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

Herzog Studio

When Cincinnati Was Music City USA
The Story of E.T. Herzog's Recording Studio

Although the E.T. Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, was of historical significance for American popular music, especially for country music, its history is still largely unheard today. Scholars and books seem to know about its importance but many fail to explore the studio's history and to stress out its relevance.

The studio was operated by Earl Theodore "Bucky" Herzog, (born on January 26, 1908) who had worked as a full-time engineer at Cincinnati's radio station WLW. The station was very powerful, broadcasting with 500,000 watts out of the city. WLW hosted the Boone County Jamboree, starting in 1938, and the Midwestern Hayride, starting in 1945, two immensely successful country music radio (and later also TV) shows. The station managed to built up a big roster of local and national country music performers that both appeared on the aforementioned shows and during daily programming.

Herzog recognized that many country music stars passed through Cincinnati to stop at WLW and other stations to promote their act and records. His conclusion was that a recording studio might be profitable, therefore he quit his job at WLW, although he still would work part-time for the station until 1966, and built his own studio in his home in 1945. It was shortly after the war and recording equipment was hard to come by but Herzog managed to obtain it. He enjoyed important help from his brother Charles and business partner Henry Weiss to get the studio running.

Billboard June 8, 1946

The venture proved to be successful and the same year, Herzog rented space in a brick building at 811 Race Street, opening officially in early 1946. This became the place where historic recording sessions would take place. Nashville would become Music City, USA, but at that time, it was not. Cincinnati, on the other hand, had King Records, a Opry-rival in form of the Midwestern Hayride, and Herzog's studio plus WLW's talented roster of musicians.

In fact, Herzog drew many of its studio and recording musicians from the cast of the Midwestern Hayride, most notable Jerry Byrd on steel guitar, Louis Innis on rhythm guitar, Zeke Turner on lead guitar, and Tommy Jackson on fiddle. Known as the "Pleasant Valley Boys", this group was pretty busy around Cincinnati in those years. Apart from recording sessions at Herzog's, the band did countless live appearances, radio & TV broadcasts as well as serving as the house band for the Hayride. The core of the band had performed as Red Foley's Cumberland Valley Boys but split with Foley after paying discrepancies in 1948 and moved to WLW.

Soon, the facility's reputation spread and record producers started booking it. Syd Nathan, owner of King, would use it frequently during his early days as he had not built a studio on his own at that time. Bullmoose Jackson's "The Honeydripper" was recorded at Herzog's for example. The Delmore Brothers recorded their influential country boogies there, Grandpa Jones, Ramblin' Tommy Scott, and several other King recording artists went to Herzog, too. However, Nathan was not an easy person to work with and his behavior would ruin sessions too often, so Herzog rejected to work with him anymore.

Nonetheless, Herzog's studio was pretty busy and every major label, from Columbia and RCA-Victor to Mercury and MGM, would book time there for recording. Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs cut their original version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" at Herzog and artists like Moon Mullican, Patti Page, and Red Foley, among others, recorded there as well.

Billboard May 17, 1947

The studio did so well that Herzog was even able to set up his own in-house label called Radio Artist Records. Most of the recorded artists came from WLW and the discs were only limited sales-wise. Though, the label can be regarded as an important medium that preserved local Cincinnati music. Herzog eventually sold the label to Lou Epstein, Jimmie Skinner's manager.

Probably the most iconic session at Herzog's took place in December 1948, when Nashville publisher Fred Rose brought a young Hank Williams into the studio. Williams cut "Lovesick Blues", a song much disliked by Rose and unusual in its arrangement, but it became the singer's breakthrough hit. The next year, Williams returned to Cincinnati and laid down another session, which produced more iconic songs like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" or "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It".

In the early 1950s, the studio's success waned due to different factors. Nashville now had its own studios, therefore the labels' artists could record there. Syd Nathan had built his own studio in Cincinnati by then as well, so Herzog had a rival now. In addition, WLW reduced its roster of live performers - many of them had recorded at Herzog. The Pleasant Valley Boys were one of those acts that left and went back to Nashville. Moreover, Charles Herzog, who had been of invaluable assistance for his brother, passed away in 1951. There were a few sessions recorded in 1952 but the studio pretty much became dormant afterwards. Herzog sold the studio in the early 1950s and its new owners relocated it to Mount Adams. However, it had been closed down by 1955.

Billboard March 31, 1992

Bucky Herzog opened Audiocraft Recordings in Cincinnati but never achieved the same success like he did with his studio on Race Street. He passed away on December 6, 1986. In 2009, a marker was erected in front of the building and although the original equipment was gone, the room was used for concerts and exhibitions. In the past years, the Herzog rooms housed the Cincinnati USA Heritage Foundation, which organized those exhibits and concerts. Among the few people who cared about the history of the Herzog studio were Cincinnati music expert Randy McNutt, Elliot Ruther, and Brian Powers.

Sources
• The "Pre-Nashville A Team" at Cincinnati's Herzog Studios (Zero to 180)
• Courtney Phenicie: Breaking News from Herzog Music (Cinci Music)
• Discogs
• Rick Bird: Herzog Is Hallowed Ground (City Beat)
• Randy McNutt: Herzog Recording - The Hit Room (Home of the Hits blog)
• Herzog Music - Hank Williams' 70th at Herzog
• Fred Bartenstein, Curtis W. Ellison: "Industrial Strength Bluegrass" (University of Illinois Press), 2021
• Jon Hartley Fox: "King of the Queen City" (University of Illinois Press), 2009, page 54

Reavis Recording Studio

Someone asked me about Joe Reavis' Recording Studios recently but I lost contact information to that person, unfortunately. I hope he or she is reading this little piece now and that this is some useful information. If anyone out there has more knowledge about this little recording studio, feel free to pass it along.

Joseph Adam Reavis, Jr., was the owner of "Reavis Recording" on 2014 Beech Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee. Reavis was born in 1931 in Nashville. According to Bo Berglind, the studio was active at least since late 1955. Information on Reavis and his venture is scarce and confusing. Buzz Cason recalled in his autobiography "Living the Rock'n'Roll Dream" that the studio was operated by Kenny Marlow by 1958, a young attorney, and songwriter Gary Walker, who changed the name of the facility to "Fidelity." Apparently, Bobby Russell and the Impollos recorded their "She's Gonna Be Sorry" b/w "The Raven" (Felsted 45-8520) that year there under the new ownership. 

However, Billboard reported on April 25, 1960, that Murray Nash purchased the studio from Joe Reavis (!). Nash renamed it "Recording of Nashville" and operated his labels like Do-Ra-Me, MusiCenter and onthers out of it. By 1964, Nash had given up working in the music industry and probably sold the studio to whomever. Reavis died on December 6, 1961. from an overdose of barbituates, following the death of his father Joseph Adam Reavis, Sr., on October 30, 1961.

Buzz Cason remembered the studio: 

[...]  I will always be thankful for the people I met at that rat hole of a facility and the life-changing events that transpired in those early days of recorded music in Nashville long before there was a Music Row. [...]

"The Walls Came Tumblin' Down" and "That's What Children Are For" on a 45rpm

acetate recorded at Reavis Recording Studio. The artists on this disc are unidentified.

 "Lord's Prayer" by Barbara Redden on a 78rpm acetate. The backside of this

record is blank.

Further reading on Do-Ra-Me, see here.