ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAMEŽ MERCHANDISE & SERVICES




PAGE 13


ROY ANDERSON
Most of the time a rising young banker. Roy sings a powerful baritone much liked by WLS listeners. Prefers big songs, like "Road to Mandalay."



TOM CORWINE
That assortment of noises Tom makes is even funnier than when he started on WLS years ago. He packs a lot of good philosophy along with his barnyard sound effects.



GRACE WILSON
It takes a lot of living and a lot of understanding of folks to sway a crowd the way Grace Wilson does. She loves folks, and is called "The girl with a million friends".



EVELYN OVERSTAKE
Little Maid Evelyn sings so softly and sweetly that you stand on tiptoe to listen. First known to listeners as a member of the "Three Little Maids" she is soloist to the accompaniment of the Hilltoppers.



THE HILLTOPPERS
A versatile group, the Hilltoppers are heard sometimes in rollicking comedy, sometimes in haunting Hawaiian style, sometimes in sweet and soft folk tunes. Left t right, Don Wilson, Tommy Tanner, Karl Hunt, Augie Klein and Ernie Newton. They sing several of their own compositions.



THE MAPLE CITY FOUR
One of the oldest quartets in radio. Starting at the corner drug store in LaPorte, Indiana, the Maple City, they knocked at the door of WLS when People were still listening on crystal sets. They have been heard on all sorts of programs from five o'clock in the morning until midnight. They have sung "Old MacDonald's Farm" thousands of times. Their repertoire ranges from uproarious stage comedy to soft sweet melodies. Recently served a term in the movies, but came back untamed, and are heard every Saturday night on the Barn Dance.



RITA ASCOT
This tiny radio ac tress, only 4 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 87 pounds, has the ability to portray character parts that take hold of the heart strings. Starting her dramatic work as a high school girl in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she has been heard in many parts on WLS programs and on the NBC network. Once barred from a baby show in Aurora, Illinois, her birth place, because she had won so many prizes.



HERMAN FELBER
The maestro of the WLS Orchestra began giving public performances as a very small boy. He has won many honors and those who know him intimately say it is because he works constantly. Plays tennis in his spare time, if any, and for vacations likes to go fishing. In spare moments he is always to be found with a violin tucked under his chin, running up and down scales. Keeping those nimble fingers in training. The Felbers have two children.



DON AND HELEN
Outside the studio they are Mr. and Mrs. Bush. Natives of Chicago, they both attended Austin High School, began their radio career on WJJD, appeared on a number of eastern stations, and joined the WLS staff in April, 1937. Helen plays the piano and they both sing. Their friendly songs have won many friends. Don's birthday comes on February 12, hence his name "Lincoln". He is 6 feet 1/2 inch tall.

More "Barn Dance" Facts:

There were few format changes to be made when The Prairie Farmer took over WLS, since the station had been emphasizing farm news, livestock reports and country music from its inception on the airwaves.

One of its earliest and most popular programs, "WLS Barn Dance", was the creation of George D. Hays in 1924. He was a Memphis announcer who was lured to Chicago as the chief announcer for WLS for what was a princely salary then: $ 75 a week. Hay called himself "The Solemn Old Judge" and blew a steamboat whistle as the announcer on "Barn Dance."

A year later, in October 1925, Hay took a job at WSM Nashville and he helped create "Grand Ole Opry" basing it upon what he'd been doing for a year at WLS on "Barn Dance." ("WLS Barn Dance" would not be renamed "National Barn Dance" until 1933 when it debuted on the NBC Blue Network.)

"WLS Barn Dance" had a depth of country music talent which rivaled that of its more well known counter-part, "Grand Old Opry." Gene Autry was one of the stars at WLS in the early 30s, as was Patsy Montana. She would become the first female country & western singer to have a million selling record, "I Want To Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart." Patsy's backup group, The Prairie Ramblers, changed members occasionally, but for years consisted of Jack Taylor, Chick Hurt, Salty Holmes, and Alan Crocket.

Clyde Julian "Red" Foley was also at WLS with Gene Autry in the 30s and Red did comedy bits with "Lulu Belle" (real name: Myrtle Cooper). She later teamed with Skyland Scotty Wiseman to become that popular duo, "Lulu Belle and Scotty". Not until 1946 did Foley switch from "Barn Dance" to "Grand Ole Opry", and when he did, he took new-comer, Chet Atkins, with him.

A country musician who became rather famous as "The Arkansas Woodchopper" began on "Barn Dance" in 1929 and stayed for two decades. The Hoosier Hotshots (Gabe Ward, Frank Kettering, and the Trietsch brothers, Ken and Hezzie) divided their time between WLS and making Hollywood film appearances. One of the best banjo players in the world, Eddie Peabody, was another WLS regular.

But the "Barn Dance" was also a springboard to show-biz for many who were but minor personalities at WLS. The Williams Brothers (Bob, Dick, Andy and Don) were a well-received boys quartet from Iowa on "Barn Dance." But they never achieved the enormous fame that the youngest one, Andy Williams, achieved in the recording industry and on television.

Little Georgie Goebel joined WLS at the age of 12 and was skipping back and forth to WGN-Mutual where he was playing juvenile roles on "Tom Mix Ralston Straight-Shooters". In 1941, Goebel, then aged 21, was a veteran of "Barn Dance" and was touring the U.S. with his own western dance band. But none of this could compare to his phenomenal success on television when his variety show ran from 1954 to 1960 and most Americans were repeating his comedy trademark lines, such as "Well, I'll be a dirty bird!"

Pat Buttram, a native of Winston County, Alabama, had listeners chuckling at his humor at WLS for years, but he achieved far greater fame in the movies and on television. Even the popular singer, Curt Massey, began at WLS in a minor spot, a fiddle player in cowboy quartet called The Westerners, whose lead singer was a woman.

Conversely, many of the WLS stars on "Barn Dance" and several other daytime musical programs are now remembered only by country & western researchers and some OTR fans.

These entertainers would include: "Little Genevieve" (Ted Morse), Fred Kirby, "The Little Maid" (Eve Overstake, later to be Mrs. Red Foley), Henry Burr, "Little Miss Swiss Miss" (a girl from Holland named Christine), "Prairie Sweethearts" (Esther Martin and Kay Reinberg), "Girl With A Million Friends" (Grace Wilson), "The Hayloft Trio" (Mary Ann Brygger, Lee Donovan, and Verne Carter), Smilie Sutter, "Honey Boy" (Joe Rockhold), and "The Hoosier Sod Busters" (Rusty Gill, Howard Black and Reggie Cross).


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