Radio ... and Me - 6

More “Country & Western” artists on local radio in the 1950s included:
-- Marty Robbins, whose songs, A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation), The Story of My Life, were recorded on the major Columbia label. Years later, he would compose and perform the country classic, El Paso’;
-- Jean Shepard, who did the teary song, A Dear John Letter, (which instantly led to a variety of parodies) with Ferlin Husky;
-- Ernest Tubb, and the ‘Texas Troubadors.’ wrote and recorded, Walkin’ the Floor Over You, and Thanks A Lot. He was a shy individual, and when he finished a set, he would flip his guitar backwards, to display the sign, in six-inch letters, ‘THANKS’;
-- Kitty Wells, a.k.a., “The Queen of Country Music”, who had a big hit with, Heartbreak, USA;
-- Doc Williams, who recorded the novelty folk song, The Cat Came Back;

Of course, the biggest star of the early 1950s, whose legacy continues even today, was Hank Williams, who lived a tumultuous, but short career. He toured for nearly a decade, as a feature act and major star of the 'Grand Ol'Opry' in Nashville. During that time, he went through a string of stormy marriages and liaisons, and would then write powerful songs from personal experience. He died, probably from an overdose of back-pain medication, at the young age of 29.
His biggest hits included, Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Your Cheatin' Heart, Hey Good Lookin', and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.

At midnight, the local radio stations would sign-off, so we would tune in the all-night shows on the booming 50,000-watt stations along the U-S Eastern Seaboard, to hear the latest material.
There were a number who featured real ‘radio characters,’ but perhaps the most notable was ... Lee Moore, for 25 years the 'Coffee Drinking Nighthawk,' on the All-Night Jamboree, out of W-W-V-A, Wheeling, West Virginia. It was a ‘Clear Channel’ station, one that ‘owned’ its frequency (1170 on the AM dial) and had no interference during night-time hours; W-W-V-A had regular listeners in Newfoundland, as far west as Chicago and even Florida! (It’s still broadcasting on 1170, but --alas -- as a ‘Talk' station.)
The easy-going host would sip his favourite coffee, play the latest country hits and perform his own songs in the studio, with his guitar.
But his most folksy items were his live commercials, which he would deliver seemingly ad-libbed, each running for 5 to 10 minutes.
One message -- to order live chicks, delivered to your farm gate -- invariably ended with the familiar mailing address phrase, Write to; Chicks, W-W-V-A, Wheeling, West Virginia.
(These were the days before ZIP codes; W-W-V-A didn’t need one!)

So, local radio continued to play country music, while making the first, tentative steps to introduce rock ‘n’ roll. It was -- and still is -- an interesting mix.