CHAPTER 2 

Beginnings 

The new forms of music took many years to develop and did not arise overnight. The rhythm and blues and new country music sounds themselves took several years, while the new sounds of rock took even longer. This music would start in the hills and the open spaces of the country and blend with the current sounds of the time and the environments of its originators long before it would be classified as a new sound. 
 

Jimmie C. Rodgers

Jimmie Rodgers was Born in Meridian, Mississippi, on September 8, 1897. and died in New York on May 26, 1933. He was the son of Aaron W. Rodgers, and Eliza Bozeman Rodgers. His mother died of tuberculosis when Jimmie was four years old: He grew up a sickly child. 

Jimmie Rodgers has often been called the father of modern country and        western music, and in this case, he was also one of the fathers of rockabilly not a bad achievement for someone who lived a very brief life, in a relatively obscure area of the country. 

He grew up surrounded by the sounds of country music, and the country Blues sounds of the Negro field workers singing of the pain and  hardship of working in the fields.

With the help of a friend, he traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, to work as a city detective; his wife and daughter would join him later. He soon got bored, however, and formed a group with three instrumentalists Jack Pierce, on guitar; Jack Grant, on mandolin, and banjo; Claude Grant, on tenor banjo, and Jimmie, on tenor banjo. He called the group The Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers. He worked locally with the group, and soon convinced them to go north on a summer tour, to Baltimore. 

He later changed his mind when he found out that Ralph Peer, who was with the Victor Recording Company, was holding auditions in Virginia. 

For some reason, the band decided to dessert him, and convinced Ralph Peer to record them separately as the Tenneva Ramblers. Peer was not that anxious to record Jimmie, but Jimmie convinced him to record two songs, for which Jimmie received twenty dollars. The recorded songs were "The Soldiers Sweetheart" and "Sleep Baby Sleep." After the recording, Jimmie moved on to Washington, D.C., where he worked odd jobs, basically forgeting about the recording business, for the time being.

However, having heard word of the moderate success of his recordings, he decided to further his musical career. He went to New  York, to convince
 

In 1931 Ralph Peer united the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers on record in Louisville, Kentucky. This was the first time that the artists had ever met. Some of the recordings they made together were: "The wonderful City" and "Why There's a Tear in My Eye," duets with Jimmie and Sara; others were skits, part of the humor that went with the shows in which they performed . 

In June of 1936, the Carter Family began recording for Decca Records. This period is considered by many to be their most productive period. The guitar picking and harmonies were at their best. 

In 1938, they went to Del Rio, Texas to begin a series of broadcasts on the border stations. In 1938, Maybelle's three daughters, Helen, June, and Anita were added to the group. The radio broadcasts, from the border states, expanded their music much further than the south, and they began to become known throughout the country. 

In 1941, they went to New York City to record for Victor, the last recordings that they would ever make. After 14 years, and nearly 300 recordings they would finally stop. 

In 1943, the original Carter Family disbanded.. Mama Maybelle and the girls continued throughout the years, not only in the family tradition, but with a certain amount of success for each of the girls, and as a group backing up Johnny Cash, as part of "The Johnny Cash show." 

Roy Claxton Acuff 

Roy was born in Maynardsville, Tennessee on September 15, 1903. He became the first member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1962. His nickname was the King of Country Music. 

Roy's father was a Missionary Baptist minister and lawyer. Unfortunately, a country preacher's income is not exactly what you would call great, so Roy spent much of his early life going from family to family for support, while his father tried various sources of income. 

Until his late 20's, Roy's interest was primarily athletics, not music, and he earned 13 letters in high school sports. He also showed great interest in the

theater, in high school, where he acted in every play that he could. He played semi-pro baseball, but his tryout for a major league team met with disaster. He suffered a sunstroke and collapsed while playing a game in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 7, 1929. He would continue to have fainting spells for several years after this incident. 

Roy spent his idle time at home listening to his father's country music recordings, and learning to play his father's fiddle. He continued to strengthen the voice that had matured from his choirboy days, by taking some lessons from a sister, as well as from listening to the artists on his father's recordings. 

In 1932, he joined a neighbor selling Moc-A-Tan Compound in Doc Hauer's medicine show, entertaining the audience with music and acting. He gained his style of singing from his boyhood choir days, and by being forced to raise his voice, so that the people were able to hear his singing. 

In 1933, he founded a band called the Tennessee Crackerjacks and played in the Knoxville area at shows, and on radio station WROL, and WNOX. This work led to the band being approached by the American Record Company. The band changed its names to the Crazy Tennesseans and in 1936 the band recorded "The Great Speckled Bird." The song was actually "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes," but at some point during the years, different words were added, and the song grew in length. 

After yearning to join the Grand Ole Opry for many years, Roy's chance came in 1938, when a fiddler on the Opry was fired in an argument, and Roy convinced the powers that be to let him take the fiddler's place. On the show, Roy and his band performed "The Great Speckled Bird." He was so nervous that he felt that he was terrible, and that he would never be invited back. At that time, however, the Opry was basically a barn dance type of program and any singer would probably have been accepted. 

Two weeks after his appearance on the show, Roy received a telegram from David Stone asking him if he would like to be a regular at the Opry -- the mail had come in by the thousands, asking who he was, and if he would be on again. From there, he began to make his mark in the world, setting attendance records across the country. He soon become the top rated act at the
Opry, surpassing Uncle Dave Macon. 

In 1939, when NBC started broadcasting it's 30 minute segment of The Opry, no one but he was even considered for the roll of host, and he  became the

first real singer on the show. It was then that he changed the name of the band to its final name, the Smokey Mountain Boys. The band held together for several years, without changing; with Howard "Howdy" Forrester on harmonica, Jimmy Riddle on accordion, and Peter Kirby (Bashfull Brother Oswald) on dobro, banjo, and vocals. Later members of the band would be: Lonnie "Pop" Wilson, Jess Easterday, and Tommy Magness. 

Roy lacked the confidence he needed to play the fiddle, even though he was quite good, and tended to let the band do the playing. He later used it to do tricks, like balancing the bow on his nose. He preferred the natural acoustic sounds to the new electrified sounds, and for many years he resisted the temptation to electrify his group. 

When the band sang on gospel numbers with him , there was no attempt to sing true harmony; instead their music represented the looseness of a choir, and the naturalness of a mountain grown singing group. While the rest of the country acts tended toward western sounds, Roy and his band remained true to mountain music. 

In 1940, he wrote 16 songs for Gene Autry, including the popular "Be Honest With Me," which was his first venture in country-style music with the western touch. In the years to come, he would write hundreds of songs, both for himself, and for other country performers. 

"In 1942, he put up $25,000 to form Acuff-Rose Publications with Fred Rose, and that soon became the most successful publishing house in Nashville."
[Stambler&Landon, 1983,p.3] 

Acuff-Rose Publishing would become the center of country music in the years ahead, as Nashville slowly became the haven for country musicians and songs throughout the country. In 1945, Fred Rose turned over the business portion of the publishing company to his son Wesley and began a tradition of helping to develop the career of young singers and writers. The most important of these artists, of course, was Hank Williams. 

Some of Roy's greatest songs of the period were "Wreck on the Highway," "Fireball Mail," "Night Train to Memphis," "Low and Lonely," and "Pins And Needles (In My Heart)."  This was wartime; the war was a mystery to uneducated Southerners, and the songs, such as "Smoke on the Water", "I'll Be True While You're Gone," "We'll Meet Again, Sweetheart," and most important of all, "The Soldier's Last Letter," reflected the times. 

Although there were many influences in Bob's life, his future music would reflect his surroundings, including the black influences. 

Jim Rob lived around blacks so much in his formative years that not only his music and style but his personality and speech as well were permanently marked by their culture. [Malone & McCulloh,1975,p.174]

The black influence is more than evident in Bob's older songs. His most precious memories were of seeing Bessie Smith perform. His attempt to recreate the blues on his fiddle in the same way that jazz tries to recreate the voice gave him a much different sound than the other artists. 

In 1929, he formed the Wills Fiddle Band, consisting of himself as fiddler, and Herman Arnspiger as guitarist. They played for many of the home dances in the area. In November, they traveled to Dallas to cut two songs for the Brunswick Record Company: "Gulf Coast Blues" and "Wills Breakdown." However, there was very little positive reaction to the recordings. 

In 1930, Bob decided to add Milton Brown as a vocalist, his brother Durwood on guitar and Clifton "Sleepy" Johnson as tenor banjoist. Together they studied and played pop, blues, New Orleans jazz, folk, and race music in order to be able to play any style which may be requested. 

In January, 1931, he began to perform on KFTZ radio, and his show became one of the most popular shows in the Southwest. They started advertising for Light Crust Flour, and so they called themselves the Light Crust Doughboys.

The show soon began to broadcast over several stations in the area, and it remained on the air until the early '50's. 

Because of the popularity of the show, the band was invited to record for Victor, and on February 9, 1932, they recorded "Nancy Jane" and "Sunbonnet Sue." Just as before, nothing much came of the recordings. 

Troubled times soon hit the band, when arguments broke out between Milton Brown and the others, so Bob advertised for a new singer. He auditioned about 67 singers before he finally decided on Thomas Elmer Duncan. Also,
because of their fights, and Bob's drinking habits, the band was fired from the radio program. 

The band needed a new name, so in 1933, while it was broadcasting over WACO, Bob changed the band's name to Bob Wills and the Playboys. At this time, the band consisted of: Bob Wills, on fiddle; Tommy Duncan, vocals and piano; Kermit Whalin, on bass and steel guitar; Johnny Lee Wills, tenor banjo, and June Whalin, on rhythm guitar. 

The band soon headed for the greater glory and the wide open spaces of O Oklahoma. The band members settled in Tulsa, and joined KVOO on which they bought their own radio time, and advertised Play Boy flour for General Mills. In one form or another, the program would remain on the air for 24 years. During this period, Bob would develop his final dance schedules as well as his greatest band. 

In September of 1935, he took the band to Dallas for his second try with Brunswick Records. In all, there were 13 musicians in the session; this group became the basis of the new groups he would develop in the years ahead. Among the musicians were Bob, on fiddle; Tommy Duncan, vocals; Johnnie Lee Wills, on tenor banjo; Son Lansford, bass; Everett Stover, on trumpet; Robert Zeb McNally, on saxophone and clarinet; Herman Arnspiger, on guitar; Art Haines, on trombone and violin; Jesse Ashlock, on violin; Clifton Johnson, on guitar and tenor banjo; William Eschol Smokey Dacus, on drums; Leon McAuliffe, on steel Guitar; and Alton Stricklin, on piano. 

Although he was constantly warned, by those that know, that horns and strings didn't mix, Bob paid no attention to the warnings, because he thought they sounded good together. He would constantly react to each musician's playing, and when one of them would play some good "licks" he would let out with a musical "moan" to show his appreciation for the music. 

By 1940, he had put together what he referred to as a band, but what everyone else would probably refer to as an orchestra. He used upwards of 18 instruments: 4-6 saxophones; 2-3 clarinets; 2-3 trumpets; a trombone, piano, bass drum, tenor banjo, steel guitar, electric guitar, and 3 fiddles. 

Shortly after they recorded "The New San Antonio Rose," Bob and the band began to make movies the real shoot 'em up, cowboy type of movies. This, naturally, spread their music throughout the country. 

Between 1935 and 1942, he was married and divorced 5 times. When World War II broke out, most of the band went off to fight, even Bob. Unfortunately, at 38 years old, he could not take the rigors or the service, and he was discharged the following year. He headed for California, and the San  Fernando Valley. 

During the war, he married Betty Anderson, with whom he had three children. As he grew fonder of his family, he wanted to return home every night to see them, so the territory where the band performed became closer and closer to his home. However, in 1949, he moved to Oklahoma City, and his management company, MCA, booked him on a tour of Texas and the Southwest. 

Bob suffered his first heart attack in 1962, and his second in 1964, while on a national tour. By this time, his manager, Sam Gibbs, was booking him as a single, and making him more money than he used to make as a group. Besides all the appearances in the '60's, he recorded nearly 100 songs between 1963 and 1969. 

Although he would never believe that he was a country artist, he was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 18, 1968. The following year, on May 31, 1969, he had a major stroke, and for months he showed no interest in music, whatsoever. 

In 1971, he started getting better, and in the following year, he began attending award shows, in his honor. On one of the award shows, in Nashville, for ASCAP, he contacted United Artists Records, and arraigned for a recording date to be held in Dallas, on December 3-4, 1973. He contacted all his old friends and fellow musicians to ask them to attend. 

All the Texas Playboys arrived the day before for a jam session at Bob's home. The group included: Smokey Dacus, Leon McAuliffe, Al Stricklin, Eldon Shamblin, Keith Coleman, Johnny Gimble and Leon Rauech, and a special guest star Merle Haggard. Merle had driven down from Chicago to fulfill one of his dreams, to play with Bob Wills. 

Merle had joined the members of the band, previous to this, in April of 1970, when they recorded together to help him create a concept album based on the life of Bob Wills, entitled A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World. 

In the 2 day session, they recorded 27 selections. The last night, Bob Wills had a stroke and never regained consciousness. He died 17 months later, on May 13, 1975. His career ended where it began, in Dallas. 

It would be impossible to discuss in this brief essay the numerous tributes that have been made to Wills by admiring country-and- western artists. 

His legacy, however, is not limited to country-and-western. He was an important link in western music between the race music of the 20's, thirties, and forties and the rockabillies of the 50's.... Bob Wills was one of the stars of country-and-western music, but his role went beyond that: he was the creator of western swing in the Southwest and on the West Coast, a founding father of country-and-western in Nashville, a transitional figure in rock, an idol of musicians in Bakersfield, and now an influence on country music in Austin. [Malone & McCulloh, 1975, p. 176] 

With the creation and development of a new genre referred to as western swing, Bob Wills influenced popular music, as well as country music musicians throughout the world for years to come. His influence is still felt today with the music of Willie Nelson, and other country musicians building on his Texas swing style, and using it to form their own special sound. 

King Hiram "Hank" Williams 

Hank Williams was born on September 17, 1923, in Mount Olive, Alabama. His family moved to Georgiana when he was five. His father was a part-time  farmer and log train engineer for a lumber company, until sickness forced him to retire. He had little contact with his father, but Hank presented his father to the world in his song entitled, "The Log Train," recorded on a home tape recorder before Hank died. 

Hank's mother influenced his singing of gospel music in early childhood, and developed his presentation of music and his style at an early age,  but he was forced basically to raise himself after his father became ill.

He was the leader of his own country music band by the time he was 14. He admitted to his being influenced by such artists of the time as Ernest Tubb, and Roy Acuff. His style became a mixture of gospel and honky tonk music, affected by the sounds of the black men of the south. He followed many of the black artists of the day in order to observe their style and presentation. His most popular black idol at that time was Rufus Payne (also known as Tee-Tot), and though little is known about his influence on Hank , one song can be directly attributed to him, that is "My Bucket's Got a Hole In It." 

Hank entered and won an amateur night contest during this period, and was so impressed by the acceptance of his audience that from then on, he was driven to succeed in the music business. In 1937, he formed the Drifting Cowboys, and began wearing the cowboy attire that would later become one of his trademarks. The band soon began appearing on radio shows and at medicine shows and parties throughout the area. At this time Hank began to develop the alcoholic tendencies which would eventually destroy him. 

In 1942, Hank temporarily gave up music and moved to Mobile, Alabama, to work in the shipyards as a welder. After the war, however, he regained his interest in music and soon began playing in honky tonks throughout Alabama. His marriage to Audrey Sheppard in this year would end in divorce, and help to inspire some of his greatest songs. 

In September of 1946, he and Audrey made an unscheduled call on Fred and Wesley Rose in Nashville. He auditioned a few songs for them, and they, in turn, issued a songwriting contract to him. Several of his songs, "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels," "Six More Miles to the Graveyard," and "I Don't Care If Tomorrow Never Comes" were recorded by Molly O'Day, who was also being helped by them. 

In December of 1946, Hank signed his first recording contract with a New York record company, Sterling Records, which was just getting into the country field. His first recordings for the label , Sterling 201, came out in January of 1947: "Calling You" and "Never Again (Will I Knock on Your Door)." The next releases on the label were "When God Comes and Gathers His Jewels" and "Wealth Won't Save Your Soul". All were received poorly by the trade papers, but Fred Rose was impressed with Hank's style of singing, and soon helped him get a contract with a brand new record company, MGM Records. 

Hank's first recordings for MGM, in 1947, "Move It On Over," and "I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep," were greatly received by his peers, as well as the public. His association with MGM would remain throughout his career, and later would continue with his son, Hank Williams, Jr. 

Early in his career, he developed the habit of singing his preaching type songs under the name of "Luke the Drifter." Thus, he not only was able to release more songs, at the same time, but it allowed him a second character to develop in the public image. He was creating the image of Hank Williams, the drunkard, who cheated on women, and was cheated on by them, and that of Luke the Drifter, who went across the country preaching the gospel, and doing good deeds. 

Hank's career was now guaranteed to be successful, and he continued to have one hit after another. His battle with the bottle, however, also continued, and he was fired from the Opry, in August of 1952, because of his heavy drinking. He immediately rejoined the Louisiana Hayride, where he was graciously accepted. 

But good things happened during the year, as well: Four of his songs became million sellers: "Jambalaya," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Honky Tonk Blues," and "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive." 

He started divorce proceedings against Audrey and quickly married a beautiful model and singer named Billie Jones, who was the daughter of the Bossier City, Louisiana police chief. He actually married her three times: once before a justice of the peace, and twice before an audience that paid admission,at New Orlean's Municipal Auditorium. The only problem was that the divorce from Audrey was not finalized at the time. 

Hank died in his car in Oak Hill, West Virginia, at the age of 29, while on the way to a scheduled performance on New Years Day, 1953, in Canton, Ohio. Immediately after his death many songs commemorating his life and his death were written and released as records; among these were, "The Death of Hank Williams," "Singing Teacher in Heaven," and "Hank, It Will Never Be the Same Without You." 

In 1961, both Hank Williams and Fred Rose were named to the Country Music Hall of Fame. No other singer in the history of country music had as popular a following in the urban areas of the country, and among the more famous people of these areas than Hank Williams. His songs were covered by all country singers, and by most popular singers, at one time or other. His influence on future artists would be tremendous. He should be considered the first natural rockabilly artist in history.