appeared in May 1959 on Big Howdy #777 credited to "Jeff Daniels". While "You're Still On My Mind" was the country ballad that enjoyed some success after its original release, the rock'n'roll side "Switch Blade Sam" became the sought-after song during the rockabilly revival. McDaniel was accompanied by the Hicks Sisters on vocals, another Jamboree act.

While the Big Howdy Jamboree probably did not survive past April 1959, the Big Howdy record label did. The early and mid 1960s saw releases by such artists as B.J. Johnson, another local DJ, and Vern Pullens (both performed at the Pearl River Valley Jamboree, also staged at the Redwood), while later that decade Kennedy pulled talent from the Hayride, another Southeast Louisiana stage show. The majority of the releases featured country music with the occasional rockabilly side by McDaniel.

Kennedy and B.J. Johnson built a small recording studio in the early 1960s in Angie, some 13 miles north of Bogalusa. With the Angie Sound Studio being finished, Big Howdy Records moved to this location as well. Johnson, due to his DJ profession an expert for running a studio control board, engineered many of the sessions at the studio during the 1960s. Around 1971, Kennedy and his record label moved one more time, just across the border to Picayune, Mississippi.

Kennedy released discs on Big Howdy and short-lived off-shot/custom labels like Big B and Angie Ville until 1977. Dave Travis bought the label in 1994 and reissued a good portion of Big Howdy's recordings in 2017 on a 33-track CD entitled "Rockabillies, Hillbillies, and Honky Tonkers from Mississippi and Louisiana - The Big Howdy Recording Company Story".

Sources

• 45cat entry

• Hack Johnson Find a Grave entry

• Dave Travis: "Rockabillies, Hillbillies & Honky Tonkers from Mississippi and Louisiana - The Big Howdy Recording Company Story" (Stomper Time Records), liner notes, 2017
• Thanks to Dave Travis for additionally answering my questions and sharing his memories with me.

Dub International / Stylo Records (Little Rock)

"The Hits Are on Dub!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See also

• Dub International Records Discography on Arkansas45rpm Records

• Stylo Records Discography on Arkansas 45rpm Records

Sources

• Foster Johnson Find a Grave entry

• 45cat entries for Dub International and Stylo

• BMI

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

Westport Records (Kansas City)

Westport Records

The Wagon Wheel Label from the Port of the West

Kansas City had never the reputation as a big recording center but in the late 1940s, the 1950s and early 1960s, there were a lot of country and rock'n'roll artists in the city. Clubs and bars gave artists countless oportunities to entertain audiences on stage, radio stations like KCMO and its live programs boosted local talents popularity and small record labels were willing to release locally recorded music. One of those labels was Westport Records, which issued a string of more than 20 singles between 1954 and 1962.

Westport Records was formed in 1954 by Dave Ruf and his brothers as an outlet to record both their children's family band known in Kansas City as the Westport Kids. The first single released by the new label was Westport 125 by the Westport Kids called "Right Or Wrong" / "Hold Me My Darling". Westport started out as a country label, recording also such artists as local radio performers Milt Dickey and Jimmy Dallas. The label's headquarters was located in West Port, once an indepentend town but by the 1950s already a city district of Kansas City.

Westport Kids promo card

Rockabilly singer Alvis Wayne came to the label in September 1956. He became the label's most successful artist, though he never visited Kansas City. Wayne was Texas based and recorded all his sessions in Corpus Christi and Houston. The recording contract was set up by Tony Wayne, who was Alvis Wayne's mentor and background musician along with the Rhythm Wranglers. Alvis Wayne's first record on Westport was "Swing Bop Boogie / Sleep Rock-a-Roll Rock-a-Baby", which got only little airplay in Texas and sold about 2,000 copies. Wayne's next record, also recorded in a little studio on Corpus Christi, was Westport's and also Wayne's biggest record. "Don't Mean Maybe Baby" was issued in 1957 and got good reviews by Cashbox and charted in South Texas at #1, leaving behind Elvis Presley. Though, the national top 100 charts were still far far away.

Billboard March 9, 1959

Wayne's last record on Westport came out in September 1958 on Westport 140, the slightly pop oriented "Lay Your Head On My Shoulder" / "You're the One". During the years of 1956, 1957 and 1958, Westport had continued to release singles by Milt Dickey, one record by Alvis Wayne's back-up band Tony Wayne & the Rhythm Wranglers, the Westport Kids, Big Bob Dougherty, and Jimmy Dallas. The label releaed another rockabilly single in early 1959 with Lee Finn's "High Class Feelin'" / "Pour Me a Glass of Wine" (#141), which became a local hit in Kansas City.

The company's last issue came out on Westport 145 by Gene Chapman, probably in 1962. After that, the label was closed down by the Ruf brothers. Westport never gained a national hit, just releasing singles for the local market and having fair success with it during the 1950s. The total output were only about 22 singles in seven years. There has been two unofficial CD reissues with the complete Westport catalogue so far.

See also

• Tony Wayne on Westport

• Alvis Wayne on Westport

• Jimmy Dallas on Westport

Sources

• 45cat entry and 45cat/78rpm entry

• various Billboard issues

Jim Stanton and Rich-R-Tone Records

Jim Stanton and Rich-R-Tone Music

The Forgotten Pioneer of Bluegrass Music

Bluegrass music evolved in the late 1930s in the Appalachians as an answer to the progressive new country music sounds of western swing and honky tonk music. This era produced the styles we generally consider as country music today. In contrast to these styles, bluegrass music sounded rather old-fashioned and therefore, was highly embraced by rural people from such Appalachian states as Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas. A mixture of the old-time mountain folk music from the south, blues, and even some jazz, bluegrass music was more innovative as people back then thought and soon, spread across the country.

The father of bluegrass was, of course, Bill Monroe from Kentucky, who became a driving force in the development of the style. His band, the Blue Grass Boys, gave the music its name, and their appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, one of the nation's best known country music radio programs, gave the style important exposure. However, Monroe was not the only artist that took part in this development.

One of the first, if not the first, independent record producer that recorded bluegrass music was Johnson City, Tennessee, music entrepreneur James Hobart "Jim" Stanton. Previously, bluegrass music had been recorded of course but only by major labels, which naturally were mainly interested in sales numbers and therefore only recorded artists that sold. Stanton, on the other hand, did not chose his artists under commercial aspects - at least not mainly - but recorded them on his Rich-R-Tone label because he liked the way they performed music. Thus, he preserved local artists' music and culture, giving us even today an idea what bluegrass music sounded like in places such as Piney Flats, Tennessee, or Grassy Creek, North Carolina, in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

While Stanton kept on recording bluegrass and country music throughout the decades, he began working with black gospel groups in the 1960s and released numerous discs on his Champ record label. Indeed, he was not tied to one music style but recorded what he either considered appropriate or, the business man he was, if someone paid for it.

James Hobart Stanton was born in 1918 in Johnson City in Washington County, Tennessee, to Dana G. Stanton and his wife Ida Bell (née Yates). Both his father's and his mother's families were longtime residents of the coal mining region of Washington County, which biggest town is Johnson City.

Stanton was still a boy when the city became the place of an important event in country music history: in October 1928 and October 1929, Columbia Records set up a mobile recording studio and, headed by Columbia's Old Familiar Tunes department chief Frank Walker, conducted countless sessions of regional old-time folk and gospel musicians. Besides the Bristol sessions (during which RCA discovered Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family) and the Knoxville sessions, the Johnson City sessions are today regarded as one of the most important events in old-time music and early country music. If Stanton took actually notice of what was going on in downtown Johnson City at that time is not known. But it cemented the city's status as a regional music center.

By the mid 1930s, while still being a teenager, Stanton was working for a jukebox operator, traveling the Appalachians and selling discs for jukebox playing. His long and extensive journeys throughout the Appalachians probably gave him a better understanding of the music culture and its artists. Though, it still took him some years to recognize the potential and to finally set out on his own.

In 1937, his sister Myrtle passed away at the young age of just 20 years. However, around the same time, Stanton married Mary K. Flaherty, whose family was also from Johnson City. In 1939, he took over the company he was working for and spent the war years working his jukebox disc salesman job. He sold the business in 1942 and moved to Cincinnati, where he worked for Wurlitzer jukeboxes and became acquainted with Syd Nathan, who was about to start King Records. Stanton then went into partnership with Tommy Grinnell, forming a jukebox business with him in 1944 in Richmond, Virginia, but sold his share two years later. Inspired by Nathan and his independent record company, Stanton had decided to try his luck as an independent record producer by fall 1946. Previously, Stanton had watched the major labels turning out disc after disc and assumed that he could do it just as good.

He had moved back to Johnson City, where he opened a record store on West Main Street and a record label, Rich-R-Tone Records. The first artist Stanton recorded was a local country music singer, Buffalo Johnson, who was 20 years old at that time and just about to start his career. "I'll Always Find a Way", written by Johnson, and "Come Back Again", credited to Stanton as composer (though it's questionable if Stanton was the actual writer) were recorded around fall of 1946 at WOPI and released on December 20 by Stanton (Rich-R-Tone #401). At the beginning, Stanton had to sell the records out of the trunk of his car but soon found distributors that were willing to support his releases. He also placed ads on local radio to advertise new releases and to sell via mail-order.

Local radio was an important tool for Stanton. He did not only use it as a sales channel but also to find new, promising talent to record. During 1947, Stanton recorded and released several discs on local artists. One of the most influential steps in his career was the addition of Ralph and Carter Stanley to his Rich-R-Tone label. Billed as "Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys", the Carters and their band were already popular within a 100 miles radius around Norton, Virginia, and appeared on local WNVA there. It was their performance of "Little Glass of Wine" that won over Stanton, so he arranged a recording session for the Stanley Brothers in September 1947 at radio WOPI in nearby Bristol, Tennessee. Their debut was released later that year but it was their third disc, "The Little Glass of Wine" b/w "Little Maggie" (Rich-R-Tone #423) from March 1948 that became their first regional hit. Carl Sauceman, a young bluegrass musician who would also record for Rich-R-Tone eventually, worked part-time as a distributor for both Mercury and Stanton, hauling thousands of Stanley Brothers discs to record shops in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Kentucky, (West) Virginia, and the Carolinas.

Other notable bluegrass acts that eventually became famous were Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, the Bailey Brothers, Curly King and his Tennessee Hilltoppers, among other more regional acts. He also set up the Folk Star label in the late 1940s. But Stanton was not tied to one musical style. He also recorded mainstream country music, proto-rockabilly country boogie, gospel, and even some rhythm & blues during those years. Among all those artists, Buffalo Johnson remained the most prolific one, recording in nearly every of the aforementioned style from the 1940s well into the 1970s on Rich-R-Tone.

Stanton moved his operations to Campbellsville, Kentucky, where he merged Rich-R-Tone with the equally influential Acme record label. Rich-R-Tone ceased operations in 1953 and Stanton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, which had developed into a center for country music business by then. He started Champ Records in 1965, which had offices in both Nashville and Johnson City, and produced all kinds of music on this label. Though, black gospel albums became the company's main product, releasing numerous LPs until the early 1980s. Stanton's work with black gospel groups is largely unknown today, although he produced a large quantity of records for these bands. He also reactivated Rich-R-Tone during the 1960s, releasing country music on it, and worked for United Music World of West Columbia, South Carolina, from 1974 until 1976. 

Jim Stanton passed away on July 15, 1989, in Nashville, Tennessee. He is buried at Monte Vista Memorial Park in Johnson City. Stanton's influence on American roots music is hard to ignore but until recent years, his legacy remained commonly unrecognized. In 2022, the state of Tennessee erected a historical marker on Johnson City's West Main Street to honor Stanton. Since then, the awareness of Stanton's efforts has increased. Bear Family Records released a 12-CD box set entitled "The Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story" in September 2025, containing all surviving recordings from the period 1946 - 1954. Dr. Ted Olson from East Tennessee State University and Matteo Ringressi, Italian bluegrass musician, collector, and researcher, were instrumental in putting this box together.

Recommended reading

• The Rich-R-Tone Folk Star Story (Bear Family)

• Dialogue: Celebrating the Legacy of Rich-R-Tone Records (interview with Dr. Ted Olson)

• Rich-R-Tone Facebook Discography page

• The Rich-R-Tone Records Archival Project Youtube page

Sources

• Find a Grave entry

• Rich-R-Tine 45worlds/78rpm entry

• Discogs

• Ted Olson: "A pioneering 'bluegrass label': The achievement of James Hobart Stanton and Rich-R-Tone Records" (Appalachian Place)

• The Johnson City Sessions (Bear Family)

• Neil V. Rosenberg: "Bluegrass: A History" (University of Illinois Press), 2005, p. 81-83 

Peak Records

The King Clothiers' Short Venture Into Music Production
Lansky Brothers' Peak Records

Among the many smaller labels in Memphis' music history, the Peak record label stands out due to its unusual ownership. Guy and Bernard Lansky, simply known as the Lansky Brothers, owned a clothing shop on Beale Street, known as "Lansky Bros. Men's Shop", which gained international fame as Elvis Presley's clothier. One of the lesser known aspects is that the brothers also went into the recording business in 1958, building a small recording studio in the back of their shop and founding the Peak label.

What became the Lansky Bros. shop started in 1946 on 126 Beale Street as Lansky Bros. Army Surplus store, selling leftover Army supplies from World War II, which had come to an end a year earlier. The Lanskys were Memphis born and Guy Lansky served his country during World War II, running an Army surplus store in Italy.

By the early 1950s, Army supply was harder to come by but, on the other hand, there was a growing market for young men's clothes, especially for the jazz and rhythm and blues scene. The brothers jumped at the chance and remodeled their store, developing it into a full-fledged clothes shop for men. The store soon gained popularity, especially among the many young, hip musicians like B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Little Willie John, Little Richard, Pat Boone, and of course Elvis Presley.

In 1958, Presley had developed from being a southern "western bop" singer to a national cultural phenomenon and rock'n'roll was the thing. Every record label tried to find their own Elvis, no matter if it was a small independent company or a major record label. The Lanskys thought that, too, and - probably from the money they earned with the store - they invested in a small recording studio behind their warehouse which they named "American Recording".

Apparently, the venture was established by ten different business men from Memphis, many of them being silent partners, though. According to Billboard, iron manufacturer Abe Sauer was chairman of the board and Bernie Freiden probably took over the function of musical director. Curtis Foster also served as an executive for the label. Another of those ten businessmen was Howard R. Chambers, who did a lot of songwriting for the label. The Lanskys' exact occupation with the label remains foggy, unfortunately.

Billboard August 10, 1958: "Peak Records Sells Artist By the Piece"
Article on Peak's business strategy

In contrast to other labels, the Peak venture was set up a little bit different by the board. According to a Billboard article from August 10, 1959, the Peak label put half of the financial means behind the artists' first release, seeking for investors to put on the other half to finance the issue. This principle should continue until after the fourth release of an artists, when profits should be paid to the investors (if the discs were successful). This strategy was not fruitful likely, as no artist on Peak had more than two releases. The article mentions further that Peak had already ten discs released that way but the truth was that nothing was released at that time and that its first issue was still months away - it was, likely, not even planned. This, however, would change within three months.

The label's first recording artist was 17-years old rock'n'roller named Eddie Cash, who was a regular visitor to the brothers' store. Cash was managed by Bill Harris, who had previously worked with Harold Jenkins (alias Conway Twitty). Cash later told John Burton: "Howard Chambers was in Lansky's talking to Bill Harris, bass player and manager of Harold Jenkins. They mentioned Eddie Cash, Guy Lansky jumped in, saying: 'Is that the kid who won the contest at Treadwell High School? He buys his clothes in here. We want him to be out first release! So Chambers got in touch with Eddie and within a couple of weeks the record was written, recorded and issued."

The record that was mentioned was "Doing All Right", written by Howard Chambers, and "Land of Promises", written by Cash and his guitarist Gerald Hunsucker. Both recordings saw release in November 1958 on Peak #1001. Cash promoted the disc heavily and it reached high chart positions in several local charts, including in Memphis. It was local DJ George Klein's "Pick of the Week" the same month it was released. However, the Lansky's were inexperienced in the record business and had no proper distribution. When record stores from the east coast started demanding copies, they could not match the demand and the record died before it could develop into a national hit.

Another early production of American Recording was Dale Vaughn's "How Can You Be Mean to Me" b/w "High Steppin'" from 1958, though released not on Peak but probably recorded at the Lanskys' studio. It saw release on the Von label (unrelated to the Booneville, Mississippi, label of the same name). In 1959, American Recording launched a second, short-lived label entitled Al-Be Records, which released one disc each by Jay Rainwater and Charlie Fury and the Rebel Rockets.

Peak signed the Morgan Twins, a rock'n'roll duo from Little Rock, Arkansas, in May 1959 and released their "Sittin' at the Drive-In" around June the same year before they released another Eddie Cash single, "Come on Home" b/w "Day After Day" (Peak #1010, 1959), which went nowhere, unfortunately. Cash then left Peak, disappointed by the lack of promotion and distribution, and recorded at Fernwood (released on the Dot subsidiary Todd) as well as for Roulette.

There were a few more releases in 1960 by an artist named Paul Little and by Memphis famous wrestler Sputnik Monroe, who had a large following in the city's black community and was a customer at the Lanskys' store, but that pretty much was it. Sputnik Monroe was in good company, as several Memphis wrestlers cut a record, hoping to push their careers. The same applied to Monroe. Asked by his wife who would ever buy his record (as Monroe was so untalented he "couldn't carry a tune in a bucket" as cited in Aaron D. Horton's book "Identity in Professional Wrestling"), he replied "nobody" but he hoped to further his wrestling career with it. Soon after, he left Memphis.

There could have been a few more releases judging from the label's catalog number systems but no more have turned up so far. The Peak story ended already in 1960, only two years after it had begun.

The Lanskys Bros. shop remained a household institution in Memphis and it still is up to this day, although the original building is not used by the company any longer. The shop, now located in the Peabody Hotel building, is run by second and third generation family members and has experienced a boom recently due to the popularity of the movie "Elvis". Guy Lansky died in 2005, his brother Bernard Lansky followed in 2012.

Discography

Peak Records
1001: Eddie Cash and the Cashiers - Doing All Right / Land of Promises (Nov. 1959)
1002-1007: ?
1008: Morgan Twins - Sittin' in the Drive-In / Don't You Think It's Nice (June 1959)
1009:
1010: Eddie Cash and the Cashiers - Day After Day / Come On Home (1959)
155: Sputnik Monroe - Sputnik Hires a Band / Man That's the South
188: Paul Little - Turn Around Baby / I Want to Walk with You (Jan. 1960)

Al-Be Records
148: Jay Rainwater - Without You / The Girl I Left Behind
167: Charlie Fury and the Rebel Rockets - Reptile / Sump'n Else (March 1959)

Sources
• Rockin' Country Style entry
• 45cat entry for Peak and Al-Be
• Wikipedia entry
• John Beifuss: "From Elvis to Oscar - The Story of Lansky Brothers and its place in Memphis history" (The Commercial Appeal)
• Eddie Cash biography on BlackCat Rockabilly (Wayback Machine)
• Peak Records of Memphis
• various Billboard news items
• Robert Gordon: "It Came from Memphis" (Atria Books), 2001, pages 33-37
• Allison Graham, Sharon Monteith: "The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Vol. 18" (University of North Carolina Press), 2011, page 314
• Aaron D. Horton: "Identity in Professional Wrestling" (McFarland Inc. Publishers), 2018, pages 223-224

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

SPA Records

Look at Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas, ca. 1962

Greetings from Hot Springs National Park

The Story of John Roddie's SPA Records

SPA Records was based in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was connected (or probably owned) by John Roddie, an entrepreneur and song publisher originally from Mississippi but who had lived in Hot Springs for years by the advent of the 1960s. He owned a publishing firm that was variously called  "Roddie-Miller Music Pub. Company" or "Roddie Music Pub. Company". SPA was likely his first label, which was established in late 1960 with the debut release by local Hot Springs country singer Leo Castleberry, who dabbled in rock'n'roll with "Teenage Blues" b/w "Come Back to Me" (SPA #100-10).

Between 1960 and at least 1964, the label released several discs of various musical genres. There was more rockabilly (Lafay Hawkins), country music (Eddie Bond), instrumental rock'n'roll (Johnny Hughey, who was probably steel guitarist John Hughey), and pop music (Adrain Loraine, among others). Opal Winstead and H. Lindemanis were two of the regular songwriters for the label, as their songs were recorded by a string of SPA recording artists. Noteworthy, many of Roddie's composers were women: Winstead, Dahwiss Meiszinger, Frances Adickes, and his wife Bonnie Roddie.

There was also a subsidiary label called Caesar, which was used only infrequently, however. Only two releases are known to exist on the Caesar imprint (one dated as late as 1970).

The last known release on SPA is from 1964. John Roddie had founded a second label, United Southern Artists, in 1961, which had a greater output but focused on country and rock'n'roll music. This label came to an end in 1964, too. John Roddie died in 1980.

Discography

SPA
100-10: Leo Castleberry - Teenage Blues / Come Back to Me (1960)
25-1001: Eddie Bond - Only One More Minute / I Walk Alone (1960)
25-1002: 
25-1003:
25-1004: Johnny Hughey - The Crawl / Last Date (1961)
25-1005:
25-1006: Ersel Standridge - Khruschev's Call to Satan / Story of My Life (1962)
25-1007:
25-1008: Sammy Marshall - Kiss Me Good-Bye Tomorrow / John Greer - (Oh, Ho, Ho) Heartaches (1963)
25-1009:
25-1010:
25-1011:
25-1012: "Wishy" Washburn and his Carolina Cool Cats - Cool Cat from Carolina / Simple Simon / Little Laurie Little - Come Get Me Johnny / Beverly Bronte' - Golden Hour of Love (1963)
25-1013:
25-1014: Eddie Bond and Dahwiss and her Dixie Drifters - Buffalo Trace / Nobody's Darling (1963)
25-1015: "Wishy" Washborn - Perfect Fool / Beverly Bronte' - Love Is Such a Little Word / Mama Lady - Dear Lord and Santa Claus / Biddle (Bo) Beep (1963)
25-1016: Adrain Loraine - The Serviceman's Dream / Cottage in the Lane / Lafay Hawkins - I Never Had a Girl / Adrain Loraine - I Want a Trailer (1964)
25-1017:
25-1018:

Caesar
25-101: Lafay Hawkins - Let's Be Happy Tonight / Just for Tonight (1961)
25-1025: Don Ange and the Melody Men - My Pet Gorilla / "Wishy" Washman and Orchestra - Miami Blues (1970)

See also

• The United Southern Artists label

Sources

• 45cat entries for SPA Records and Caesar Records

• Rockin' Country Style

Penny Records (Picayune, Mississippi)

Picayune, Mississippi, in the 1970s

Picayune, Mississippi - a 11.000 people city in Pearl River County, Mississippi, near the Mississippi/Louisiana state border. The city's legacy in music history is limited, very limited. But it has a few contributions to offer. Country comic and Picayune native Jerry Clower recorded his live LP "Live in Picayune" for MCA at a charity event of the city's Women's Club. Allegedly also a son of the city was rockabilly and country singer Vern Pullens - although others say he was born in nearby Bogalusa, Louisiana.

However, Picayune was once home to record labels and a recording studio. Yes, more than one label - including Penny Records. The name "Picayune" drives from the french word "picaillon", which itself rooted in "picaioun", which was the name of a coin from the Savoy region in Europe. So the label's name "Penny" is probably a reference to the city name's history.

The label started in the early 1970s from a house on Chateau Cove road in the northeast of the city near Highway 59. Possibly also operating from that address was Precision Recording Studio, were many of the label's recordings were cut. Until early 2026, I could not tell you who the owner was but I sensed a connection to Hack Kennedy's Big Howdy label, which had been originally located in the Bogalusa area but had moved to Picayune as well by the early 1970s. Some of the Penny releases bear the Big Howdy publishing stamp. And I was right!

I contacted Dave Travis, British country/rockabilly music enthusiast, musician, and label owner. He bought the Big Howdy label from Hack Kennedy in the 1990s, so I had high hopes he could tell me more about the connection between Big Howdy and Penny. When he visited Hack Kennedy in 1994, Kennedy mentioned that he and his friend Dayward Penny (another reference to the label name) went into partnership to form Penny Records. Dayward Penny was a local country singer, who had recorded for Big Howdy prevsiously.

The formation of Penny Records apparently took place after Kennedy had moved to Picayune. However, when Kennedy sold Big Howdy to Dave, the Penny label was also part of that deal. Dave assumes that Kennedy outbought Dayward Penny at some later point and became the sole owner.

1406 Chateau Cove in Picayune, where Penny Records was located in the 1970s
Source: Google Street View

Picayune country disc jockey B.J. Johnson ("B.J. the D.J.") also penned some of the songs released on the label and more than likely had a hand in the label, too. Johnson had recorded for Big Howdy and was partner with Hack Kennedy in their Angie Sound Studio in Angie, Louisiana, where many of the Big Howdy recordings took place. It is my understanding that Kennedy and Johnson built Precision after Kennedy's move to Picayune.

The Precision Recording Studio had its life of its own. While many of the Penny releases were recorded there, the studio served as an outlet for other local labels throughout the 1970s. The discs were mainly pressed by Atwell Record Pressing in Lafayette, Tennessee (including the Penny releases). B.J. Johnson, who appears as the songwriter on some Penny productions, also produced records at the Precision studio.

Discography

Label No.#	Artist Credit	A / B side	Date
103	Wayne Morse	Don’t Hide Your Heart / Pull Down the Blind’s Momma
104
105	Joe Brady	You’re the Reason I’m Leaving / You Were Only Fooling
106	Jerry Evans	Go on Home / Your Old Standby
107	Harvey Mansfield	Keep That Country Music Playing / You Destroyed My Life
108
109
110
111	Jerry Evans	Catch the Wind / I’m Walking the Dog	1972
112
113
114
115	E.J. Saucier	Mr. Warden / Little Girl	1972
126	Spectrum	Forever and Always / Made for Me	1973
126	Country Comfort feat. Bobby Boyles	Words / Got You On My Mind	1974
127	Johnnie Kirk	Wicked Women / Big Bad Stuff	1974
128	Gwen Bush	If You Got Leaving On Your Mind / I Don’t Want to Live (Without His Love)	1974
129
130	Billy Mulkey	Give Me Freedom / Let’s Fight	1975
131	Tommy Gray	Broken Heart Repairman / ?
177	Patty Mason and the Slade Gang	Constantly / Hickory Hollar’s Tramp
178	Cleat Wooley	That’s Why I’m Walking / You Can’t Stop the Rain from Falling	1971
201	Jerry Evans	Green, Green Grass of Home / Rhythm of the Rain	1975

See also
• Big Howdy Records
• Vern Pullens
• The Pearl River Valley Jamboree

Sources
• Thanks to Dave Travis for sharing his recollections and knowledge with me.
• 45cat entry
• Discord entries for Penny Records and Precision Sound Studio
• Locals Only

The Poor Boy Connection

The Poor Boy Connection

Wayne Raney's First Adventure in Record Production

Wayne Raney had been an established artist by the mid 1950s but his heyday as a recording artist had been over by then. His influential work with the Delmore Brothers had come to an abrupt end when Rabon Delmore died in 1952. Raney's last hit and biggest hit, "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" from 1949, was eight years old when he decided to try his luck and switch to the other side of the studio.

In 1957, Raney returned to WCKY in Cincinnati and continued to sell song books and harmonicas on air successfully. That same year, Raney decided to switch sides and established his own Wayne Raney Studio in nearby Oxford, Ohio, operating the Poor Boy, American, New American, and Down Home labels out of it. He also set up Oleta Publishing, which became his outlet for composition for the next decades. In late 1957, Raney recorded "We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll)" and "Don't You Think It's Time", which saw release on Poor Boy #100 the following year (although Billboard would not announce the founding of Poor Boy until February 1959) and the former became a hit in the gospel hit. "We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus" was also recorded by several other artists in the years to come and became a minor standard.

Raney's business partner was Jimmie Zack, a singer and songwriter who worked in Raney's band before the founding of the recording studio and record labels. Born James Zack Yingst in 1924 in Fair Oaks, Arkansas, Zack penned about a dozen songs, mostly with Raney or Raney's son Zyndall. Zack's "Evil Ways" b/w "I Can't Do Without You" (American #102, 1960) has been featured on a few compilations. He had another release on Starday's Nashville imprint, "Lost John's Gone" b/w "My Get Up and Go" (#5010), which was released in 1961 and probably recorded at Raney's Oxford studio or, though rather unlikely, at his Rimrock studio.

Raney and Zack operated a handful of labels out of the Oxford studio with changing adresses, however, They also began an association with Norman Walton of Richmond, Indiana, who operated Walton Records and probably served as a manager for the Raney/Zack labels.

Location of the labels' addresses:
Oxford, Ohio / Richmond, Indiana / Muncie Indiana

The Poor Boy label was started in 1958. The first release (Poor Boy #100) showed a Richmond post box address. Then, they changed it to a Muncie, Indiana, post box address. Muncie is located about 43 miles southeast of Richmond on the Indiana-Ohio state border. Poor Boy releases #105 up to #107 showed addresses in both Muncie ("Home Office") and Richmond ("General Manager Office"). The final releases on Poor Boy only had a Muncie address. The label was closed down in 1960. Its last release is probably the best known: "Sweet Marie" b/w "Servant of Love" (Poor Boy #111) by the Van Brothers, Arnold and Earl Van Winkle. Both songs were also reissued by Norman Walton on the Walton label. Other notable recordings on Poor Boy include those by Raney himself, Norman Witcher, and Connie Dycus.

American was headquartered in Muncie. It was only active in 1960 and released four discs, including Zack's "Evils Ways". They also operated a New American label out of his Raney Recording Studio in Oxford, Ohio, that same year, which issued a string of bluegrass EPs featuring the likes of Wade Mainer, Clyde Moody, the Stanley Brothers, among other well known names. The tapes possibly came into Raney's possession through his job with WCKY. The last release on New American, a six track gospel EP, was re-released on the one-off Raney label as well.

Down Home Records was another very short-lived venture and released only one disc, a gospel EP by Raney and his family. These as well as other cuts recorded by Raney were also leased to Starday Records.

The Walton label was founded by Norman Walton in 1961 and released a slew of country and gospel singles and EPs up to 1966. Even an album by Gil Richmond was recorded in 1964 on Walton. Several of the songs recorded on Walton were co-written by Norman Walton, including Winston Shelton's sides. Similar to Poor Boy, the record labels also showed different addresses. The address on Winston Shelton's EP was 2923 Boston Pike in Richmond. Possibly these addresses were printed on account of the particular artist.

Many of the releases, especially Raney's EPs on his own labels and Starday, were promoted and sold by him through his radio show over WCKY, which was a powerful station and gave Raney a wide audience (similar businesses were run by WCKY DJs Nelson King and his successor, Arlen Vaden). However, by 1961, Raney decided to pack up things and move back to Arkansas. He discontinued his mail order business, the small labels he had established previously and bought a 180 acre farm near Concord, Arkansas, not far away from his birth place. On his farm, Raney raised Black Angus cattle but his farmer life only lasted for a few months. Later that year, he built the Rimrock Recording Studio and also established a pressing plant and, in 1965, his own Rimrock record label.

Norman Walton continued to release 45s and even some LPs on the Walton label until at least 1966 but discontinued it at some point. Wayne Raney sold the Rimrock company in 1975 to Stax Records of Memphis, Tennessee, and died in 1993.

If anyone has more information on Jimmie Zack or Norman Walton, please feel free to share your memories or information in the comments or via contact form.

Discography

American
101: Charlie Moore & Bill Napier and the Dixie Partners - Story of Love / Big Daddy of the Blues (1960)
102: Jimmie Zack and the Blues Rockers - I Can't Do Without You / Evil Ways (1960)
103: Krazy Kords - Malaguena / Return to Me / That's My Desire / Ol Man River (1960)
104: Rocky Rose - Won't You Reconsider / This Is the First Time (1960)

Down Home
100: Wayne Raney & Raney Family - I'll Be Listening / Where the Soul of Man Never Dies / I Need the Prayers / In the Shadow of the Cross / The Wrath of God / We Are Going Down the Valley

New American
101: Don Reno & Red Smiley - Springtime in Heaven / Stanley Brothers - He Said If I'd Be Lifted Up / Tommy Magness - Jesus Will Save Your Soul / Harlan County Four - John Three Sixteen / Brother Claude Ely - Little David Play on Your Harp / Clyde Moody - I Feel Like Traveling On
102: Trace Family Trio - My Mothers Dying Message / Clyde Moody - Through the Pearly Gate / Wade Mainer - God's Radio Phone / Tommy Magness - When I Safely Reach That Other Shore / Mac Odell - Be on Time / King's Sacred Quartet - The World Can't Stand Long
103: Esco Hankins - Mother Left Me Her Bible / Wade Mainer - He's Passing This Way / Bailes Brothers - Ashamed to Own the Blessed Savior / Trace Family Trio - I've Got a Longing to Go / Tommy Magness - Wings of Faith / Clyde Moody - I Need the Prayers
104: Wayne Raney & Family - A Little Pine Log Cabin / Hand in Hand with Jesus / I Found It in Mothers Bible / Where No Cabins Fall / The Uncloudy Day / An Empty Mansion (see also Raney 104)

Poor Boy
100: Wayne Raney - We Need a Whole Lot More of Jesus (and a Lot Less Rock and Roll) / Don't You Think It's Time (1958)
101:
102: Norman Witcher - Somebody's Been Rocking My Boat / Wake Me Up (1958)
103: Raney Family - When Heaven Comes Down / Lilac Bouquet (1959)
104: The Gays - Don't Rush Me / You're Never There (1959)
105: Les & Helen Tussey / Golden Hill Boys - They Went Around / Married to a Friend (1959)
106: Les & Helen Tussey / Golden Hill Boys - If Jesus Was in the Hearts / We've Got to Answer (1959)
107: Danny Brockman and the Golden Hill Boys - Stick Around / Don't You Know It's True (1959)
108: Connie Dycus - Same Old Thing / Hand Full of Ashes (1959)
109: Wayne Raney - Simply Wonderful / Everybody's Going Crazy (1959)
110: Originales - Bandstand Sound / Lend Me Your Ear (1959)
111: Van Brothers - Sweet Marie / Servant of Love (1959)

Raney
104: Wayne Raney & Raney Family - A Little Pine Log Cabin / Hand in Hand with Jesus / I Found It in Mothers Bible / Where No Cabins Fall / The Uncloudy Day / An Empty Mansion (see also American 104)

Walton
Singles
001: Richmond Friendly Four - Lord / I've Been a Hard Working Pilgrim / He Will Go / He Knows the Way / Someday They'll Be No Tomorrow (1961)
002:
003: Norman Walton & Van Brothers - Take That Lock from Your Heart / Too Many Women / Sweet Marie / Servant of Love (1962)
004:
005: Gentry Brothers - My Wildwood Flower / Uncle Orie - Uncle Sam (1962)
007: Gil Richmond and Earl King - Doing Things / Let Me Talk It Over with My Heart (1964)
008: Betty Browning - Do You Remember / My Larry (1964)
009: Gil Richmond and Earl King - Stop, Slow Down / Your Faithful Fool (1964)
010: Jimmy Walls - What a Little Kiss Can Do / Stop Look and Listen (1965)
011: Flora C - Walk Away, Walk Away / A Dairy of Dreams (1966)
EP-950: Winston Shelton and the Country Gospel Singers - From Bethlehem to Calvary / Stop and Think / I'm Not a Poor Man / On the Banks of Old Jordan
1500: Jimmy Walls - Hello Out There World / Look at Me Eyes (1966)
2500: Van Brothers - Uncle Jim Riggs Will / Lonesome Tonight for Tomorrow (1965)

Albums
No.#: Gil Richmond and the Golden Hill Troupe - Hootenanny Roundup (1964)

Recommended reading

• Dead Wax blog: Krazy Kords on American

See also

• Winston Shelton on Walton

• Wayne Raney - King of the Talking Harmonica

• Wayne Raney on New American

• The Van Brothers - Servants of Indiana Rockabilly

Sources

• 45cat entries: American, Down Home, New American, Poor Boy, Walton

• Jimmie Zack Rockin' Country Style entry

• Jimmie Zack Discogs entry

• Wayne Raney Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry