Texas Music Pioneers (A-M) / Texas Music History Tour
The Texas Music History Tour currently includes:
Texas Music Pioneers |
Texas Music Libraries and Archives |
Historic Texas Music Venues |
Other music tourism sites
The following Texans, now deceased, made significant contributions to the art or business of music. This list of music pioneers is part of the Texas Music History Tour, a guide to experiencing in present-day locations Texas' rich musical past.
For 564 of the pioneers below, the Texas Music Office lists: website links, the instrument and genre of music played, where they were born and where they attended school, their burial site, as well as additional sites of interest.
If you have photos or information not currently listed below for any of these artists, or if you would like to suggest other Texans to be included, please email us at music [at] governor.state.tx.us.
Texas' music-related museums, libraries, archives and halls of fame frequently have public exhibits devoted to music history. Our guide to these buildings is located here.
Some of the information found below is from the Handbook of Texas Music published August 2003 by the Texas State Historical Association.
Pioneers A-M
Darrell Lance Abbott 2
3
Genres:
Rock
Based in: Arlington
Instrument: guitar
Birthplace: Arlington
Birthdate: 8/20/1966 Deathdate: 12/8/2004
Darrell Abbott
formed the rock band Pantera along with his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, in the
early 1980s. After releasing three albums with singer Terry Glaze, the group explored
a harder direction with the addition of new vocalist Philip Anselmo. Pantera soon
became one of the world's top metal bands, credited with keeping the genre alive
throughout the 1990s. Abbott's heavy but melodic style led to his being recognized
as one of the top ten metal guitarists of all time by Guitar Player magazine.
After the demise of Pantera, the Abbott brothers formed a new band, Damageplan,
in 2003. Darrell Abbott, along with three others, was shot to death in Columbus,
Ohio during a performance by Damageplan.
Schools: Arlington
High School
Jacques Abram
Genres:
Classical
Based in: Lufkin
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Lufkin
Birthdate: 1915 Deathdate: 1998
Abram was a child prodigy
beginning piano lessons at age five, by age six he was playing recitals in movie
houses across the state. At age 22, he was awarded the National Federation of
Music Club's Young Artists Award in a tie with Ida Krehm. Abram was known as a
brilliant studio teacher and the originator of "Issues in Music," a popular course
at the University of South Florida which was later brought to television. He gave
Arthur Benjamin's "Concerto quasi una Fantasia" its first English performance
at the Cheltenham Festival in 1952 and the first American performance in San Antonio
in 1953.
Colleges: He received a Diploma with Distinction from
Julliard.
Elmer
Akins
Genres: Christian
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Pilot
Knob Birthdate: 3/10/1911 Deathdate: 12/9/1998
The fifth
child of sharecroppers Jim and Hattie Akins, Elmer Akins became a beloved and
respected gospel radio announcer and live gospel music promoter in Austin. While
living in Austin during the early 1940s, Akins listened to WLAC-AM out of Nashville
and developed a passion for the live broadcasts of gospel quartets, such as the
Fairfield Four. He began singing in choirs and quartets and hosted live gospel
programs at KNOW radio. Akins's Sunday morning gospel program on KVET-AM was the
oldest continuously running American radio show, and Akins earned recognition
as the longest-continuing radio host in the United States by the Texas Association
of Broadcasters, when they honored him as a Texas Broadcast Legend in 1998. Akins
also earned the titles "Voice of Austin" and "Deacon of Austin
Gospel Music" during his half-century of broadcasting.
Victor
Nicholas Alessandro, Jr.
Genres: Classical
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: conductor
Birthplace: Waco
Birthdate: 11/27/1915 Deathdate: 11/27/1976
Victor Alessandro,
Jr. was introduced to music at an early age; he studied horn with his father,
a prominent music teacher and conductor. In 1951, Alessandro took over as the
conductor of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. The next year he also assumed
leadership of the San Antonio Symphony Society's Grand Opera Festival. He introduced
works by Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Alban Berg to San Antonio audiences
before they became fashionable elsewhere. Alessandro received honorary doctorates
from the Eastman School and Southern Methodist University, as well as the Alice
M. Ditson Award for service to American music.
Alger
"Texas" Alexander
2
3
Genres: Blues
Based in: Leona
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Jewett
Birthdate: 9/12/1900 Deathdate: 4/16/1954
Buried at: Longstreet
Cemetery, Grimes County, Texas
Alexander was the first person to
record the classic song "House Of The Rising Sun" with his 1928 recording called
"Rising Sun." He is known as one of the most important blues singers of the
1920s to the mid 1950s.
Birdie
Alexander
Genres: Classical
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
piano, vocals
Birthplace: Lincoln County, TN Birthdate: 3/24/1870
Deathdate: 8/2/1960
Birdie Alexander is credited with having laid
the foundation for the system of music education in Dallas' public schools. She
established the teaching of singing in all grades and was the first to form citywide
choral groups for public performance. Under her direction the first operetta was
performed at Turner Hall on May 24 and 25, 1901, to raise funds for the children's
department of the Dallas Public Library. In 1910 she organized the Dallas High
School orchestra, which continued to function with annual concerts. In the same
year she inaugurated music appreciation lessons in the schools with the purchase
of the first record player and recordings with funds subscribed by interested
citizens. Miss Alexander was a charter member of the first board of directors
of the Music Supervisors' National Conference, and as chairman of the MSNC was
responsible for the formation of the music department of the Texas State Teachers
Association. In the summers of 1908, 1909, and 1910 she organized and taught courses
in music education at the University of Texas. In 1912 she edited Songs We Like
to Sing. Because of her health she moved to El Paso in 1913, and there until her
death she taught piano and was a leader in musical activities.
Colleges:
Mary
Nash College in Sherman
Shelly Lee Alley
Genres:
Country
Based in: Alleyton
Instrument: vocals, fiddle
Birthplace: Alleyton
Birthdate: 7/6/1894 Deathdate: 1964
Fiddler and Western
Swing pioneer Shelly Alley is considered one of the greatest bandleaders of the
1930s and 1940s. Descended from some of Stephen F. Austin's original settlers,
Alley was born July 6, 1894 in Alleyton, Texas, a community named after his ancestors.
Alley led the base orchestra in San Antonio where he was stationed during World
War I. In the 1920s, Alley led several different orchestras, which played primarily
pop and jazz. Alley became a pioneer in radio broadcasting when his bands got
airtime on numerous Texas radio stations, including KRLD Radio in Dallas. In 1936,
Alley formed the Alley Cats, which were based out of Houston and Beaumont. The
band featured several members who would become famous in their own right, including
"Pappy" Selph, Ted Daffon, Floyd Tillman, Clif Bruner, and his stepson,
Clyde Brewer. Alley's most famous song, however, was "Travelin' Blues."
In 1933, fellow Texan Jimmy Rodgers, accompanied by Shelly and his brother Alvin
on the "twin-fiddles," first recorded the song in 1931. Over twenty
different artists have since recorded "Travelin' Blues," including Merle
Haggard, Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, and more recently, Jimmie Dale
Gilmore.
Irl
Allison, Sr.
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Warren
Birthdate: 4/18/1896 Deathdate: 9/6/1979
Irl Allison, Sr.,
pianist, music educator, was founder of the National Guild of Piano Teachers.
Although Allison was best known to hundreds of thousands of music teachers and
their pupils by his signature on certificates awarded by the National Guild for
participation in the Annual National Piano Playing Auditions, he was also a renowned
music teacher. He was also the founder and president of the guild-sponsored American
College of Musicians and of the National Fraternity of Student Musicians. He founded
the Golden Rule Peace Movement and began the World Peace Programs for radio in
1948 as well. Additionally, Allison compiled and edited the Irl Allison Library
of Music in thirty-three volumes and initiated and promoted into an international
event: the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In Austin, where the Allisons
made their home after 1943, he was largely responsible for developing the Azalea
Trail, and presented azaleas to Lady Bird Johnson for the Lyndon B. Johnson Library.
Joe
Marion Allison
2
3
Genres: Country
Based in: McKinney
Instrument:
songwriter, producer
Birthplace: McKinney
Birthdate: 10/3/1924 Deathdate: 8/2/2002
Buried at: Woodlawn
Memorial Park, Nashville, TN
Joe Allison wrote songs recorded by
Jim Reeves, Tex Ritter, Faron Young, Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby and Patsy Cline.
Joe Allison's most important songwriting credit came in 1960, when Jim Reeves
took "He'll Have to Go" to the top of the Country chart for 14 weeks. A song he
wrote for Tex Ritter, "When You Leave Don't Slam the Door," hit the Country Top
Five in October 1946.
Schools: East
Van Vandt in Fort Worth; McKinney Texas Jr. High; Denison
Texas High School
Colleges: Murray Jr. College in Tishomingo,
OK
Sites of interest:
In
1943, Joe's first radio job was at KPLT in Paris, TX.
In 1944, Allison
worked at radio station KMAC in San Antonio.
Ruby
Allmond
Genres: Country
Based
in: Bonham
Instrument: songwriter, fiddle, guitar
Birthplace: Fannin
County Birthdate: 5/2/1923 Deathdate: 1/23/2006
Ruby Allmond played fiddle and guitar, but is best remembered for her songwriting.
Texas songwriter Cindy Walker introduced Ruby Allmond to Chet Atkins in Nashville
starting Allmond's association with RCA Records. She wrote "I Mustn't Pass
This Way Again" for Ferlin Husky and Dottie West took Allmond's song "Reno"
into the Top 10. Ruby Allmond performed in fiddle bands in the 1940s when most
female entertainers were regulated to vocals and provided the musical accompaniment
to fellow Bonham resident Sam Rayburn's campaigns for Congress.
Schools:
Bailey
Guadalupe
L. "Wally" Almendar
2
Genres: Polka, Tejano
Based in: Premont
Instrument: saxophone
Birthplace: Premont
Birthdate: 9/12/1933 Deathdate: 9/15/1996
During the last
four years of the the Beto Villa Orquesta from 1957 to 1960, son-in-law Wally
Almendariz played saxophone and helped Beto with the band. Then joined Paulino
Bernal Orquestra and helped record their hit "Mi Unico Camino." He also worked
with Armando Marroquin at Ideal Records backing Chelo Silva, Narciso Martinez,
Las Hermanas Mendoza, Rosita Fernandez and others. Armendarez recorded "Quatro
Milpas" for Ideal and later worked with Nori Cantu, Esteban Jordan, Manny and
the Sunglows and Shorty and the Corvettes.
Ventura
Alonzo
2
3
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Brownsville
Instrument:
accordion, vocals
Birthplace: Matamoros, Mexico Birthdate:
12/30/1904 Deathdate: 12/14/2000
Mrs. Alonzo represented one
of the first lady big band musicians in the state of Texas and the first Tejana
accordionist to record. A mural dedicated in Ventura Alonzo's honor is located
at Firestone Tire at 1601 Harrisburg at Macario Garcia Drive, Houston, Texas.
Sites
of interest:
Ventura
Alonzo's mural
Pearl
Amster
2
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: New York City Birthdate: 5/17/1917 Deathdate:
9/22/2000
Born Pearl Salzman, this classical pianist became a beloved
patron of many Austin youth music programs and performing arts venues. Her many
musical accomplishments include her debut performance at New York City's Town
Hall at age 16, her recognition as the first woman awarded an artist diploma from
the National Guild of Music and Teachers, her 1953 performance at Carnegie Hall's
Steinway Concert Hall, and her release of her CD Inspired Collections, which was
recorded on her 80th birthday. Amster studied under Rose Raymond and Roslyn Tureck
and performed as a concert pianist and taught music for many years before she
and her husband, Gus, moved to Austin in 1967. After moving to Austin, Amster
continued to perform and teach piano. In 1984, the Austin Civic Orchestra named
its annual youth concerto competition and accompanying scholarship in honor of
Amster for her support of youth performance opportunities.
Clifford
Jamal Antone
Genres: Blues
Based in: Austin
Instrument: Nightclub, Record Label and Record Store owner, bass
Birthplace: Port
Arthur Birthdate: 10/27/1949 Deathdate: 5/23/2006
Clifford
Antone acquired a taste for the blues at a young age, first from gospel music,
then by ventures to juke joints on both sides of the Texas/Louisiana border. Antone
moved to Austin in 1969, planning to study law at the University of Texas. Dropping
out after a drug arrest that was later dismissed, he ran the local branch of the
family delicatessen. On July 15, 1975, Antone opened Antone's nightclub at Sixth
and Brazos, in what was then a rundown part of town. Soon blues superstars and
sidemen made the club, where Antone would pay the band out of his pocket on a
slow night, a regular stop. The first generation of Antone's performers included
Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Fats Domino, Buddy Guy,
Junior Wells, Albert King, Albert Collins, B.B. King,Bobby Blue Bland, Hubert
Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins and James Cotton. Local musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan,
Jimmie Vaughan, W.C. Clark, Lou Ann Barton, Keith Ferguson, Doyle Bramhall, Angela
Strehli, Denny Freeman, Paul Ray, and Kim Wilson, who served as the backing bands
for the touring acts soon began to develop and establish their own followings
combining and recombining into numerous acts and becoming the second generation
of Antone's performers. As two of those acts, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie
Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble began their rise to international fame, the club
moved to an old pizza parlor on Guadalupe, just north of the University of Texas,
growing to include a record store across the street. In 1987, Antone expanded
the brand to include Antone's Records and Tapes, issuing recordings by many of
the acts who frequently played the nightclub. In 1997, the nightclub moved to
its current location at 213 West Fifth Street where a third generation of talent
began to emerge including: Eve Monsees, Gary Clark Jr. and Bob Schneider and the
Scabs. Antone's philanthropy did not only extend to musicians. He began a series
of ongoing benefits to "Help Clifford Help Kids" for local nonprofit
American YouthWorks and was a principal organizer of the Neighbors in Need benefit
for Hurricane Katrina victims. He taught a courses on the history of the blues
at both the University of Texas in Austin and Texas State University in San Marcos
and once stated, "My job is done if one kid is inspired to buy a Muddy Waters
CD who didn't know who he was."
Colleges: Antone taught
at The University of Texas and
Texas State University
Sites of interest: Antone's
Nightclub
Ernest
Alvin "Texas Tom" Archia, Jr.
2
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
tenor sax
Birthplace: Groveton
Birthdate: 11/26/1919 Deathdate: 1/16/1977
Buried at: Oakwood
Cemetery in Hempstead, TX
Tom Archia is a Texas tenor man that has performed
with such giants as Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, and Milt Larkin. Archia studied
under Percy McDavid, who taught an eclectic repertoire to his high school orchestra
classes. Duke Ellington himself visited the school to hear the orchestra. In high
school, Archia's own band consisted of Richie Dell on piano, the Jacquet brothers
and Arnett Cobb on tenor saxophone and that was just the beginning.
Schools: Phyllis
Wheatley High School
Colleges: Tom majored in Education at Prairie
View A&M, graduating in 1939
Sites of interest:
Archia
was living as a teenager in the Fifth Ward, at 4519 Lyons Avenue in Houston, across
from the old St. Elizabeth's Hospital. (Illinois and Russell Jacquet lived down
the street.)
Tom played with Milton Larkin and his band at the Aragon Ballroom
in Houston in 1936.
John
Ardoin 2 3
Genres: Classical
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: music
critic
Birthplace: Alexandria, LA Birthdate: 1/8/1935 Deathdate:
3/18/2001
John Ardoin, longtime music critic of The Dallas Morning
News, was internationally known as an expert on opera diva Maria Callas. Ardoin
often wrote about Callus, who was considered the godmother of the Dallas Opera,
and penned four books about her as well. He was considered the foremost expert
on her life and career. In June 1966 he became only the second music critic ever
at The Dallas Morning News.
Colleges: University of North Texas;
B.A. in music theory and composition from the University of Texas at Austin; Master's
Degree from the University of Oklahoma; Michigan State University.
Robert
Wright Armstrong
Genres: Classical
Based in: Brownwood
Instrument:
band leader
Birthplace: Brownwood
Birthdate: 12/18/1892 Deathdate: 9/15/1966
Buried at: Greenwood
Cemetery in Fort Worth
Robert Wright Armstrong, railroad executive,
soldier, and musician, was born in Brownwood, Texas, on December 18, 1892. The
former military school cadet was active in both world wars. In the early 1920s.
he organized the Old Gray Mare Band, which became the official band of the West
Texas Chamber of Commerce. Armstrong was also a member of civic clubs in Fort
Worth and Houston and the Western Railway Club of Chicago. He was active in the
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and was president of the West Texas Chamber of
Commerce from 1952 to 1954. In addition, he belonged to the Sons of the American
Revolution and the Thirty-sixth Division Association (of which he was president
in 1947-48).
Schools: Brownwood Public Schools
Joseph
"Joe Tex" Arrington, Jr.
Genres: Blues
Based in: Rogers
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Rogers
Birthdate: 8/8/1935 Deathdate: 8/12/1982
Joseph Arrington,
now known as Joe Tex, introduced a style of music that has been copied by Isaac
Hayes, Barry White, and others. In songs and ballads, in particular, he slowed
the tempo slightly and started "rapping," that is, speaking verse that
told the story in the middle of the song, before repeating the refrain and ending
the song. The biggest hits of Joe Tex included "Hold On To What You Got,"
"Papa Was Too," "Skinny Legs and All," and "South Country,"
an album of Country and Western songs; his biggest seller was "I Gotcha,"
which went platinum (made 1,000,000 sales) in 1971.
Charline
Arthur 2
3 4
Genres: Country, Rockabilly
Based in: Henrietta
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Henrietta
Birthdate: 9/2/1929 Deathdate: 11/27/1987
Buried at: Fort
Worth
Colonel Tom Parker, who later managed Elvis Presley, heard Charline
on a West Texas radio station and, in 1952, brought her to the attention of RCA
Records. She toured with the top country stars of the time and appeared on such
important programs as "Louisiana Hayride" and Dallas' "Big D Jamboree."
Samuel
Erson Asbury
2
3
Genres: Music history
Based in: Bryan
Instrument:
composer
Birthplace: Charlotte, NC Birthdate: 9/26/1872
Deathdate: 1/10/1962
Buried at: College
Station City Cemetery located at 2530 Texas Avenue South.
Ashbury
accepted the position of assistant state chemist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment
Station on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now
Texas A&M University) in 1904. In 1951 he published a pamphlet, entitled Music
as a Means of Historical Research, in which he discussed music as a medium for
the presentation of historical narrative. He proposed to produce an opera to interpret
the Texas Revolution through a cycle of music dramas, but it was never completed.
Colleges:
North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering at Raleigh
Sites
of interest:
Samuel
Erson Asbury Papers, 1920-1955 are located at the Center for American History,
University of Texas at Austin.
Asbury
attended the First Methodist Church in Bryan (one of the oldest downtown churches
in Bryan) at 506 East 28th Street.
Jesse
Ashlock
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in:
Fort Worth
Instrument: fiddle
Birthplace: Walker
County Birthdate: 2/22/1915 Deathdate: 8/9/1976
Jesse
Ashlock started playing violin at age nine. In 1932 Ashlock joined a band named
Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies. In 1935 Ashlock joined Bob Wills's Original
Texas Playboys as a fiddle player. He stayed with Bob Wills throughout the rest
of Wills's career and continued playing shows until three days before his death.
Ashlock's playing style had its roots in jazz. His fiddle style was characterized
by hot breaks and hot choruses. His idol was jazz violinist Joe Venuti. Ashlock's
attempt to play his fiddle like a horn earned him placement in the category of
the "hot fiddlers."
Gene
Austin
Genres: Pop
Based in: Gainesville
Instrument:
vocals, composer
Birthplace: Gainesville
Birthdate: 6/24/1900 Deathdate: 1/24/1972
Although singer
and composer Gene Austin - born Eugene Lucas - composed more than 100 songs, he
never learned to read music. He was one of the original crooners, and his tenor
voice was well known in the early days of radio and on the hand-cranked phonographs
of the 1920s and 1930s. His RCA Victor recordings sold a total of more than eighty-six
million copies; one of the recordings, "My Blue Heaven" (1927), sold
over twelve million records. He started his recording career in 1923, and the
next year Jimmy McHugh produced his first hit song, "When My Sugar Walks
Down the Street," with lyrics by Austin and Irving Mills. Other hit songs
Austin introduced were "My Melancholy Baby," "Girl of My Dreams,"
"Ramona," "Carolina Moon," and "Sleepy Time Gal."
His compositions included "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street," "How
Come You Do Me Like You Do?" and "Lonesome Road." Austin debuted
in the movies in 1932 and ultimately made three: "Sadie McKee," "Gift
of Gab" and "Melody Cruise."
Orvon
Gene Autry 2
3
4
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Tioga
Instrument:
guitar, vocal
Birthplace: Tioga
Birthdate: 9/29/1907 Deathdate: 10/3/1998
Buried at:
Forest
Lawn-Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California
Gene
Autry's first hit, "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," eventually sold a million
copies. His recording of this song set an industry record for sales and became
part of the first album in history to go gold. He was the first film actor ever
to become a major television star. And, his 1949 recording "Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer," became the first record in history to go platinum. Autry is the only
entertainer with 5 stars on Hollywood's Walk of Fame (motion pictures, radio,
music recording, television, live theater).
Schools: Autry graduated
from Ravia High School (Oklahoma) in 1925.
Annual event: Tioga
Museum & Heritage Association sponsors an annual Gene Autry Festival.
Etheldreda
Belle "Dreda" Aves
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based
in: Galveston
Instrument: soprano
Birthplace: Norwalk,
OH Birthdate: 1890 Deathdate: 4/17/1942
Etheldreda (Dreda)
Aves, operatic soprano, was born in the 1890s in Norwalk, Ohio. She was taken
as a child to Galveston, where her father was rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
She first studied singing with H. T. Huffmeister, director of the Galveston Choral
Club and organist at her father's church. Her father reportedly had "vigorous
moral objections" to Dreda's singing in public, with the result that she
sang only at church services until she left Texas. She debuted with the De Foe
Carlin Opera Company in the title role of Carmen in Baltimore in 1922. Although
she began her career as a contralto, with the advice and help of Vilonat, her
last teacher, she became a dramatic soprano. Aves joined the Metropolitan Opera
in 1927 and made her debut in Aïda in 1928. She remained with the Metropolitan
through the end of the 1931-32 season. She moved from New York City to Buckeye
Lake in Ohio in 1940 or 1941, and died on April 17, 1942, in the nearby town of
Newark, after an illness of several months.
Colleges: University
of Texas; Columbia University; Damrosch Institute of Musical Art in New York
Pedro
Ayala
2
3
4
Genres: Polka, Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: Rio
Grande Valley
Instrument: accordion
Birthplace: Nuevo
Leon, Mexico Birthdate: 1911 Deathdate: 12/1/1990
Ayala
was one of the respected performers of Norteño and Conjunto music. The initial
accordion-bajo lineup was complemented by the addition of the tololoche, or upright
bass. This development is variously credited to Pedro Ayala. He turned full-time
professional in his mid-twenties, playing throughout the Rio Grande Valley in
Texas. His style and grace was unequaled by any of his contemporaries during the
1950s.
Harry
"The Bear" Babasin
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
bass
Birthplace: Dallas
Birthdate: 3/19/1921 Deathdate: 5/21/1988
Harry "the
Bear" Babasin became interested in music at an early age; he was a skilled
musician mastering many instruments: bassoon, bass, cello, and the clarinet. It
wasn't until after his graduation from North Texas College that he was introduced
to jazz. While attending a Charlie Fisk Orchestra concert he landed his first
big break when he and a friend told Fisk that he could outplay any member of his
orchestra. When asked to prove it, Babasin and his friend Ellis embarked on a
staggering bit of showmanship. Impressed, Fisk hired the boys immidately and took
them with him to Chicago. A year later Babasin joined the Bob Strong Orchestra
in New York City. He worked with various other groups before joining up with Charlie
Barnet, with whom he relocated to California with in 1945. While in Los Angeles,
Babasin worked with several musicians, including Benny Goodman, Charlie Parker,
Louis Armstrong, and Chet Baker. Babasin was also involved in establishing the
Los Angeles Theasum, an archive specializing in the preservation of jazz and other
music recordings as well as instruments and other artifacts donated by musicians.
Colleges: University of North Texas
Amandus
Oscar "A.O." Babel
Genres: Classical, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Seguin
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Seguin
Birthdate: 12/22/1858 Deathdate: 1/19/1896
The original
Texas Cowboy Pianist, A.O. Babel was born in Seguin, TX in 1858. Before becoming
a musician, he worked as a guide, scout, cowboy, and interpreter. He discovered
his gift as a pianist while convalescing at Fort Sill, Indian Territory. During
his career, he played in New York City and for European royalty. A. O. Babel died
January 19, 1896 in Randolph, Cattaraugus County, New York.
Heinrich
Backofen
Genres: Classical, German
Based in: Bettina
Instrument: clarinet, composer
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate:
1768 Deathdate: 1839
One of the earliest references to musical
instruments among Texas German immigrants, Heinrich Backofen, son of a prominent
Darmstadt clarinet maker, brought "a whole chest" of instruments with him to Bettina
in 1847. Complete name may be: Johann Georg Heinrich Backofen.
Sites
of interest:
Bettina,
Texas
Mollie
Arline Kirkland Bailey
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based
in: Houston
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: near Mobile,
AL Birthdate: circa 11/2/1844 Deathdate: 10/2/1918
Buried
at: Hollywood Cemetery, Houston
Mollie Bailey - "Circus Queen
of the Southwest" - eloped and married James A. Bailey, and together with
James's brother they formed the Bailey Family Troupe, which traveled through the
country dancing, singing, and acting. During the Civil War, Mollie served as a
nurse to the Hood's Texas Brigade. Some believe that she was a Conferderate spy
who disguised herself as an elderly woman, passing through federal camps pretending
to sell cookies. Mollie and her family enjoyed immediate success when they started
the Bailey Circus, "A Texas Show for Texas People." At its height, the
one-ring tent circus had thirty-one wagons and about 200 animals; it added elephant
and camel acts in 1902. She is also credited for her generosity to various churches
and for allowing poor children to attend the circus free. She was a pioneer as
well, some say she was the first to show motion pictures in Texas including a
one-reel film of the sinking of the USS Maine.
Sykes
"Smith" Ballew 2
3
Genres: Jazz, Polka
Based in: Palestine
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Palestine
Birthdate: 1/21/1902 Deathdate: 5/2/1984
Buried at: Laurel
Land Memorial Park, Fort Worth
Singer, Actor and Bandleader. He worked
with a number of bandleaders including Ted Weems, Hal Kemp, and Tommy and Jimmy
Dorsey. In 1929 he organized the Smith Ballew Orchestra, and in the same year
he signed his first recording contract with Okeh Records in Chicago. He appeared
in twenty four films, 1936-50 including "Western Gold" (1937), "Under
Arizona Skies" (1946), and "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951).
Schools:
Sherman High School
Colleges: Austin College; University
of Texas
Martin
Banks
2 3
4
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
trumpet, flugelhorn
Birthplace: Austin
Birthdate: 6/21/1936 Deathdate: 8/20/2004
Considered a
jazz giant in the Austin musical scene, Martin Banks is a member of the Texas
Music Hall of Fame. In the 1960s he was a long time member of the Apollo Theater
House Band in New York, a regular session musician at the original Motown recording
studio. Martin played and/or recorded with many renowned musicians such as Ray
Charles, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, James Brown, BB. King, Sun Ra, King Curtis,
David "Fathead" Newman, Larry DC Williams, Freddie King, Dizzy Gillespie
and countless others.
William
Archibald Barclay
Genres: Christian
Based in: Temple
Instrument: organ
Birthplace: Temple
Birthdate: 2/26/1907 Deathdate: 1/28/1969
Buried at:
family plot in Temple
William Archibald Barclay was a gifted pianist and
organist from his early days. He began with his mother as his first piano teacher.
As a teenager he would travel alone by train to Dallas to study organ playing
and he had the ability to play any piece of music by ear. Because of this skill
he was playing in church by age 10. He graduated from Baylor University in Waco
and afterwards moved to Fort Worth where he accepted the position of proffesor
of organ at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He held numerous other
positions in and around Fort Worth, including staff organist at WBAP radio in
Fort Worth (192842), professor of organ at Trinity University in Waxahachie
(193336), organist at Hemphill Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth (193336),
organist (194246) and minister of music (194669) at First Presbyterian
Church in Fort Worth, staff organist at WBAP-TV in Fort Worth (194953),
and "director of serious music" at WBAPFM in Fort Worth (195557).
Benny
Barnes
2
Genres: Rock, Country
Based in: Beaumont
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Beaumont
Birthdate: 1936 Deathdate: 8/8/1987
Benjamin M. Barnes Jr.
combined rock and country to become a popular singer/guitarist that had several
hits covering songs by "The Big Bopper." In the beginning of his career,
he played guitar on an early George Jones Starday Records recording. After an
oilfield injury, he began singing locally and joined the Starday roster. The next
year he enjoyed a number 2 country hit with "Poor Man's Riches." However
a followup was hard to come by. In 1960 he gave up singing and opened up a bar,
The Blue Lantern in Beaumont. He made various other recordings, namely for Hallway
(1962-65), Musicor (1965-68), Kapp (1968), Mega (1972), Starday (1973) and Playboy
(1976). Only "I've Got Some Getting Over You To Do" on Playboy made
the charts - a very modest number 94, in 1977.
Chase
Baromeo
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Austin
Instrument: operatic bass-baritone
Birthplace: Augusta, GA
Birthdate: 8/19/1892 Deathdate: 8/7/1973
Chase Baromeo enjoyed
a highly succesful operatic career and made his debut in 1923 at the Teatro Carcano
in Milan, Italy. From 1923 to 1926 he was a member of La Scala where he sang under
Arturo Toscanini. Because of Italian's difficulty with pronouncing his last name
he changed his name, originally Sikes, to Boromeo which he used for the rest of
his life. He also sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, with the Chicago
Civic Opera Company, and with the San Francisco Opera Company. From 1935 to 1938
he was with the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York. He also performed with
many of the leading symphony orchestras in the United States. He was married to
Delphie Lindstrom on May 12, 1931; they had three children, one of whom predeceased
him. While with the University of Texas, he directed and performed in many university-staged
operas. Baromeo left the university in 1954 to join the University of Michigan
faculty.
Carl Jared "Utah Carl" Beach 2
3
Based in: Alvin
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace:
Bartlesville, OK Birthdate: 1/31/1919 Deathdate: 9/24/1976
Utah Carl was born on an Indian reservation in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on January
31, 1919. He was half-Cherokee and half-Irish. He grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas,
and entertained on 56 radio stations as he crossed the country looking for places
that would book him. Beach was playing a few numbers as a guest artist on a Mutual
Broadcasting Network program called "Hymns of All Churches." The first
song he sang was an old cowboy song titled "Utah Carl's Last Ride."
It was at that moment that for the heck of it the program's announcer began addressing
Beach as "Utah Carl." The name stuck. And while it's true that Carl
Beach was once a real six-foot-six cowboy, punching cattle for nearly five years,
if he ever so much as went to the state of Utah, he was just passing through.
Nevertheless, for the remainder of his career as an entertainer, which spanned
43 years, "Utah" was the prefix to "Carl." In 1945, Utah Carl
moved his family to Galveston. He was signed-on for a regular daily program at
radio station KLUF. In the evenings, he and his band entertained at various taverns
in Galveston, like the Westwego, the Hurricane Club, and Fatty Owen's Anchor Club.
Utah Carl began his career in television the day television began its career in
Galveston. It was in 1953. He was awakened by the police from an afternoon nap
and rushed to the new studios of the area's CBS affiliate, KGUL-TV. Movie actor
Jimmy Stewart was one of the owners of the new station, and he was in Galveston
to emcee the opening along with Paul Taft, who was the station's president. The
next thing on the program was to have been a Jimmy Stewart movie. When the cue
was given the projectionist, he pulled the projector's switch, and nothing happened.
Someone in the audience of dignitaries suggested Utah Carl could fill the time,
and Stewart sent the police to get him. He played a 25-minute impromptu set. When
it was over, and the next act came in, Stewart and Taft took Utah Carl into the
office, and signed him as a permanent member of the station's staff. For the next
14 years, Utah Carl with "Herbie and the boys" had a regular television
show. In the late 1950s, Utah Carl released on records two of his compositions,
"Daddy's Little King" and "The Man in the Moon." The hoopla
for the releases was a Western jamboree that, along with Utah Carl, featured Ernest
Tubb, Hank Snow, the Texas Troubadours and others. The shows were held at Galveston's
City Auditorium and with a clambake at Houston's Buff Stadium. Other tunes Utah
Carl wrote and recorded for Nashville's Bullet Recording Co. were "It's No,
My Darling," "Memories by My Fireside," and "Treasured Memories."
During the last 15 years of his life, Utah Carl was an agent for Prudential Insurance
Co.'s Galveston office, and was enormously successful. Utah Carl died of carcinoma
of the lung in September of 1976.
Dean
Beard
2
3
4
Genres: Rockabilly
Based in: Santa Anna
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Santa Anna Birthdate:
1935 Deathdate: 4/1989
Dean Beard was a rockabilly pioneer
from West Texas that opened for Scotty, Bill and Elvis (Presley) in Breckenridge
and Stamford, TX. He formed a band called Dean Beard & The Crew Cats which
featured Dean on piano, James Steward on lead guitar, Jimmy Seals on sax and Dash
Crofts on drums where they played regularly to large crowds in the area's American
Legions, VFWs and clubs. In 1956 he went to Memphis to record briefly at Sun Records.
Carl
Beck
Genres: Classical
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
conductor
Birthplace: Ilmenau, Thuringia Birthdate: 4/26/1850
Deathdate: 10/2/1920
Choir, orchestra and band conductor Carl Beck
studied music in Germany until 1875 when he moved to the United States and settled
in New Orleans as part of a music group. In May 1884 he moved to San Antonio to
conduct the Beethoven Männerchor and the Mendelsshn Mixed Chorus. He is credited
for performing the first complete symphony to be heard in Texas in 1887 at a festival
in San Antonio. After living in San Antonio for twenty years, Beck moved to Odessa
in 1904. There he organized a fourteen member band that toured from Toya to Abilene.
He moved around a bit from Pecos to Kingsville before returning to San Antonio
in 1919 to again accept conductorship of the Beethoven Männerchor.
Jim Beck
Genres: Country
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
record producer
Birthplace: Birthdate: Deathdate: 1956
Jim
Beck was a Dallas area record producer famous for recording country artists at
his Jim Beck's Recording Studio in Dallas. The studio was a haven for local country
musicians looking for contacts and a recording contract. There are veterans who
say Dallas might have become the nexus of country music as Nashville is today
had studio owner Jim Beck (who co-wrote the legendary "If You Got the Money"
with Lefty Frizzell) not tragically suffocated on cleaning solution in his downtown
Dallas studio.
Garland
Wayne Beckham
Genres: Country
Based in:Dallas-Fort
Worth
Instrument: country music journalist, publisher, and photographer
Birthplace:
Lantham, Kansas Birthdate: 3/21/1929 Deathdate:10/15/2001
Buried
at: DFW National Cemetery in Dallas
Garland Wayne Beckham began a
publishing career working in the press room of the Daily Oklahoman. After serving
in the Navy during WWII, he worked in the press room of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in Virginia. Beckham worked in the Fort Worth area during
the 1960s and 1970s as a publisher and photojournalist. In addition, he owned
his own talent agency, Way-Beck Talent. He published the magazine Country Music
Reporter and was a staff photographer at one of the most popular dance halls in
the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Panther Hall. There he photographed dozens of country
music performers, including Willie Nelson, Charlie Pride, Tanya Tucker, and Bob
Wills. Furthermore, he would occasionally sit in and play harmonica with some
of the performers at Panther Hall.
Iola
Barns Beers
Genres: Classical
Based in: Galveston
Instrument:
educator
Birthplace: New Orleans, LA Birthdate: 12/17/1852
Deathdate: 11/13/1925
Iola Barns Beers is credited for founding
the Girl's Musical Club of Galveston in 1890. The organization educated talented
young women and assisted them in their musical studies with the help of trained
musicians. The club met twice a week to study music history and analyze the work
of great composers. In addition, the club oragnized and presented concerts. Later
she served on the executive committee of the Ladies' Musical Club of Galveston.
She raised money for for the Galveston public schools. In 1900, after the Galveston
Hurricane, she joined the American Red Cross Association and was appointed chairman
of the Eleventh Ward distribution commitee. Iola was a part of many progressive
women's organizations and was on the board of directors of the Galveston Orphan's
House and the Galveston Art League. Also, she belonged to the Wednesday Club,
the Galveston Equal Suffrage Association, and was associated with the Women's
Health Protective Association.
Tyler
Dee "T.D." Bell
2 3
Genres:
Blues
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar, vocal
Birthplace:
Lee
County outside of Dimebox, Texas Birthdate: 12/26/1922 Deathdate:
1/9/1999
Called "Little T-Bone" for his take on T-Bone Walker's jazz-tinged
guitar style, Bell remained a staple on Austin's Eastside for 20 years. A direct
link to the past, Bell was also a link to Austin's future; current local bluesmen
W.C. Clark, Blues Boy Hubbard, and Matthew Robinson all learned at Bell's fingertips.
In 1949, Victory Grill proprietor Johnny Adams lured him to Austin with the promise
of three shows a week at the Victory.
Sites of interest:
Victory
Grill
Continental Club
Jesse Belvin
2
Genres: R&B
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 12/15/1932
Deathdate: 2/6/1960
Buried at: East Los Angeles
Jesse
Lorenzo Belvin was a San Antonio native raised in Los Angeles who was best known
for writing "Earth Angel." He sang in his church chior at age seven
and later discovered R&B as he approached his early teens. Shortly after joining
a group called Three Dots and a Dash, Belvin was drafted, but while away from
home, he wrote "Earth Angel." A doo wop quartet called the Penguins
recorded it; it sold a million copies between late 1954 and early 1955. It became
one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts. Later, a lawsuit
erupted over the origins of the song. After about two years, Belvin was awarded
one-third credit for the song, alongside Peguin's Curtis Williams and a third
singer who claimed to writing it. His prolific songwriting earned him quick money.
Often, he sold them to others for as little as 100 dollars. On February 6, 1960,
shortly after finishing a performance in Little Rock, AR, Belvin and his wife
were killed in a head-on auto collision.
Gordon
"Tex" Beneke
2
3
4
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
tenor saxophonist, jazz vocalist, and big band leader
Birthplace:
Fort Worth Birthdate: 2/12/1914 Deathdate: 5/30/2000
Buried
at: Greenwood Memorial
Park, Fort Worth
Beneke became the official band leader of the Glenn
Miller's Band in 1946. As a sidemen, Beneke was known for his flexible sax solos
with Miller's band and for his occasional singing, most notably - "Chattanooga
Choo Choo."
Schools: Paschal
High School in Fort Worth; Jennings
Avenue Junior High at 1015 S. Jennings Avenue, Fort Worth
Colleges:
Texas Christian University
Arley
"Buster" Benton
Genres: Blues
Based in: Texarkana
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Texarkana
Birthdate: 7/19/1935 Deathdate: 1/20/1996
Despite the amputation
of parts of both his legs during the course of his career, Chicago guitarist Buster
Benton never gave up playing his music - an infectious hybrid of blues and soul
that he dubbed at one point "disco blues." In the late '70s, when blues
was at low ebb, Benton's waxings for Ronn Records were a breath of fresh air.
Benton was a member of Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars for a while, and Dixon is
credited as songwriter of Benton's best-known song, the agonized slow blues "Spider
in My Stew." A 1979 LP for Jewel's Ronn subsidiary (logically titled Spider
in My Stew) stands as one of the most engaging Chicago blues LPs of its era, its
contemporary grooves abetting Benton's tasty guitar work and soulful vocals. (cited
by Bill Dahl at All Music)
Eloy
Bernal
2 3
Genres: Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: Kingsville
Instrument:
vocals, bajo sexto
Birthplace: Kingsville
Birthdate: 3/11/1937 Deathdate: 4/22/1998
Buried at: Kingsville
Conjunto
Bernal became one of the most innovative and influential conjunto bands in twentieth-century
Mexican-American music. They launched their career as teenagers in 1952 by forming
"Los Hermanitos Bernal." The brothers introduced the chromatic accordion and were
one of the first in conjunto to encourage experimentation with soloing, phrasing,
and harmonies. They brought additional respect to conjunto music by being the
first to wear suits. The Bernal brothers collaborated with such popular artists
as Carmen y Laura and eventually renamed the group "El Conjunto Bernal."
Later Eloy and Paulino became born-again Christians and Eloy went on to be known
as one of the best Spanish gospel singers. Eloy Bernal was killed when his bus
overturned outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. Paulino Bernal was a guest vocalist
at his brother's funeral. A video of a Conjunto Bernal performance, Golondrina,
was released by Eagle Video in 1996.
Schools: Eloy quit school
to work.
Colleges: He did not attend college.
Carl
William Besserer
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: New Braunfels
Birthdate: 1851 Deathdate:
Originally born in New Braunfels, Carl
William Besserer moved to Germany at age 14 for higher education. Eventually
he moved back to Texas in 1869, where he settled in Austin and opened a music
store. As a talented pianist, Besserer began giving lessons. In addition, he interested
some local boys into forming a band and orchestra. After many nightly practices,
they began playing out and recieved much support from UT students. Soon they were
playing statewide, boating parties at Lake Austin, at governors' inaugurations,
presidential visits, and for troops leaving for war. In addition, he provided
the musical programs for the popular Ben Hur river boat excursions, directed a
state military band, and co-founded the Austin Saegerrunde (singing society).
Jiles
Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson
2
3
4
Genres: Rock, Rockabilly
Based in: Sabine Pass
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Sabine
Pass Birthdate: 10/24/1930 Deathdate: 2/3/1959
Buried
at: Forest
Lawn Memorial Park, Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas
Richardson was
a disc jockey, songwriter, and singer. He is best known for his hit, "Chantilly
Lace," which reached number one on the charts in 1958, and for being on the disastrous
plane trip that killed him, Richie Valens and Buddy Holly. Other songs written
by Richardson included "Little Red Riding Hood," "Big Bopper's Wedding,"
"The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor" and "Running Bear." In 1960,
fellow Texan Johnny Preston recorded "Running Bear" and had an international hit.
He wrote approximately thirty-eight songs during his life and recorded twenty-one
of them.
Schools: Beaumont High School
Ruth Bingaman
Genres:
Classical
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: piano
Birthplace:
Columbus, OH Birthdate: 8/29/1894 Deathdate: 5/15/1996
Ruth
Bingaman made her debut with the San Antonio Symphony in 1915. Moved to New York
and studied with Ernest Hutcheson who later became first Dean of the Julliard
School of Music and then to New Haven, CT where she studied at Yale. She made
her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1921 and subsequently toured the United States.
She made 14 recordings (piano rolls) for the Deluxe Reproducing Roll Corporation.
Julius
Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe
2
3
Genres: Classical, Jazz, Opera
Based in: Waco
Instrument:
baritone, composer
Birthplace: Waco
Birthdate: 12/29/1897 Deathdate: 7/14/1943
Buried at: Greenwood
Cemetery in Waco
Singer and Composer. His best-known achievement was
his portrayal of Joe in Florenz Ziegfeld's 1927 production of Jerome Kern's "Showboat."
His interpretation of "Ol' Man River" made the song an American classic. Performing
as a concert artist in the United States and Europe, Bledsoe was praised for his
ability to sing in several languages, for his vocal control and range, and for
his power to communicate through music.
Schools: He
attended Central Texas Academy in Waco from about 1905 until his graduation as
class valedictorian in 1914.
Colleges: He
attended Bishop College in Marshall, where he earned a B.A. in 1918.
Sites
of interest:
History
of Central Texas Academy
Julien Paul Blitz
Genres: Classical
Based
in: Dallas
Instrument:
Birthplace: Ghent, Belgium
Birthdate: 5/21/1885 Deathdate: 7/17/1951
Orginally from
Belgium, Julien Paul Blitz moved to the United States when he was two years old
and studied piano and violin as a child. He returned to Belgium to study music
and graduated from the Royal Conservatory in 1905. A year later he became a music
professor at Baylor Female College in Belton, Texas. By 1912 he was director of
a women's singing organization in Houston called the Treble Clef Club. Blitz was
the founding conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and conducted their first
trial concert on June 21, 1913, at the 600-seat Majestic Theatre (now part of
the Houston Chronicle) at Texas and Milam. In 1921 he married a pianist from San
Antonio, Flora Briggs, and they performed many concerts together. They are credited
as the first two professional instrumentalists to perform live on radio in Texas
(in San Antonio in 1922). Before moving to Dallas in 1950, Blitz worked at Kidd-Key
College in Sherman and Texas Tech in Lubbock. In Dallas he conducted workshops
in cello and performed as guest cellist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Mody
Coggin Boatright
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
folklorist, educator
Birthplace: Mitchell
County Birthdate: 10/16/1896 Deathdate: 8/20/1970
Mody
Coggin Boatright began his career as a folklorist in 1925, when J. Frank Dobie
asked him to contribute a tale, "The Devil's Grotto," to the next publication
of the Texas Folklore Society. In 1934 Boatright published "Tall Tales from
Texas Cow Camps." Boatright's second collection of tall tales, "Gib
Morgan: Minstrel of the Oil Fields" (1945) presented the career and stories
of a folk character comparable to Mike Fink or Johnny Appleseed. The book won
him national recognition as a folklorist. Boatright retold stories in an unadorned
and concise style much closer to true folk narration and recognized that in oral
performance these tales were very molded by the immediate situation of their telling.
His work stressed the importance of studying folklore in its total cultural context
and of relating it to the lives of those who practiced it.
John
Boles
Genres: Pop, Broadway
Based in: Greenville
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Greenville
Birthdate: 10/27/1895 Deathdate: 2/27/1969
Buried at:
Pierce
Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in Westwood, CA
After World
War I, John Boles studied music in New York where his voice, physique, and handsome
face led to his selection as the lead in the 1923 Broadway musical "Little
Jesse James." He quickly became an established star of Broadway and attracted
the attention of Hollywood producers and actors. With the introduction of Hollywood
talkies, he acted opposite Barbara Stanwyck in "Stella Dallas" (1937),
Rosalind Russell in "Craig's Wife" (1936), and Shirley Temple in "Curley
Top" (1935), "Littlest Rebel" (1935), and "Stand Up and Cheer"
(1934). He also had roles in "Frankenstein" (1931) and "Back Street"
(1932).
A.D.
"Zu Zu" Bollin
Genres: Blues
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Frisco
Birthdate: 9/5/1922 Deathdate: 10/19/1990
Bollin formed
his own combo in 1949, featuring young saxist David "Fathead" Newman. After a
stint with Percy Mayfield's band, Bollin resumed playing around Dallas. In late
1951, he made his recording debut for Bob Sutton's Torch logo. Newman and saxist
Leroy Cooper, both future members of Ray Charles' band, played on Bollin's "Why
Don't You Eat Where You Slept Last Night" and "Headlight Blues." A Torch follow-up,
"Stavin' Chain"/"Cry, Cry, Cry," found Bollin backed by Jimmy McCracklin's combo.
Moses
J. Bonner
Genres: Country
Based in: Parker County
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Alabama Birthdate: 1847 Deathdate:
9/2/1939
Moses Bonner was one of Texas' earliest country musicians
to record and one of the first to play a "barn dance." In 1854 he moved
to Texas with his family and ten years later he joined the 12th Texas Cavalry
(Confederate) and served until the end of the Civil War. In 1901, he formed the
Old Fiddlers' Association along with Henry Gilliland and others. During the early
20th century, Bonner participated in both local and regional fiddle contests.
In 1923, he broadcasted a program of old-time fiddle music over WBAP in Fort Worth.
This was one of the earliest radio fiddle players. Bonner's popularity in radio
progressed into a recording session with Victor in 1925. Bonner was active in
Confederate veterans' affairs and was eventually elevated to the rank of lieutenant
general in the United Confederate Veterans. He died in Fort Worth on September
2, 1939.
Weldon
Philip H. "Juke Boy" Bonner
2
3
Genres: Blues
Based in: Bellville
Instrument:
guitar, vocals, harmonica
Birthplace: Bellville
Birthdate: 3/22/1932 Deathdate: 6/29/1978
He was nicknamed
"Juke Boy" at an early age as he frequently sang in local bars accompanied by
the juke box. Juke Boy Bonner was a multi-instrumentalist who often performed
as a one-man band. He played guitar, drums, harmonica, and various percussive
instruments and mostly recorded for the Arhoolie label. Songs such as "Going Back
to the Country," "Struggle Here in Houston," and "Life Is A Nightmare," all reflected
his impoverished youth and the dangers he had faced living in big cities.
Euday
Louis Bowman
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 11/9/1887 Deathdate:
1949
Buried at: Oakwood
Cemetery, Section 21, 700 Grand Avenue, Fort Worth
A rag composer,
Euday, contributed a classic tune that served jazz musicians in the making of
some of their seminal recordings. Louis Armstrong's 1927 recording of Bowman's
"Twelfth Street Rag," was a precursor to the trumpeter's phrasing. Most likely,
Bowman wrote "Twelfth Street Rag" while playing in a Main Street shoeshine parlor
located between Tenth and Eleventh streets. Bowman wrote several original compositions
including "Fort Worth Blues," "Tipperary Blues," and "Kansas City Blues."
Among the dozens of musicians, groups, and arrangers to interpret Bowman's rag
are Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven, the Bennie Moten band, Duke Ellington with
Benny Payne, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, Count Basie with Lester Young, Andy Kirk
and his Twelve Clouds of Joy with Mary Lou Williams, Sidney Bechet and his New
Orleans Feetwarmers, and Walter "Pee Wee" Hunt. Besides Bowman's recorded version,
there are more than 120 versions recorded by other artists.
Schools:
Euday
Bowman most likely attended grade school at Webb School or Loyd School in eastern
Tarrant County; Loyd
School
Sites of interest:
Historical
Marker located at 700 Grand Avenue, Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth
According
to city directories, Euday and his sister Mary lived on Arizona Avenue until 1910,
then moved to 704 Galveston Avenue in 1927, and then to 122 Saint Louis Avenue
in 1929. They lived at the Saint Louis Avenue address until 1942 and then moved
to 1005 College Avenue. Finally, they lived at 818 South Jennings Avenue after
1946. (Fort Worth)
Erbie Bowser
Genres: Blues
Based
in: Austin
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Davilla
Birthdate: 5/5/1918 Deathdate: 8/15/1995
Erbie Bowser was
a blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie pianist. Young Bowser followed family tradition
and began playing piano and singing in the church choir. While in high school,
he joined the North Carolina Cotton Pickers Review and began performing throughout
the South. After high school, he joined the Sunset Entertainers and toured Texas
with the Tyler-based band, playing blues, jazz, and big band tunes. Bowser also
toured with the Special Services Band playing at USO shows. He moved to Austin
in the mid 1950s and participated in jam sessions with musicians from nearby colleges,
performed with fraternity bands, such as the Sweethearts, and played solo at the
Commodore Perry Hotel. When T. D. Bell moved to Austin around 1960, they began
playing together. Eventually, various combinations of Bowser, Bell, and musicians
such as Grey Ghost, Mel Davis, James Jones, Lem Nichols, and Fred Smith, became
known as the Blues Specialists. Bowser and the Blues Specialists became regular
fixtures on the Austin music scene throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In the late
1980s, Bowser and Bell returned to the stage, and released an LP. Bowser made
national and international appearances, including performances at the Smithsonian
Institute and Carnegie Hall.
William
"Bill" Boyd
2 3
Genres:
Country, Cowboy/Western, Western Swing
Based in: Fannin County
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Fannin
County Birthdate: 9/29/1910 Deathdate: 12/7/1977
Boyd
remained true to his western roots by using only a string-band, the Cowboy Ramblers.
They were the number 4 Western Swing string band at their peak in the 1930s and
1940s. In 1934, he and the band moved to San Antonio to record for Bluebird, cutting
hits including the standard "Under the Double Eagle," and "Going Back to My Texas
Home." During their long association with RCA, Boyd and the Ramblers recorded
over 229 singles; in the early 1940s, they appeared in six Hollywood films, including
"Raiders of the West" and "Prairie Pals."
Schools: Dallas
Technical High School located at 2218 Bryan Street in Dallas (Also known as Norman
Robert Crozier Technical).
Clifford De'Shun Boyd
Genres:
Christian, Classical, Jazz
Based in: Jacksonville
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Jacksonville
Birthdate: 1/30/1953 Deathdate: 4/13/1990
Clifford De'Shun
Boyd worked as a minister of music at Ebeezer Baptist Church and a professor of
music at Huston-Tillotson College in Austin.
Jim
Boyd
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Fannin
County
Instrument: Radio and Television performer, bass
Birthplace:
Unavailable Birthdate: 9/28/1914 Deathdate: 3/11/1993
Buried
at: Restland
Memorial Park at 9340 Walnut Street in Dallas, TX
Jim recorded approximately
300 songs from 1934-1951 with his brother William "Bill" Boyd and the Cowboy Ramblers.
They quickly became known throughout the region for their mastery of western swing.
He performed at the Grand Ole Opery, with the Sons of the Pioneers and Roy Rogers
and appeared in the 1942 film "Tumbleweed Trail" starring his brother. He also
played bass in the Light Crust Doughboys.
Calvin
Boze
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Wheatley
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: Wheatley
Birthdate: 10/15/1916 Deathdate:
Calvin Boze, Jr., is best
known as a formative member of the rhythm and blues scene in Los Angeles during
the early 1950s. In the mid-1930s, Calvin Boze played trumpet in the Wheatley
High Band and then was a member of the Prairie View Collegians band at Prairie
View A&M. Later in the 1940s, Boze became a vocalist for the Southwestern
Territory Band of Marvin Johnson and then trumpeter for the Milton Larkin Orchestra.
During this period he developed his noted vocal style patterned after Louis Jordon.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1949 and during the early 1950s, he was well recognized
in the rhythm and blues scene. He started out recording solid, jive-talking rhythm
and blues songs for Aladdin Records. By April 1950, his group called the Calvin
Boze All-Stars toured the West and East coast. When he returned to Los Angeles
in 1952 he recorded more songs at Aladdin Records, but for reasons unknown, Boze
dropped out of the music scene in 1953. The date of his death is uncertain.
Al "TNT" Braggs
Genres:
Blues
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: vocals, songwriter
Birthplace:
Birthdate: Deathdate: 12/3/2003
Al Braggs made his
mark as an exciting entertainer and became known as AL ""T.N.T."
Braggs, Mr. Dynamite. Mr. Braggs' best-known song was "Share Your Love With
Me," which became a Top 5 single for Mr. Rogers and was also recorded by
Aretha Franklin, Freddy Fender, Phoebe Snow and the Band. Other Braggs compositions
include "Soul of a Man," recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland and
Ronnie Laws, and "Crying Man," which was recorded in 1966 by the Boogie
Kings. He also produced for a number of other R&B acts such as Little Joe
Blue, Ernie Johnson and R.L. Griffin.
Zachary
Charles Breaux
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Port Arthur
Instrument:
guitar
Birthplace: Port Arthur
Birthdate: 1960 Deathdate: 2/20/1997
Zachary Breaux was
a flexible guitarist who could handle soul-jazz, post-bop and hard bop as well
as more commercial pop-jazz and NAC music. Though the jazzman only recorded a
handful of albums - including 1992's "Groovin'," and 1994's "Laidback,"
both on NYC, and "Uptown Groove" on Zebra - he kept busy as a sideman
in the 1980s and 1990s and backed such major artists as Stanley Turrentine, Jack
McDuff, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith and Dee Dee Bridgewater. It was in 1984
that he met vibist/singer Roy Ayers, who he played with extensively. Signed to
Zebra in 1996, Breaux seemed to have a bright future ahead of him, but tragically,
while holidaying with his wife and three daughters in Miami, Breaux went to the
aid of a female swimmer in distress, having saved a man from drowning in Italy
in 1988. This time, the swimmer died and on reaching the shore Breaux suffered
a fatal heart attack.
Ralph Briggs
Genres: Classical
Based
in: El Paso
Instrument: composer, piano
Birthplace: NA
Birthdate: 1901 Deathdate: 1977
Ralph Briggs was a classical
composer from El Paso. One critic noted, "His 1962 Toccata takes the key
elements of the traditional toccata form, and moves them into the second half
of the 20th century via the subtle use of dissonnance and open intervals. There
is urgency and dynamism both in the writing and playing."
Raidie
Britain
Genres: Classical
Based in: Silverton
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Silverton Birthdate: 3/17/1897 Deathdate:
5/23/1994
Radie Britain is a California composer from West Texas who
was educated in Chicago and Europe. At 91 years old, she was an active composer,
her 280 works include orchestral, piano, organ, and chamber music. She experimented
with atonal and serial techniques in her later works, but usually her works are
lyrical, tonal, and strive to create an atmosphere. Many of her works were composed
in a remote canyon in the country where she spent summers, and her programmatic
works often are inspired by American landscapes and themes, particularly of her
native Southwest.
Don
Brooks
Genres: Blues, Country, Rock
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
vocals, harmonica, blues harp
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate:
1947 Deathdate: 10/25/2000
Don Brooks worked as Waylon Jennings'
full-time harmonica player and has been a session musician for Judy Collins, Harry
Belafonte, Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Billy Joel among
others. He became one of the top studio musicians in New York and appeared on
records such as the Bee Gees' "Main Course," Yoko Ono's "Feeling
the Space," and the James Gang's "Newborn" during the '70s. By
the '80s, his harmonica, with its simple, precise dexterity, was a virtual fixture
on the New York music scene, and his instrument graced the records of the Talking
Heads among numerous others, as well as the Roger Miller-composed Broadway musical
"Big River." He was also heard for weeks on public television on the
soundtrack of Ken Burns' documentary series "The Civil War."
Cecil Brower
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based
in: Bowie
Instrument: fiddle, violin
Birthplace: Bowie
Birthdate: 11/27/1914 Deathdate: 3/1/1964
Cecil Brower played
in countless Western bands and performed with some of the biggest names in Southern
music. He was trained in Fort Worth by Ocie Stockard, the banjoist for Milton
Brown, among others. He learned the art of breakdown fiddling and eventually crafted
his own brand of fiddling which was such a recognizable style that it became the
high-water mark for fiddlers in Western swing bands. Brower would go on to join
several bands, and lent his talents to artists like Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline,
Roy Orbison, Marty Robbins, and Brenda Lee, among many others.
Tony
Russell "Charles" Brown
2 3
4
Genres: Big Band, Blues, Jazz
Based in: Texas
City
Instrument: vocals, piano
Birthplace: Texas
City Birthdate: 9/13/1922 Deathdate: 1/21/1999
Buried
at: Inglewood
Park Cemetery, Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California
Brown recorded
over 200 sides with Aladdin Records and had several hits, including "Black Night,"
"Trouble Blues," and "Seven Long Days." Achievements include: the Rhythm & Blues
Foundation Lifetime achievement award, a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage
Award in 1997 and induction posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Schools:
He played
in the Galveston High School Band.
Colleges: He
attended Prairie View A&M College, where he received a degree in chemistry.
Clarence
"Gatemouth" Brown
2
3
Genres: Blues/Soul
Based in: Houston
Instrument: guitar, fiddle, vocals
Birthplace: Vinton, LA
Birthdate: 4/18/1924 Deathdate: 9/10/2005
Buried at:
Hollywood Cemetery, Orange
Although his career first took off in the 1940s
with blues hits "Okie Dokie Stomp" and "Ain't That Dandy,"
Brown bristled when he was labeled a bluesman. In the second half of his career,
he became known as a musical jack-of-all-trades who played a half-dozen instruments
and culled from jazz, country, Texas blues, and the zydeco and Cajun music of
his native Louisiana. By the end of his career, Brown had more than 30 recordings
and won a Grammy award in 1982. Other honors included Rhythm and Blues Foundation
Pioneer Award; Blues Foundation Hall of Fame; and 8 time winner of the WC Handy
Award.
Thomas E. "Sleepy" Brown
Genres: Country,
Cowboy/Western
Based in: Shreveport, LA
Instrument: trumpet
Birthplace: Cisco Birthdate: 9/17/1920 Deathdate: 12/24/2004
Sleepy
played with Gov. Davis from 1938 - and on the original 1940 recording in Chicago
of "You Are My Sunshine" - until 1957 becoming the Governors band
leader and was one of the first muted trumpet players in country music, which
eventually evolved into western swing. Sleepy also played with many performers
on the Louisiana Hayride. He recorded with Floyd Cramer on "Dancing Diane"
and with Slim Whitman on many sessions including "Careless Love." While
in Palm Springs with the Governor, Sleepy was in several movies with The Governor
for Monogram Pictures - including "Louisiana" (1947), "Mississippi
Rhythm" (1950) and "Square Dance Katy" (1950) - and did extra work
recording on sound tracks for other movies. Sleepy was invited to the White House
with Governor Davis to play for President Truman and the President played piano
with the band while the Governor sang. Through out his musical career Sleepy played
on over 150 recording sessions and several musical sound tracks.
William
Milton Brown 2
3
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Western Swing
Based
in: Fort Worth
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Stephenville
Birthdate: 9/8/1903 Deathdate: 4/18/1936
Buried at: Brown
was buried next to his sister in the little cemetery in Smith Springs.
Some
scholars believe Brown's role in the formation of Western swing has been slighted,
and that the group he put together was really the first Western swing band. Seeking
creative freedom in a band of his own, Brown organized the Musical Brownies in
1932 and shaped them into the first western swing band. His band assembly became
the prototype for western swing bands - two fiddles, guitar, banjo, bass, steel
guitar, and piano with pop vocal styling and occasional scat-singing. Between
1934 and 1936, the band made over one hundred recordings for Victor and Decca,
becoming the first western swing band to record. Bob Will once said of Brown that
he had "the finest voice I'd ever heard."
Sites of interest:
Brown
performed regularly at the Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion, a dance hall at 5336
White Settlement Road in Fort Worth.
Brown died after a 1936 car accident
on Fort Worth's Jacksboro Highway.
The Wills Fiddle Band, an early group,
played every Saturday night at Eagles' Fraternal Hall in downtown Fort Worth.
Clifton Lafayette "Cliff" Bruner
Genres: Country, Western Swing
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Texas
City Birthdate: 4/25/1915 Deathdate: 8/25/2000
Buried
at: Houston
Clifton Lafayette Bruner, at 19 and one of the hotshot young turks of Milton Brown's groundbreaking Musical Brownies, was the most influential of all Texas fiddle players, of whom Johnny Gimble has said, "Cliff is the guy who pioneered Texas swing fiddle. He gave me goose bumps."
Sites of interest:
The Museum of The Gulf Coast
Stephen Bruton ~ 2
Genres: Blues, Rock
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Wilmington, DE Birthdate: 11/7/1948 Deathdate: 5/9/2009
Born in Wilmington, DE, Stephen Bruton grew up surrounded by music as his father was a jazz drummer. After moving to Fort Worth in 1957, the Bruton family opened Record Town, a record store specializing in jazz, blues and country. It was at Record Town where Stephen and his older brother Sumpter received an early and vast musical education. As a teenager, Bruton began playing and recording with a teenaged T-Bone Burnett, joining his brother Sumpter and Delbert McClinton to form Fort Worth's Bluebird Club's house band. In 1965, Bruton sold all of his belongings and traveled to the Newport Folk Festival where he witnessed Bob Dylan's "electric" debut. In 1970, after graduating from Texas Christian University, he moved to Woodstock, New York, eventually joining Kris Kristofferson's band. He spent nearly ten years with Kristofferson, appearing in the film A STAR IS BORN with Barbara Streisand. After working on the Willie Nelson film SONGWRITER in 1982, Bruton moved to Austin. Tours with Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt followed. Bruton's production of Jimmie Dale Gilmore's Elektra records debut, After Awhile, lead to further production jobs for Alejandro Escovedo, Loose Diamonds, Sue Foley, Storyville, and Hal Ketchum. Concurrent with his production work, Stephen Bruton released five solo albums. Bruton's nearly twenty years of sobriety inspired many musicians in the Austin music community to follow suit. Diagnosed with cancer in 2006, Stephen Bruton died at the home of long time friend T-Bone Burnett in Los Angeles on May 9, 2009
Colleges:
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth
John Edward "Teddy" Buckner ~ 2
Genres: Jazz, Dixieland
Based in: Sherman
Instrument:
trumpet, flugel horn, vocals
Birthplace: ShermanBirthdate: 7/16/1909 Deathdate: 9/22/1994
Buckner worked with Buddy Garcia's band, "Big Six" Reeves and Speed Webb, Sylvester Scott, Edyth
Turnham, Sonny Clay, Curtis Mosby, and Buck Clayton's band. Buckner took over
leadership of Lionel Hampton's band when Hampton joined Benny Goodman's Orchestra.
Buckner continued to play with a variety of West Coast bandleaders from the 1930s-1950s,
including Cee Pee Johnson's Band, Lorenzo Flennoy, Benny Carter, Horace Henderson,
Gerald Wilson, Johnny Otis, and Kid Ory. Buckner also performed in films from
the mid-1930s to the 1970s including, "Pennies from Heaven," where he appeared
as a stand-in for Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong respected Buckner's abilities
so much that he gave him a trumpet, saying, "Man, you're a real trumpet player!"
Omega
Burden 2
Genres:
Country
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: guitar, fiddle
Birthplace:
Gordonville
Birthdate: 1/28/1913 Deathdate: 11/25/1973
Omega Burden
was known as the father of "Texas Style" guitar accompaniment. When
he wasn't working on the Texas railroads, Omega spent most of his free time jamming
with Major Franklin and competing in fiddle contests. He was the popular guitar
player around the contest circuit for years.
Allyre
Bureau
Genres: Children's
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Cherbourg, France Birthdate: 1810 Deathdate:
1859
Allyre Bureau was a political writer, Texas colonizer, musician,
and composer who immigrated to Texas as a director in the charter of La Réunion,
an experiemental colony of French and Swiss emigrants. He brought the first piano
to Dallas and composed such songs as "Clang, Clang, Clang" and "Choose
a Flower." One of his compositions appeared in a songbook used in the Dallas
public schools.
Paul
Francis Buskirk
Genres: Country, Jazz
Based in: Nacogdoches
Instrument:
mandolin
Birthplace: Parkersburg, WV Birthdate: 4/8/1923
Deathdate: 3/16/2002
Buried at: Lower Melrose Cemetery near
Nacogdoches
Buskirk, often called the world's greatest mandolin player
had a profound effect on the careers of Willie Nelson, Freddy Powers and other
up-and-coming Texas country artists in the 1950s. Displaying more skill than the
average country picker, Buskirk started introducing jazzy licks in his playing
and became a sought-after sideman. He performed with country legends such as Lefty
Frizzell, Tex Ritter, Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins and the Louvin Brothers before joining
the Herb Remington Combo.
Robert
James Byrd, Sr.
Genres: R&B, Doo Wop
Based in: Fort
Worth
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate:
7/1/1930 Deathdate: 7/15/1990
Buried at: Holy
Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum in Culver City, CA.
Under the name of Bobby
Day, he had major hits with "Buzz Buzz Buzz" (1957), "Little Bitty Pretty One"
(1957), "Rockin' Robin" (1958), "The Bluebird, The Buzzard And The Oriole" (1959),
and "That's All I Want" (1959). Byrd's unique baritone voice kept him in demand
with a variety of recording labels, including Rendezvous, RCA, and Sureshot. Byrd
established Byrdland Attractions and Quiline Publishing, songwriting enterprises.
Emilio
Caceres 2
Genres:
Jazz
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: violin
Birthplace:
Corpus Christi Birthdate: 9/24/1897 Deathdate: 2/10/1980
Violinist
Emilio Caceres led his own band and toured in the northern United States during
the '30s and '40s. He appeared on "Benny Goodman's Camel Hour" in New
York City in 1937 with a trio comprised of his brother Ernie Caceres on clarinet
and baritone sax, Johnny Gomez on guitar, and himself on jazz violin. He proceeded
to record six selections for Bluebird label (predecessor for RCA Victor) that
same year. Those six selections have been re-issued in Paris, France by Paris
Jazz Corner.
Ernesto
"Ernie" Caceres 2
3
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Rockport
Instrument:
saxophone, clarinet
Birthplace: Rockport
Birthdate: 11/22/1911 Deathdate: 1/10/1971
The brother of
norteño violinist Emilio and trumpet and piano player Pinero, Ernie Caceres
found his musical voice through jazz. In addition to long stints as a member of
bands led by Bobby Hackett, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Woody
Herman, and Eddie Condon, he recorded with Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Ruth
Brown, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Hot Lips Page, Frank Sinatra,
and Muggsy Spanier.
Homer
"Bill" Callahan
2
Genres: Bluegrass, Country
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
guitar, string bass, mandolin, vocals, yodel
Birthplace: Laurel,
NC Birthdate: 3/27/1912 Deathdate: 9/5/2002
Homer Callahan,
along with his brother Walter, represented the rapid expansion and popularity
of country music on the radio from the 1940s to the 1960s and played a key role
in its development. Homer Callahan and his brother achieved their greatest fame
through their part on the radio show "the Big D Jamboree" on KRLD in
Dallas, Texas. Initially, called "the Texas Jamboree," this extremely
popular live radio show was one of the first and most successful "barn dances"
on the radio from the late 1940s through the 1960s.
Laura Canales
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Kingsville
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Kingsville Birthdate: 8/19/1946
Deathdate: 4/16/2005
Laura Canales paved the way for women in
Tejano music. Born in Kingsville she grew up just as local dance bands were mixing
keyboards into the Mexican-style polka known as conjunto creating the Tejano
sound. After graduating from high school in 1973, Canales became a guest singer
for Los Unicos y El Conjunto Bernal. When the group disbanded, Canales and three
former band members formed Snowball & Company, which in 1977 released an album
that ranked tenth on Billboard's "Hot Latin" chart. Her 1990 album "No
Regrets" stayed on the charts for 13 weeks. Her many awards included Female
Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year and induction into the Tejano
ROOTS Hall of Fame.
Camilo
Cantu
2 3
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Austin
Instrument: accordion
Birthplace: Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico Birthdate: 3/4/1907
Deathdate: 3/3/1998
According to one fellow musician, he was "the
greatest accordion player in Central Texas in the '40's and '50's." Camilo Cantu
"El Azote de Austin" was considered to be the Narciso Martinez or Santiago Jimenez
of this area. His music was pure instrumental...he sat down when he played polkas,
redovas, vals, shotis, etc. Mr. Cantu never recorded and often failed to title
his original compositions. In the tradition of many conjunto musicians, Camilo
shared his musical knowledge with others through teaching. Today, we have his
repretoire through Isidro Samilpa and Johnny Degollado who, with the consent of
Mr. Cantu, added many of those polkas to his library of original songs. After
being retired from performing for almost twenty-four years, conjunto great, Camilo
Cantu, was inducted into the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame in 1987 without a single
recording.
Laura
Hernández Cantú
2 3
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Alice
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Kingsville Birthdate: 5/25/1926 Deathdate: 8/29/2004
Laura Hernández Cantú and her sister Carmen Marroquin were reknown
as some of the first female artists to record in the tejano music industry, releasing
their first single "Se Me Fue Mi Amor" in 1944 for the Four Star record
label. In the mid-1950s, many tejano artists were claiming to be the first to
include English songs in their reportoire, but in fact it was Carmen y Laura who
set the pace in the late '40s with their recording of "Who's Sorry Now."
The duet were also among the first Tejana singers to include blues, swing and
boleros in their performances. Carmen y Laura have been honored and recognized
by the Tejano Conjunto Hall of Fame in San Antonio, the Tejano Roots Hall of Fame
in Alice, the Texas Music Museum Hall of Fame in Austin, and the Smithsonian Institution's
Folkways Recordings.
John
Lewis "Johnny" Carroll
2 3
4
Genres: Country, Rockabilly
Based in: Cleburne
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Cleburne
Birthdate: 10/23/1937 Deathdate: 2/8/1995
Guitarist, composer,
and "Wild Rockabilly Singer" Johnny Carroll had sometimes shared the stage with
Elvis Presley as they performed on the Big D Jamboree and the Louisiana Hayride
circuit. Carroll recorded "Crazy, Crazy Lovin'," "Hot Rock," "Bandstand
Doll" and "Whiskey River." Carroll appeared in the motion picture "Rock,
Baby, Rock It," completed eleven European tours and was a popular draw along
the American music festival circuit.
Little
Joe Carson 2
Genres: Country
Based in: Holliday
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Holliday Birthdate:
11/21/1936 Deathdate: 2/27/1964
Carson died at 27 following
an automobile accident in 1964, just as he was starting to have major chart success
with songs like "I Gotta Get Drunk (And I Shore Do Dread It)" and "Helpless."
For that reason, he's largely forgotten today. But he was one of the best country
singers of his era and could have been one of the best of any era had he lived
long enough.
Mary Carson
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based
in: Houston
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Houston
Birthdate: Deathdate:
Mary Carson was a soprano opera singer
from Houston that studied in New England before completing additional training
in Italy. She made her Milan debut in 1910. In 1913, she joined the New Century
Opera company in New York City, making her debut there with "Ah, Fors e Lui"
from "La Traviata." She also recorded "O Dry Those Tears"
for the Edison label.
John
Carter
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
composer, clarinet, flute, saxophone, club owner
Birthplace: Fort
Worth Birthdate: 9/24/1929 Deathdate: 3/31/1991
John Carter,
jazz composer and clarinetist, played with Ornette Coleman in Fort Worth. Carter
taught music in the Fort Worth public schools from 1949 to 1961. Later, after
meeting fellow Texan Bobby Bradford in Los Angeles, they collaborated to form
the New Art Jazz Ensemble. Some of their music was released as "West Coast
Hot" in 1969. In Los Angeles, Carter opened a jazz establishment named Rudolph's
where progressive musicians met and jammed.
Colleges: Lincoln
University in Jefferson, Missouri; M.A. from the University of Colorado in 1956
Shirley
Thompson Carter 2
Genres: Classical, Choral
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
educator
Birthplace: N/A Birthdate: 5/6/1935 Deathdate:
12/10/2002
Shirley Thompson Carter founded the Texas Girls' Choir
in 1962 with a belief that children's lives can be developed through the excellence
of music. The choir began with sixteen members who met at the Fort Worth YWCA
where Mrs. Carter worked as a YWCA Director in order that the choir might have
a place to rehearse. By 1973 there had been many advances. At that time the choir
purchased their permanent home at 4449 Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth, Texas.
The choir had developed from 16 girls to 275 girls and 5 Choir levels. Other advances
include an annual music clinic, an annual charm school, and leadership training.
There is also an opportunity to be a part of one of 4 handbell choirs and a solo
class which prepares girls for solos at school or in a choir performance. The
choir has toured 50 countries, and has toured every year overseas, since 1962.
It is the most traveled choir in the United States. The choir has also performed
at the White House six times since 1989. The Texas Girls' Choir has always accepted
all girls with an adequate voice and an overall B average in school without regard
to race, creed, or religious origin.
Jesus ''El Gallito'' Casiano
Genres: Conjunto
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
accordion
Birthplace: Laredo
Conjunto musician and accordion
pioneer, Jesus Casiano was known as ''El Gallito'' (little rooster). Jesus Casiano
was one of the pioneer accordionists along with Narciso Martínez, Bruno Villareal,
and Santiago Jimenez to put conjunto music on the South Texas musical map.
Dave Catney
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Fairmont, WV Birthdate: 1961
Deathdate: 8/11/1994
Catney performed with such musicians as Tom
McLaren and Ben Atkinson at popular locations such as the Black Labrador Pub and
Lexa in Houston. Catney became the impresario for the Black Labrador Pub at the
Cezanne, and promoted the Houston jazz scene as he arranged entertainment for
the small jazz room for several years. Several of Catney's original compositions
made it to film and television through such movies as "And the Band Played On."
Schools: Westbury High School
Colleges: University of North Texas in Denton
Frederick
Charles Chabot
Genres: Classical
Based in: San
Antonio
Instrument: piano, organ
Birthplace: San Antonio
Birthdate: 5/11/1891 Deathdate: 1/18/1943
Frederick Charles
Chabot, diplomat and historian, was born in San Antonio on May 11, 1891. Through
the auspices of the Yanaguana Society, founded by Chabot in 1933 and devoted to
promoting the study of Texas history, he published and edited a number of brief
books on a variety of topics. His most notable works are "With the Makers
of San Antonio" (1937); "Excerpts from the Memorias for the History
of Texas," by Father J. A. Morfi (1932), a translation of those parts of
Juan A. Morfi's work that dealt with Indians in Texas; and "Texas in 1811."
Iola
Bowden Chambers
Genres: Classical
Based in: Georgetown
Instrument:
educator
Birthplace: Holder
Birthdate: 10/18/1904 Deathdate: 12/14/1978
Iola Bowden
Chambers - music teacher and director of the Negro Fine Arts School - was an early
Anglo-American proponent of African-American education. In 1946 she and several
of her piano students founded the Negro Fine Arts School, in which students from
Southwestern University taught local African-American children to play the piano.
Schools:
public schools in Holder and May
Colleges: Daniel Baker College; Washington
Conservatory of Music; Southwestern University; MA from the Cincinnati Conservatory
of Music
John
Barnes "Barney" Chance
2
Genres: Classical
Based in: Beaumont
Instrument:
composer, arranger, percussion
Birthplace: Beaumont
Birthdate: 11/20/1932 Deathdate: 8/16/1972
John Barnes "Barney"
Chance was a prolific composer for band and wind ensemble. His music became known
for its tonal and romantic style and its reliance on unique rhythms and a secure
command of instrumentation. While serving in Seoul, South Korea, as a member of
the Eighth U.S. Army Band, Chance came across the pentatonic Korean folk song
"Arrirang" (pronounced: AH-dee-dong). This song served as the inspiration
for his 1965 composition "Variations on a Korean Folk Song," which would
become his best-known work.
J.R.
Chatwell
Genres: Jazz
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
fiddle, piano
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 5/27/1915
Deathdate: 6/18/1983
James Robert Chatwell was greatly influenced
by the jazz-violin style of Stuff Smith. Chatwell picked up on Smith's jazz licks,
and applied them to country, creating a unique sound that was to influence swing
fiddlers to come, including Johnny Gimble of the Texas Playboys. He played with
groups such as Milton Brown and the Musical Brownies, the Texas Wanderers, the
Modern Mountaineers, Johnny Thames, Bill Boyd's Country Ramblers, the Light Crust
Doughboys, the Village Boys, Smiley Whitley's Texans and Walter Kleypas's Lone
Star Boys.
Clifton
Chenier
Genres: Cajun
Based in: Port Arthur
Instrument:
vocals, accordion, harmonica, organ, piano
Birthplace: Opelousas,
LA Birthdate: 6/25/1925 Deathdate: 12/12/1987
Singer and
multi-instrumentalist Clifton Chenier was acknowledged as the "King of Zydeco."
Chenier reached a wide audience when he appeared on the premiere full season of
the PBS music television program "Austin City Limits" in 1976, and returned
for a follow-up episode in 1979 with his Red Hot Louisiana Band. His popularity
peaked in the 1980s, when he won a Grammy Award for his 1982 album, I'm Here,
the first ever Grammy for his new label, Alligator Records. Chenier was the second
Creole to win a Grammy (after Queen Ida). Chenier is also credited with redesigning
the wood and crimped tin washboard into the frottoir, an instrument that would
easily hang from the shoulders. Cleveland Chenier, Clifton's older brother, also
played in the Red Hot Louisiana Band and would find equal popularity for his ability
to manipulate the distinctive sound of the washboard by rubbing several bottle
openers (held in each hand) along its ridges. Clifton Chenier and his band traveled
throughout the world during their prime.
Harry
H. Choates
Genres: Cajun, Country
Based in: Port Arthur
Instrument:
fiddle, vocals
Birthplace: Rayne, LA Birthdate: 12/26/1922
Deathdate: 7/17/1951
Buried at: A
Catholic cemetery in Port Arthur.
Choates, who also played accordion,
standard guitar, and steel guitar, preferred to play on borrowed instruments and
may never have owned a musical instrument of his own. He and his Melody Boys recorded
songs including "Jole Blon," "Baisile Waltz," "Allans a Lafayette,"
Lawtell Waltz," "Bayou Pon Pon" and "Poor Hobo." He also recorded for
the Mary, DeLuxe, D, O.T., Allied, Cajun Classics, and Humming Bird labels during
his brief career. As songwriter, instrumentalist, singer, and bandleader he raised
Cajun music to national prominence. Choates, who could sing in French or English,
became famous for his "Eh...ha, ha!" and "Aie!" vocal cries.
Schools:
Choates received little formal education.
Benjamin Theodore Christian
Genres:
Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Rockdale Birthdate: 06/01/1885
Deathdate: 1956
Fiddler and band leader Benjamin (Ben) Theodore
Christian entered the Houston music scene in the early 1930s, when Fort Worth-based
western swing was attracting growing audiences over the radiowaves. For a time
he teamed with guitarists Dave Melton and Lynn Henderson at house parties. Christian
and Henderson organized the Bar X Cowboys, named by radio announcer Harry Greer,
with Christian as business manager and lead fiddler and Elwood on fiddle and bass.
Although primarily a dance band, the Bar X Cowboys made a number of records with
Decca, including Christian's "Rockdale Rag" in Dallas studios. In 1940,
Christian turned over the Bar X Cowboys to Elwood to form the Texas Cowboys, which
he managed until his retirement. During that decade the Texas Cowboys performed
at leading Houston venues, such as Cook's Hoedown, Eagles' Hall, and Polish Hall
(now Fitzgerald's), in addition to rural communities. The Texas Cowboys shared
the bandstand in "battle dances" with Bob Wills, Adolf Hofner and Jesse
James. Christian and the band provided instrumentation for Hank Williams on one
of his last area tours and permitted a young Elvis Presley to gain experience
with them before an audience at Magnolia Gardens.
Charles
"Charlie" Christian
2
3
4
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Bonham
Instrument:
guitar
Birthplace: Bonham Birthdate: 7/29/1916 Deathdate:
3/2/1942
Buried at: Gates
Hill Cemetery in Bonham, TX
Although barely 20 years old, Christian
immediately became known among professional jazzmen for his new sounds and new
ideas. When music critic John Hammond heard him in 1939, he persuaded Benny Goodman
to employ Christian. Only one other electric guitar had been recorded on jazz
records when the first Christian-Goodman records were issued. Christian won Down
Beat polls from 1939 through 1941 and in the Encyclopedia Year Book poll of 1956
was chosen "Greatest Ever." In 1994 a headstone and historical marker were erected
at Charles' gravesite during a ceremony sponsored by the Texas Historical Society
and the Fannin County Museum of History.
Schools: Douglass Elementary
School in Oklahoma City
Sites of interest:
Charlie
Christian historical marker near SH 78 and South Main Street in Gates Hill Cemetery
Fannin
County Museum of History
Arthur
Claassen
Genres: Classical
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: conductor
Birthplace: Stargard, Prussia Birthdate:
2/19/1859 Deathdate: 3/16/1920
With the New York Liederkranz,
Arthur made recordings for Columbia Records after about 1910, and these were marketed
in Texas. In May 1913, Claassen was guest festival conductor for the Texas State
Sängerfest, held in Houston. The Beethoven Männerchor of San Antonio
was so impressed by his musicianship that they invited him to become their permanent
conductor in 1914. Thus Claassen became the first conductor of international reputation
to assume full responsibility for a Texas musical organization. He took over the
forty-three-voice male chorus and organized a sixty-voice women's chorus (the
Mozart Society) to complement it. He also assumed charge of the sixty-member San
Antonio Philharmonic (later the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra). Claassen gave
concerts of unprecedented sophistication in the Alamo City.
Sites
of interest:
The Beethoven
Männerchor is located at 422 Pereida Street in San Antonio.
In 1895
the Beethoven Männerchor built the 1200 seat Beethoven Hall at 420 South
Alamo Street in San Antonio.
Annual event:
Beethoven
Mäennerchor at Oktoberfest in San Antonio.
James
Earl Clay
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 9/8/1935 Deathdate:
1/6/1995
James was established in the hard-bop and freestyle jazz
styles. His first commercial breakthrough came when he joined the band of Red
Mitchell. Shortly thereafter, Clay joined the Jazz Messiahs, collaborating with
Ornette Coleman. He also cut an album with David "Fathead" Newman. Later, he turned
down a spot to replace John Coltrane in Miles Davis's band to return to his native
Dallas where he eventually played with Ray Charles.
Colleges: Huston-Tillotson
College in Austin; University of North Texas in
Denton
Sonny Clay
2
3
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Chapel Hill
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Chapel
Hill Birthdate: 5/15/1899 Deathdate: 1972
Sonny Clay
traveled the Southwest, playing drums or piano with various small groups in California,
Arizona and Tijuana, Mexico. In Tijuana he played drums in Jelly Roll Morton's
band. Around 1921, he moved to Los Angeles and played with Reb Spikes' and Kid
Ory's Original Creole Jazz Band. He also put together his own band and giged at
the Plantation Club. Sonny Clay's Plantation Orchestra continued on at the club
until 1927. Clay took his band to Australia to tour in 1928 with a vaudeville
production called "Sonny Clay and the Colored Idea." The troupe included
a young singer named Ivie Anderson who would later became famous as a singer in
the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Rildia
Bee O'Bryan Cliburn
Genres: Classical
Based in: Fort
Worth
Instrument: educator
Birthplace: McGregor
Birthdate: 10/14/1896 Deathdate: 8/3/1994
Rildia Bee O'Bryan
Cliburn, piano teacher and mother of pianist Van Cliburn, was born on October
14, 1896, in McGregor, Texas. After early piano lessons from her mother and local
teacher Prebble Drake, and after graduating from high school in Richmond, Texas,
she studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory and later in New York. She began teaching
her son while the family lived in Shreveport, where he was born, and continued
teaching him as well as many other young pupils after the family moved to Kilgore,
Texas, in 1940. After Van was catapulted to world fame as the winner of the first
Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1958, his mother frequently
traveled with him and served as his manager until he withdrew from active concertizing
in 1978. Cliburn always credited his mother as his most influential teacher and
as a valued advisor up to the time of her death.
Arnett
Cleophus Cobb
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 8/10/1918 Deathdate:
3/24/1989
He worked with Frank Davis, Chester Boone and Milton Larkin.
Cobb turned down offers from both Count Basie and Lionel Hampton but later accepted
an offer from Hampton to take Illinois Jacquet's seat. Hampton rerecorded his
theme song, "Flying Home No. 2," with Cobb as the featured soloist, and the excitement
elicited by his uninhibited, blasting style earned him the label "Wild Man of
the Tenor Sax." Cobb received a Grammy nomination in 1979 for best jazz instrumental
performance. He shared a Grammy with B. B. King in 1984 for best traditional blues
performance. In 1986 he founded the Jazz Heritage Society of Texas, which established
the Jazz Archives at the Houston Public Library.
Lenore
"Leonora Corona" Cohron
2
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
operatic soprano
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 10/14/1900
Deathdate: Unavailable
Lenore was considered a child prodigy and
gave solo recitals in Dallas. Corona sang at the Metropolitan Opera for eight
seasons, performing in twelve operas. Known particularly for her performances
in Italian operas, she sang the leading roles in Tosca, Aïda, and Don Giovanni.
Critics praised both her vocal and dramatic powers and her picturesque beauty.
Her tenure with the Met overlapped with that of two other Texans, Etheldreda Aves
of Galveston and Rafaelo Diaz of San Antonio, and followed the career of Texan
Lillian Eubank. Throughout this time Corona maintained ties to Dallas by occasionally
retunring for concerts and other special events. A series of five annual "homecoming
recitals" in Dallas began in 1926.
Schools: She attended Oak Cliff
High School in Dallas.
Colleges: She appeared
in a performance of Cynthia Parker at North Texas State Teachers College (now
the University of North Texas) in Denton in 1939.
Sites of interest:
The John Tierney
residence, at 232 North Marsalis in Dallas, was at one time the home of Leonora.
Henry
L. Coker
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
trombone
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 12/24/1919 Deathdate:
11/23/1979
Coker played with Nat Towles's territory band, Monk McFay,
Eddie Heywood, Illinois Jacquet, Al Grey, Eddie Jones, Snooky Young, Ernie Wilkins,
Wendell Culley, Billy Mitchell, Sonny Cohn, Sarah Vaughn, Joe Williams, Quincy
Jones, Bill Hughes, Eric Dixon, and Urbie Green. In addition, he appeared on a
multitude of Benny Carter, Count Basie, and Ray Charles albums. While with Basie,
Coker developed a reputation as a powerful soloist, featured in tunes such as,
"Did'n You," "No Name," "Redhead," "Peace Pipe," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," and
"Kansas City Wrinkles" and on albums, such as "April in Paris," "The
Count Basie Story," "Basie in London," and "Li'l Ol' Groovemaker
. . . Basie!"
Colleges: Wiley
College in Marshall
Gary B.B. Coleman
Genres: Blues
Based
in: Paris
Instrument: guitar, piano, vocals
Birthplace:
Paris Birthdate: 1/1/1947 Deathdate:
1994
Blues vocalist and instrumentalist Gary B.B. Coleman worked as
a sideman for fellow-Texan Freddie King by the age of 15. Then Coleman worked
with Lightnin' Hopkins and, later, formed his own band in which he sang and played
keyboards, guitar, and bass for many years in Texas and Oklahoma. He did not begin
his recording career until 1985 when he recorded his debut album "Nothin'
But the Blues" under his own label, Mr. B's Records. In 1987, he joined Ichiban
Records as a recording mainstay and producer. Coleman became a major promoter
of blues musicians, and he supervised the production of recordings by numerous
artists, many with whom he had toured before his production career.
George
"Bongo Joe" Coleman
Genres: Folk/Acoustic, World Beat
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: percussion, drums, bongos
Birthplace:
Haines City, FL Birthdate: 11/28/1923 Deathdate: 12/19/1999
Although
he cut only one album, entitled "Bongo Joe," which was released by Arhoolie
Records in 1968, Coleman was a musician much in demand. On separate occasions,
he entertained Presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, played piano with Dizzy
Gillespie at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and appeared at various
country clubs, private parties, and folk festivals in and around San Antonio.
Coleman is perhaps best known as a star attraction along that city's famous Riverwalk,
where his quick wit and eccentric behavior became his trademarks. Equally important
were his philosophical commentaries on contemporary society and the comic banter
he carried on with his listeners.
Oliver Coleman
Genres:
Jazz
Based in: Beaumont
Instrument: drums
Birthplace:
Beaumont Birthdate: 1914 Deathdate: 11/6/1965
The drummer
Oliver Coleman had a huge influence on the Chicago music scene. Like many players
from the Windy City he had one drumstick in swing mode and the other hovering
over the type of solid backbeat only found in Chicago blues. Several generations
of drum students that tutored under him had the choice of learning either style,
or both. Coleman, a native Texan, gigged in important bands led by trumpeter,
violinist and vocalist Ray Nance, pianist Earl Hines and the tremendous vocalist
Dinah Washington. He also worked with bandleaders Horace Henderson and Erskine
Tate and was a regular session drummer for the Chess label in the '50s, including
playing on classic sides by Eddie Johnson.
Albert
Collins 2
3
4
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Leona
Birthdate: 10/3/1932 Deathdate: 11/24/1993
Buried at: Paradise
Memorial Gardens, Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada
Albert "The Master
of the Telecaster" Collins' greatest success came after he signed with Alligator
Records in 1978 and cut "Ice Pickin'." It won the Best Blues Album of
the Year Award from the Montreux Jazz Festival, and was nominated for a Grammy.
He won the W. C. Handy award for best blues album of the year with "Don't Lose
Your Cool," and in 1986 he shared a Grammy for "Showdown." By the 1990s,
he had played in Carnegie Hall and appeared at the Live Aid Television benefit.
Sites
of interest:
Albert Collins was the bandleader at a Houston nightspot
called the Joker Club.
Juan
Mario "Juan Colorado" Garcia
2 3
Genres:
Tejano
Based in: San Diego
Instrument: piano, saxophone
Birthplace:
San Diego Birthdate: 9/14/1923 Deathdate: 2/10/1957
Juan
Colorado joined the Balde Gonzales orquestra in the early fifties and later started
his own group. He composed songs such as "Todo o Nada" and "Digale." Isidro
López played second alto with master Tejano saxophonist Eugenio Gutierrez,
and recorded his first lead vocal in 1954 with Juan Colorado's orchestra when
the regular singer did not show up.
Conjunto
Bernal
2
3 4
Genres:
Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: Alice
Instrument: vocal,
accordion, 12-string guitar
Birthplace: Alice
It has been
said that El Conjunto Bernal, led by Paulino and Eloy Bernal, wrote the book on
conjunto music, thus putting conjunto music on the map. In 1952, Paulino and Eloy
became Los Hermanos Bernal. After performing three years, they changed their name
to El Conjunto Bernal. It was during this time, the brothers introduced the chromatic
accordion that helped bring conjunto music to a new level of sophistication. The
two innovative brothers also originated the three-part harmony to conjunto music,
which established them as pioneer leaders. Additionally, they brought respect
to conjunto music by doing something that had never been done before; they were
the first to wear suits. Please see Eloy Bernal.
Thomas "Red" Connors
Genres: Jazz
Based
in: Fort Worth
Instrument: tenor, alto saxophone
Birthplace:
Unavailable Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate: Unavailable
Thomas
"Red" Connors - a seldom-recorded Jazz saxophonist from Fort Worth -
played with performers such as Lester Young and Pee Wee Crayton, when he was not
leading his own large band, which often included artists such as Ornette Coleman
and David "Fathead" Newman. Connors' band played bebop from the 1940s
to the early 1950s as inspired by Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, George Shearing,
and Thelonious Monk. Connors is reported to have been a major influence on musicians
such as Ornette Coleman, "Schoolboy" Hagerty, Julius Hemphill, William
"Prince" Lasha, Dewy Redman, and Billy "Tom" Robinson.
Leroy Cooper
Genres:
Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: saxophone
Birthplace:
Dallas Birthdate: 8/31/1928 Deathdate: Unavailable
Cooper
grew up musically on the fertile Dallas R&B circuit. He initially encountered
Ray Charles there at a 1952 session with Zuzu Bollin. Cooper's first recording
session with Charles in 1959, supervised by Sid Feller, produced "Them That Got,"
"My Baby! (I Love Her, Yes I Do)" and "Who You Gonna Love?" David "Fathead" Newman
and Leroy were frequent musical cohorts; they both played on the 1954 Lowell Fulson
date that produced "Reconsider Baby." Cooper became well respected for his
Texan sax style. He even landed a very brief speaking roles in the 1964 movie
"Ballad In Blue," starring Ray and the band and filmed in Ireland by director
Paul Henreid.
Johnny
Clyde Copeland
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Haynesville, LA Birthdate: 3/27/1937
Deathdate: 7/3/1997
Buried at: New York City
Copeland
left a lasting impact on Texas-Style blues and played a major part in "the blues
boom" of the 1980's. Throughout his musical career, he earned a Grammy, four WC
Handy Awards, and the Best Album of the Year Award from the French National Academy
of Jazz in 1995. Copeland was also one of the few blues musicians to perform behind
the Iron Curtain during the Cold War.
George
Corley
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
bandleader
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: 1912 Deathdate:
Unavailable
Corley led the Royal Aces Orchestra with two of his brothers
as sidemen in the early 1930s. Terrence "T" Holder from Dallas took over the band
in 1932, and Corley contunued to play in this band which also included sax players
Buddy Tate and Earl Bostic and pianist Lloyd Glenn. He also played in the territory
bands Boots and his Buddies.
Eugene
"Gene" Coy
2
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Amarillo
Instrument:
bandleader
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: Unavailable
Deathdate: Unavailable
Budd Johnson and his brother Keg played
in Gene Coy's Happy Black Aces in Amarillo along with Ben Webster. Tenor saxophonist
Ben Webster debuted with the Gene Coy band in 1930. Clyde Hart first worked with
Gene Coy from 1930-31.
Edward L. Crain
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based
in: Longview
Instrument: guitar, vocals, fiddle, mandolin
Birthplace:
Longview Birthdate: 1901 Deathdate: Unavailable
Texan
Edward Crain was a cowboy who spent time on ranches and cattle drives. He played
guitar, fiddle, and mandolin. He also worked as a performer for various radio
stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Crain recorded "Bandit Cole Younger"
twice in 1931 - once for Columbia and once for the American Record Corporation.
As of 1970, he was living in Oregon.
Roberta
Dodd Crawford
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Bonham
Instrument:
contralto
Birthplace: Bonham
Birthdate: 1897 Deathdate: 6/14/1954
African American contralto
Roberta Dodd Crawford, also known as Princess Kojo Tovalou-Houenou, was born in
the black Tank Town section of Bonham, Texas. About 1920 she entered the University
of Chicago, where for the next six years she studied voice with Madame Herman
Devries. In 1926 she debuted at Kimball Hall and received favorable reviews from
the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Defender. Two years later she performed at
the First United Methodist Church in Bonham, where her program combined Italian,
French, German, Spanish, and English art songs and operatic arias with Negro spirituals
and at least one African melody. She then left for France to become a student
of Blanche Marchessi in Paris. She worked in the National Library of Paris and
during World War II joined the Red Cross and sang in churches and canteens for
American soldiers. Suffering from anemia, she relied on friends for financial
help and credited a Fort Worth physician with saving her life by getting surplus
food coupons for her. She reportedly spent time in a concentration camp during
the German occupation of France, but was released.
Schools: Wiley
College; Fisk University; University of Chicago
Connie
"Pee Wee" Crayton
Genres: Blues
Based in: Rockdale
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Rockdale
Birthdate: 12/18/1914 Deathdate: 6/25/1985
Buried at: Inglewood
Park Cemetery, Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California
Crayton will
be remembered as one of the most influential pioneers of R&B music. His hits included
"Blues After Hours," "Texas Hop" and "I Love You So." Crayton recorded
on labels including Vee-Jay, Aladdin, and Imperial. He showcased at the Monterey
Jazz Festival and continued to record and tour throughout his life, including
a performance at Antone's blues club in Austin.
Howard Crockett
Genres:
Country
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument: vocal, guitar
Birthplace:
Minden, LA Birthdate: 12/25/1925 Deathdate: 12/27/1994
Howard
Crockett, originally Howard Hausey, was forced to turn to singing and song writing
after a shoulder injury dashed his baseball career playing as a pitcher for the
Brooklyn Dodgers farm system. Of the over 200 songs written by Crockett, some
of his best known are "Whispering Pines," "Slew Foot," which
was recorded 67 times, and "Honky Tonk Man." These three, plus several
others were released and made famous by Johnny Horton. From his extensive catalogue,
Crockett managed to write four gold, two platinum, and one double-platinum selling
song. Not just a song writer, Crockett released several recordings with Dot Records
and Mercury Records. After a hit record with "The Last Will and Testament
of a Drinking Man" in 1973, Crockett retired from singing in 1981, continuing
to write songs up until a few months before his death. In 1991, Howard Crocket
was inducted into the LSSCMA Country Music Hall of Fame.
Maud
Cuney-Hare
Genres: Classical, Folk/Acoustic, Creole
Based
in: Galveston
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Galveston
Birthdate: 2/16/1874 Deathdate: 2/13/1936
African American
musician and writer Maud Cuney-Hare studied piano at the New England Conservatory
of Music, where she successfully resisted the pressure that white students exerted
on the school's administrators to have her barred from living in the dormitory.
As a folklorist and music historian she was especially interested in African and
early American music. She collected songs in Mexico, the Virgin Islands, Puerto
Rico, and Cuba, and was the first music scholar to direct public attention to
Creole music.
Schools: Central High School in Galveston
Colleges:
New
England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA
Theron
Eugene "Ted" Daffan
2
3
Genres: Country
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
vocals, songwriter, steel guitar
Birthplace: Merryville, LA Birthdate:
9/21/1912 Deathdate: 10/6/1996
Buried at: died in Houston
His
song "Truck Driver's Blues" became the first of the genre of truck-driving songs.
Ted Daffon also wrote the million dollar hit "Born to Lose" recorded by Ray Charles.
His songs were also recorded by: Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Willis, Fats
Domino, Rosemary Clooney, Ringo Starr and Elton John.
Schools: Lufkin-Jefferson
Davis High (Houston)
Harold
W. "Pappy" Daily
2
Genres: Country
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
businessman
Birthplace: Yoakum
Birthdate: 2/8/1902 Deathdate: 12/5/1987
Pappy and Jack
Stames started the Starday label in 1952. Pappy's most notable stars were the
Big Bopper, George Jones, Jimmie Dean, Eddie Noack, Roger Miller and Hank Locklin.
During the 1950s, Daily began producing and managing his own Houston-based label,
"D" Records. During the next twenty years, D Records released hundreds of songs,
including recordings by Willie Nelson and George Strait. While the label typically
recorded Texas honky-tonk music, it also covered western swing, rockabilly, Tex-Mex,
Cajun, and polka music. Pappy's publishing company, Glad Music Co., is still an
active company with rights to such classics as "White Lightnin'," "She Thinks
I Still Care," "Chantilly Lace," "Night Life," and "The Party's Over."
Schools: Central High School in Houston
Sites of interest:
Glad Music was founded in 1958 by H.W. "Pappy"
Daily.
Allen Wayne
Damron
Genres: Cowboy/Western, Folk/Acoustic
Based
in: Terlingua
Instrument: vocals, guitar, banjo, Indian flute
Birthplace: Raymondville
Birthdate: 3/1/1939 Deathdate: 8/13/2005
Featured in book
Famous Texas Folklorists by Jim Gramon; touring artist with Texas Commision on
the Arts; four star USO performer; first director and co-founder of Kerrville
Folk Festival; selected by Texas Legislature as Texas Sesquicentennial Goodwill
Ambassador of Texas (1986-1996); Published in Best Stories from the Texas Storytelling
Festival (1995); Featured in the Fall 2004 Issues of Taylor Guitar's quarterly
publication "Wood & Steel;" honored by proclomation from Governor
Perry in 2004 saying in part "as a Texan second to none, your passion highlights
the best of of our great state. You have kept our culture, heritage and treasured
traditions alive, holding them dear for the generations to come. Yours is a growing
legacy of excllence, and today, our fellow Texans join me in applauding our best
wishes for the future;" also honored in 2004 by President Bush saying in
part "as a musician, actor, writer, storyteller, you have helped enhance
the appreciation of American history, culture and values. Your work reflects the
creativity and freedom of Texas and our Nation;" represented the Governor's
office in 2004 to promote Texas Tourism in Canada.
Colleges: He
graduated with an Associate Arts Degree in Drama from Lon Morris College, Jacksonville,
TX in 1959.
Manuel Gonzales Davila, Sr.
Genres: Tejano
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: radio pioneer
Birthplace:
San Antonio Birthdate: 5/22/1918 Deathdate: 7/12/1997
Buried
at: San Fernando Cemetery No. 2 in San Antonio
Manuel Gonzales Davila,
Sr. and his brother, José, began broadcasting in 1935 by buying one hour
slots on English stations, because there were no Spanish stations in San Antonio
at the time. Davila dealt with bias from those who did not want Mexican-American
broadcasters, including both Anglos and Hispanics who believed that one should
be from Mexico in order to broadcast in Spanish. In 1961, after losing his job
when the station at which he worked throughout the 1950s was sold, Davila decided
to buy his own station. On March 17, 1966 after a five year legal fight, Davila
began broadcasting Tex-Mex music on his newly purchased station KEDA-AM, nicknamed
"Radio Jalapeño." Its competitors dubbed KEDA, the "cantina
station" because of its accordion-driven South Texas music, although Davila
insisted that the station was "all about familia and respect and giving newcomers
a break." The local nature of the radio station raised skepticism at first,
but the major labels that originally bypassed the station eventually started calling.
Emphasizing local bands, KEDA aired Texas musicians Santiago Jimenez Jr. and Narciso
Martinez and later Tejano newcomers Selena, Emilio, and Los Aguilares. Currently,
KEDA is the last remaining family-owned independent radio station in the San Antonio
market, and along with playing music, it maintains a connection to its roots through
community service programming; these efforts include the reading of obituaries
on the air, as well as fundraisers for those who cannot afford to bury their dead
children. Davila's "Jalapeño network" would later include KCCT-AM,
KBSO-FM, and KFLZ-FM in Corpus Christi.
Link
Davis, Sr. 2
3
Genres: Country
Based in: Van Zandt
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Wills
Point, Van Zandt County Birthdate: 7/8/1914 Deathdate: 2/5/1972
Link
Davis, Sr. made wide-ranging contributions to country music, Western swing, and
rock & roll. Starting out on the fiddle and later taking up the saxophone, he
made a name for himself by working with Cliff Bruner & the Texas Wanderers, Benny
Leaders, Floyd Tillman, Smith Spadacene, the Big Bopper, and Johnny Preston. Moving
between the Starday, OKeh, Columbia, Nucraft, Sarg, and Allstar labels, and his
own Western and Tanker labels, among many others, he left behind a significant
legacy spread among a variety of styles.
Sites of interest:
Link
Davis, Jr.
Robert Earl "DJ Screw"
Davis
2
3 4
Genres:
Rap/Hip Hop
Based in: Houston
Instrument: vocals,
turntables
Birthplace: Smithville
Birthdate: 7/20/1971 Deathdate: 11/16/2000
Robert Earl Davis,
Jr. was one of the most influential musical figures to come out of Texas in the
1990s and early 2000s. With his instrument of choice, the turntables, he mixed
other people's music and hip hop rhymes together. He built his career on slowing
down the music to half the normal speed or less, then he put it on tape and sold
it. His tapes became an underground sensation, so popular that people would drive
hundreds of miles to his Houston home to buy them...DJ Screw reached a major breakthrough
in the music scene in 1993 with his version of "All Screwed Up." Among his best
sellers were "June 27th," "Hellraiser," "Plots and Schemes," and "The Final Chapter."
Other albums included three volumes of "3'N the Mornin," and "No Work, No Play."
He also organized the Screwed Up Click, a crew of local rappers who provided him
with rhymes to compliment his beats.
Schools: Robert dropped
out of school to concentrate on music.
Sites of interest:
In
1996, Screw opened Screwed Up Records and Tapes in Houston located at 7717 Cullen
Blvd.
Robert's house was at the corner of Poplar and Greenstone, near
Gulfgate Mall in Houston.
Ronnie
Dawson
Genres: Rock, Rockabilly
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
vocals, guitar, drums
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 8/11/1939
Deathdate: 9/30/2003
Ronnie Dawson never racked up a Top 40 single
or a gold album, but he was one of Dallas' first bona fide rock stars. As a lanky,
burr-haired teenager in the late '50s, the singer - then known as Ronnie D, the
"Blonde Bomber" - cut a series of swaggering, influential tunes like
"Action Packed" and "I Make the Love." He had young girls
squealing during his Sportatorium performances at the Big D Jamboree, and he held
his own against fellow Big D acts like Elvis Presley. Dawson was famous for his
hellfire live performances in which he'd jump off the stage, run through the audience
and play his guitar standing atop a table. Just as Dawson's career was about to
take off in 1959, the New York-based Swan Records pulled its promotional support,
and his first shot at the big time disappeared. Undaunted, he recast himself as
an R&B artist named Snake Monroe and signed briefly with Columbia Records.
In the '60s he played with The Light Crust Doughboys and the Levee Singers. Just
when it looked like his career was over, it took off again amid the rockabilly
revival of the mid-'80s: The New York band the Cramps cut a new version of Dawson's
"Rockin' Bones," and record producers were suddenly calling him back
into the studio. In the '90s, he played twice on Late Night With Conan O'Brien
and performed at New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Reviewing the Carnegie
Hall show in 1994, The New York Times called him "superb
a guitar-toting
answer to Jerry Lee Lewis." (excerpted from a Dallas Morning News article
by Thor Christensen).
Bobby
Day
Genres: Rock
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 7/1/1932 Deathdate:
7/15/1990
Bobby Day wrote three often-covered early rock classics
in 1957 and 1958. Day was part of the Hollywood Flames - one of the Los Angeles
doo wop community's top R&B vocal groups - and briefly part of Bob & Earl,
who later had a hit without Day with the single "Harlem Shuffle." Day
formed his own group, the Satellites, in 1957, cutting the original "Little
Bitty Pretty One" for Class Records. A nearly identical cover by Thurston
Harris beat the original out, so Day countered with the driving "Rockin'
Robin" in 1958, an R&B chart-topper. Its flip, "Over and Over,"
was a hit in its own right, although the Dave Clark Five's 1965 revival is better
remembered today. Day waxed a few more hits for Class in 1959, including "That's
All I Want" and a derivative "The Bluebird, the Buzzard & the Oriole,"
flitting from label to label during the '60s (excerpted from Bill Dahl's All Music
Guide article).
Jimmy
Day 2
3
4
Genres: Country
Based in: Buda
Instrument:
pedal steel
Birthplace: Tuscaloosa, AL Birthdate: 1/9/1934
Deathdate: 1/22/1999
Buried at: Buda
Day
performed on the Louisiana Hayride and as a sideman for Hank Williams, Elvis Presley,
Jim Reeves, Faron Young, Johnny Horton, Willie Nelson, Webb Pierce, Ernest Tubb,
Skeeter Davis, Patsy Cline and others. Day's legendary style can be heard on such
songs as "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches by the Number." He became a member of the
International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and
the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame.
Tony
De La Rosa
2
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Riviera
Instrument:
accordion, vocals
Birthplace: Sarita Birthdate: 11/1/1931
Deathdate: 6/2/2004
Tony De La Rosa was a conjunto accordionist
who helped to shape the Tejano music industry. De La Rosa helped to revolutionize
conjunto music by adding drums, electric bass and electrifying the bajo sexto
or 12-string guitar in his post-World War II band, creating a slower, more dancable
new style called tacuachito.
Edgar
Dean "Eddie Dean" Glosup
2 3
Genres:
Country
Based in: Posey
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace:
Posey
Birthdate: 7/9/1907 Deathdate: 3/4/1999
Buried at: Valley
Oaks Memorial Park, Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California
He
began his career as a singing cowboy in the mid 1940s. He appeared in sixty feature
films including, "Song of Old Wyoming," "Check Your Guns"
and "Romance of the West." Dean was a successful composer as well as
an accomplished actor. He co-wrote "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven"
with Hal Southern. That song alone sold more than 10 million copies when it was
recorded by Tex Ritter.
Dan
Del Santo
2
Genres: World Beat
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: NY Birthdate: 9/5/1951
Deathdate: 10/17/2001
Guitarist, vocalist and larger-than-life
radio personality Dan Del Santo began his musical career as part of the outlaw
country scene, but became even more well-known for his Afro Cuban band, The Professors
of Pleasure. He lived in Austin from 1974 until 1992 where he also was the DJ
for a weekly public radio show on KUT 90.5 that featured music from around the
world, specifically "third world" music. Many credit Del Santo with
coining the phrase, "world beat music."
Virgie
Carrington Dewitty
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
educator
Birthplace: Wetumka, OK Birthdate: 1913 Deathdate:
8/11/1980
Virgie Carrington DeWitty, music teacher and choir director,
directed the first commercially sponsored radio program over the Texas Quality
Network, "The Bright and Early Choir," from 1938 to 1940. She composed
more than 100 gospels, spirituals, and anthems. One of her most famous pieces
was "Magnify the Lord." She received the 1957 Woman's Day Speaker award
for Ebenezer Baptist Church. She was active in the Missionary Baptist General
Convention of Texas and the National Baptist Convention of America.
Clarence
Albert "Al Dexter" Poindexter
2
Genres: Country, Honky Tonk
Based in: Jacksonville
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Jacksonville
Birthdate: 5/4/1902 Deathdate: 1/28/1984
Buried at: His
home on Lake Lewisville in Lewisville, Texas
Dexter's "Honky Tonk Blues,"
which he wrote with his writing partner James B. Paris, was the first country
song to use the term. Clarence wrote "Pistol Packin' Mama" in 1943. "Pistol Packin'
Mama" was the biggest selling record of the year and cited as one of the biggest
selling records in American recording history. Within six months of its release
1 million copies sold and sheet music sales hit 200,000.
Schools:
He attended rural grade schools in East Texas.
Rafaelo
Diaz
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
operatic tenor
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 5/16/1883
Deathdate: 12/12/1943
Rafaelo Diaz, operatic tenor, was discovered
while he was studying at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin. Later he studied in
Italy under the famous Italian maestro Vincenzo Sabatini. In 1917 he joined the
Metropolitan Opera Company and performed leading tenor roles in Jules Massenet's
"Thaïs and Nikolai" and Rimski-Korsakov's "Le Coq d'Or."
In his spare time he recorded records for a leading phonograph company. He also
conducted a series of concerts at the Waldorf-Astoria. Critics praised Diaz for
his smooth performance, the depth and richness of his voice, the clarity of his
enunciation, and the beauty of his phrasing. Diaz - who sang in English, French,
Spanish, Italian, and German - was known as the "Lone Star Tenor of the Lone
Star State."
Schools: German English School; West Texas Military
Academy
Dick
the Drummer
2
3
4
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: San Jacinto
Instrument:
drums
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate:
Unavailable
Dick the Drummer - an African American freed man - is
credited with confusing Santa Anna's Mexican troops at the battle of San Jacinto,
aiding in the Texian's victory. The army's band, consisting of two African American
drummers and between one and three German fifers, played the baudy tune, "Will
you come to my bower I have shaded for you?" He was described as an older
man at a dinner honoring San Jacinto battle veterans in May 1850.
Sites
of interest:
San Jacinto Monument
at One Monument Circle, La Porte, Texas 77571-9744
Annual event:
San Jacinto Day Celebration
and Reenactment c/o San Jacinto Museum of History at (281) 479-2421
Floyd Dixon 2
Genres:
Blues, Jazz
Based in: Marshall
Instrument: piano,
vocal
Birthplace: Marshall Birthdate: 2/8/1928 Deathdate:
7/26/2006
Born Jay Riggins, Jr., Floyd Dixon was a singer and jump-blues
pianist who dubbed himself "Mr. Magnificent" and became an influential
figure in the burgeoning R&B scene of 1950s Southern California. Dixon's best-known
song was the raucous "Hey Bartender," which was made popular by the
Blues Brothers. His other notable recordings included "Wine, Wine, Wine,"
"Call Operator 210," "Telephone Blues" and the early Jerry
Lieber-Mike Stoller song "Too Much Jelly Roll." His career found him
taking on a variety of styles and sounds: mournful blues, R&B ballads, ribald
bar songs and even a channeling of Little Richard on late 1950s tracks such as
"Oooh Little Girl." But his strongest suit was jump blues, which added
a grit and vigor to the smooth blues lessons he absorbed from his major influence,
Charles Brown. Dixon would pass on that mentorship, famously to Ray Charles, B.B.
King and Robert Cray.
McKinley
Howard "Kenny" Dorham ~ 2 ~
3 ~ 4 ~
5
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fairfield
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: Fairfield
Birthdate: 8/30/1924 Deathdate: 12/5/1972
Kenny Dorham is
considered one of the finest trumpet players of his era. He played with numerous
jazz giants including Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton,
Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. Dorham, Art Blakey and Horace Silver formed
the Jazz Messengers, from which emerged Dorham's side project, the Jazz Prophets.
Dorham also played with the Max Roach quintet and formed his own combos featuring
Cannonball Adderley and Joe Henderson. Dorham's various combos recorded several
albums including "Whistle Stop," which is considered by many to be Dorham's
finest work.
Schools: Anderson
High School in Austin
Colleges: He
studied chemistry and physics at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.
Ezra
William "Bill" Doty
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
music administrator
Birthplace: Michigan Birthdate: 1907
Deathdate: 6/16/1994
Ezra William "Bill" Doty was a lifetime
music administrator who came to Austin from the University of Michigan to help
prepare for the founding of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas.
Doty was hired as Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Chairman of the Music Department,
and Professor of Music. In retirement, he devoted much time to writing a history
of the College of Fine Arts. This detailed and valuable record (now in The University's
archive) recalls a memorable era in Austin's artistic life, an era that owes an
enormous debt to William Doty's own vision and pioneering efforts.
Clifford
"Boots" Douglas 2
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Temple
Instrument:
drums
Birthplace: Temple
Birthdate: 9/7/1908 Deathdate: Unavailable
Boots and His
Buddies were a territory band led by drummer Clifford "Boots" Douglas between
1935-1938. He began on drums at age 15 and formed his own 13-piece band. They
recorded about 40 sides for Bluebird in San Antonio. Boots was known as one of
the finest Texas jazz bandleaders of his era.
Hans
Heinz Draeger
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
musicologist
Birthplace: Stralsund, Germany Birthdate: 12/6/1909
Deathdate: 11/9/1968
Hans-Heinz Draeger - a pioneer in the study
of music - was one of the most influential musicologists in the state of Texas.
Draeger distinguished himself as a member of the University of Texas faculty.
During his career, he published two books and over thirty articles. Among his
many other publications, he also completed the program notes for the Fine Arts
Booklet, published by The University of Texas Department of Music from 1961 to
1963, and the program notes for the Austin Symphony Orchestra from 1963 to 1968.
Draeger concentrated his research on the theoretical and mathematical aspects
of intonation and pitch in music. He was also interested in the relation between
words and notes. Draeger's background in art history and philosophy led him to
explore other avenues in musical research extending into such areas as psychology
and computers.
Colleges: University of Berlin
"Blind
Arizona" Juanita Dranes
2
Genres: Blues, Christian, Gospel
Based
in: Dallas, later Fort Worth
Instrument: piano
Birthplace:
NA Birthdate: 4/4/1894 Deathdate: 7/27/1963
Buried at:
Paradise Memorial Cemetery in Santa Fe Springs, California
Dranes
was one of the most influential and innovative gospel pianists of the twentieth
century. Blind Arizona was born of mixed African-American and Mexican-American
heritage. She lost her sight in an influenza outbreak early in her childhood.
In Dallas's Deep Ellum district, she learned piano and developed her own distinct
style of combined ragtime and barrelhouse traditions which created a rolling blues
sound. Dranes became a regular pianist and singer for the Church of God in Christ
- a national African-American Pentecostal church that has since developed into
the largest of its kind. In the mid-1920s she was spotted by Okeh Records. During
her contract with Okeh, she recorded over thirty tracks, including such gospel
standouts as "I Shall Wear a Crown" and "My Soul Is a Witness for the Lord."
Damita
Jo DuBlanc
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Austin
Birthdate: 8/5/1930 Deathdate: 12/26/1998
Damita Jo DuBlanc's
greatest hit "I'll Save The Last Dance for You" - an answer to The Drifters'
"Save the Last Dance for Me" - was one of the most successful answer records
ever, getting into the top twenty and spending more than two months on the best
seller charts. Damita Jo also recorded "Keep Your Hands Off Him" and "I'll Be
There." She was featured as a singer with Steve Gibson & The Red Caps and
later was a regular on the Redd Foxx television series.
Charlotte
Estelle Dubois
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
educator, piano
Birthplace: Liberty, IN Birthdate: 10/26/1903
Deathdate: 1/1/1982
Charlotte Estelle DuBois, music educator, joined
the music faculty at the University of Texas, where she remained until her retirement
in August 1971. She was the first woman to be named a full professor in the University
of Texas Music Department. DuBois was an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota,
a national fraternity for women in music, and was awarded the fraternity's ring
of excellence. She received a Teaching Excellence Award from the Students' Association
of the University of Texas and in October 1971 the rarely given Citation of Service
"in recognition of excellence and devotion to the music education profession"
from the Texas Music Educators Association.
Sherman
H. Dudley
Genres: Vaudeville
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
vaudevillian, theater owner
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 1870
Deathdate: 3/1/1940
Sherman H. Dudley, black vaudevillian and theater
owner, is reported to have been in P. T. Wright's Nashville Students and in the
McCabe and Young Minstrels, where he was nicknamed either Happy or Hapsy. In 1904
he appeared with Billy Kersands in "King Rastus." Later that year, after
Tom McIntosh's death, he took over McIntosh's lead role in "The Smart Set."
The same year he introduced his most famous stage act, a routine in which a mule
dressed in overalls would nod his head as Dudley spoke, giving the impression
that the mule understood. Dudley reportedly organized the Colored Actors' Union,
which was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and served as its general manager
and treasurer. In 1911 he began buying theaters and organized S. H. Dudley Theatrical
Enterprises.
Richard
Dufallo
2
Genres: Classical
Based in: Denton
Instrument:
conductor, clarinet
Birthplace: Whiting, IN Birthdate: 1/30/1933
Deathdate: 6/16/2000
Dufallo conducted more than 80 major orchestras
and festivals in the United States, Canada, and Europe, premiering numerous works
by American and European composers, including Karlheinz Stockhausen, Jacob Druckman,
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Krzystof Penderecki. He worked closely with Leonard
Bernstein and directed the contemporary music series at both The Juilliard School
and the Aspen Music Festival.
Colleges: American Conservatory
of Music in Chicago; University of California, Los Angeles
Theodore
"Ted" Dunbar
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Port Arthur
Instrument:
guitar
Birthplace: Port
Arthur Birthdate: 1/17/1937 Deathdate: 5/29/1998
Ted
Dunbar was a master jazz guitarist and educator. Ted performed with Arnett Cobb
(1956-58), Joe Turner (1958) and Don Wilkerson (1957-59). Ted developed what he
called a "Tonal Convergence System" and it became one of the cornerstones
of his playing as well as of his teaching method. In addition to his extensive
sideman activities, Ted recorded several records of his own, including "Opening
Remarks," "Secundum Artem," "Jazz Guitarist," and "Gentle
Time Alone," as well as a duo recording with Kenny Barron, "In Tandem."
Johnny Duncan
Genres: Country
Based in: Dublin
Instrument: vocals, guitar, songwriter
Birthplace: Dublin
Birthdate: 10/5/1938 Deathdate:6 8/14/2006
Johnny
Duncan's job at a Nashville area radio station allowed him to pitch his songs
to such artists as Charley Pride, Marty Robbins, Chet Atkins, Conway Twitty and
Jim Ed Brown. In the second half of the 1970s, Duncan's own recordings - both
by himself and with fellow Texan Janie Frickie - reached the top ten on the country
charts including, "Sweet Country Woman," "Stranger," "Thinkin
of a Rendezvous," "It Couldnt Have Been Any Better," "Slow
Dancing" and "She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime." Duncan's
move from straightforward country and toward a more pop sound with producer Billy
Sherrill helped pave the way for the urban cowboy trend that followed a few years
later. He returned to Texas to raise his children in the same environment he had
enjoyed as a child. He continued to maintain a presence in both Texas and Nashville,
recording new material and playing around 10 dates a month until his death of
a heart attack in 2006.
Thomas
Elmer "Tommy" Duncan
2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Hillsboro
Instrument: vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Whitney
Birthdate: 1/11/1911 Deathdate: 7/25/1967
For 16 years
Duncan was the featured vocalist with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Wills asked Duncan
and several other band members to help him write words to the song "New San Antonio
Rose." In 1940, Wills recorded it in Dallas. That recording, with the brilliant
Duncan vocals, sold three million copies for Columbia Records (now CBS Records).
Bing Crosby then recorded it and won his second gold record. Duncan appeared with
Bob Wills in several movies and he became not only a movie star but the most famous
singer in all of western swing.
Robert
Lee "Bob" Dunn
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Western
Swing
Based in: Houston
Instrument: steel guitar
Birthplace:
Fort Gibson, OK Birthdate: 2/5/1908 Deathdate: 5/27/1971
Bob
Dunn was the first electric steel guitarist to treat his steel guitar as a jazz
instrument and may have been the first to amplify the instrument. While in Fort
Worth, he became a member of Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies. With the addition
of Dunn and his guitar, the band became the first to use an electric guitar to
record a country-rooted song entitled "Taking Off." Dunn played and recorded more
than ninety tunes with the Brownies until Milton Brown's death. Dunn also played
with Roy Newman, Cliff Bruner and his Musical Wanderers and his own band, the
Vagabonds. He retired from performing and opened his own music store in Houston,
where he also taught music. He operated the store for more than twenty years.
Colleges:
Southern College of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas
Big Al Dupree
Genres:
Blues, Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: piano, saxophone,
vocals
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 11/7/1923 Deathdate:
8/4/2003
Big Al Dupree spent his entire life performing the blues
and jazz. He started playing piano and saxophone in his early teens during the
1930s and studied music when he went to college at the age of 16 in New Orleans.
He toured with T. Bone Walker and Pee Wee Crayton during the 1940s playing saxophone,
and played in piano lounges and supper clubs around the Dallas area since the
1950s. "He ate, drank and slept music," said Myrtle Dupree, his wife
of 55 years. "He had a style of his own. He didn't sing like Nat King Cole
or James Brown. He had this voice that was so gorgeous and beautiful that you
would never have thought he was 79."
Eddie Durham ~ 2 ~ 3
Genres: Jazz, Swing
Based in: San Marcos
Instrument:
guitar, trombone
Birthplace: San
Marcos Birthdate: 8/19/1906 Deathdate: 3/6/1987
Buried at: GW Cemetery in New Jersey
Eddie Durham was one of the most important of the Swing Era's composer-arrangers. Durham's early work was as a jazz composer-arranger for four important bands: the Blue Devils, Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and Jimmie Lunceford. The tunes Durham composed or arranged for these bands include "Moten Swing," "Swinging the Blues," "Topsy," "John's Idea," "Time Out," "Out the Window," "Every Tub," "Sent for You Yesterday," "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Lunceford Special," "Harlem Shout," and "Pigeon Walk." In addition, he arranged music for Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller. Durham contributed to one of Miller's greatest hits, "In the Mood." He is considered a key figure in working out arrangements in the famous Kansas City riff style. Eddie was also one of the first jazz musicians to perform on an amplified guitar. He later influenced fellow Texan Charles (Charlie) Christian, probably the most important guitarist in jazz history.
Lavada
"Dr. Hepcat" Durst
2
3
4
Genres: Blues, Christian
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
vocals, piano, disc jockey
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: 1/9/1913
Deathdate: 10/31/1995
Durst was the first African-American disc
jockey in Texas and one of the first in the country. He also had a talent for
a pre-"rap" method of rhythmic "jive talk." "Dr. Hepcat's" cool jive-talk
was a hit and made him a celebrity with the local college students. He can be
credited for introducing an entire generation of Austin listeners to jazz, blues,
and R&B sounds. Later, with instructions from Boot Walden, Baby Dotson, Black
Tank, and others, Durst became a master at playing the 1930s and 1940s style of
"barrelhouse" blues on his piano. He also wrote the hit gospel song, "Let's Talk
About Jesus," for the group Bells of Joy.
Robert
Ealey
2
3
4
Genres: Blues, Swing
Based in: Texarkana
Instrument:
vocals, drums
Birthplace: Texarkana
Birthdate: 12/6/1925 Deathdate: 3/7/2001
Buried at: Dallas/Fort
Worth National Cemetery
Robert Ealey was a Fort Worth blues legend
whose nightclub, The New Blue Bird in Lake Como, was a school for some of North
Texas' most famous musical names. In 1956 he teamed up with guitarist U.P. Wilson
to form Boogie Chillen and they played all over the country. Robert also played
an air harmonica which became one of his trademarks.
East
Texas Serenaders
2
Genres: Country
Based in: Lindale and Mineola
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Lindale and Mineola Birthdate: 1900
Deathdate:
The East Texas Serenaders - Henry Bogan, Cloet Hamman,
John Munnerlyn, Huggins Williams, Henry Lester and Shorty Lester - were a string
band that played mostly rags and waltzes and two steps, dance music for moving
in a circle, a counter-clockwise circle around a floor where the rugs had been
lifted up and a lot of loose pine sawdust spread all around. Their East Texas
dance music was ultimately a precursor to Western Swing.
Roger
Edens
Genres: Classical
Based in: Hillsboro
Instrument:
composer, piano
Birthplace: Hillsboro
Birthdate: 11/9/1905 Deathdate: 7/13/1970
Roger Edens -
musician, composer, and producer - worked with Ethel Merman as accompanist and
musical arranger. He also wrote songs for Judy Garland that she performed at the
Palace Theater and in concert. Edens joined the staff at Metro Goldwyn Meyer as
a musical supervisor and composer in 1935 and eventually became an associate producer.
He worked on many noted films as musical supervisor or director, including "Born
to Dance" (1936), "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), "Strike Up the
Band" (1940), "Babes on Broadway" (1941), "Ziegfeld Follies"
(1944), and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944). He received the Academy Award
for Easter Parade in 1948 and "Annie Get Your Gun" in 1950.
"Moanin'"
Bernice Edwards
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Houston (probably the Fifth Ward) Birthdate:
1910 Deathdate: Unavailable
Bernice Edwards was "one of
the family" in the renowned Thomas Family of Houston, Bernice being the same
age as its most gifted member, the child prodigy, Hersal. From another member
of the family, Hociel, she learned to play the piano and sing the blues. She remained
in Houston when the family moved north and was often in the company of Black Boy
Shine (Harold Holliday). When she recorded for Paramount in 1928 these influences
were evident in her introspective "moanin'" blues and her piano style.
When she attended her third and last session (for ARC in 1935) she was in the
company of Holliday and one record was issued by her, Holliday and Howling Smith
together. Apart from the fact that she later married and joined the church, little
more is known. It is possible that she made her way to the West Coast by 1945
(text provided by http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/e1/bernice_edwards_b.htm).
Daisy
Elgin
Genres: Classical
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
soprano
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: Deathdate:
Daisy
Elgin was a soprano trained by Charlotte Macondie. She had a light agile voice
with an extensive range. Her Houston debut in 1930 included arias from "La
Traviata" and "The Barber of Seville."
Baldemar
"Don Balde" Elizondo
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Pharr
Instrument:
accordion
Birthplace: Pharr
Birthdate: 12/27/1926 Deathdate: 7/4/2002
Buried at: Houston
Many
notable musicians were inspired by Baldemar's mastery of the accordion. Baldemar
formed "Los Bohemios de Teran" with his long time friend Eldemiro Abrego, who
accompanied him on the Bajo Sexto for more than forty years. Together, the duet
played along side many of the era's greatest performers such as Trini Lopez, Freddy
Fender, and Perez Prado. Los Bohemios records are difficult to acquire, but showcase
the great talent that Baldemar and Eldemiro displayed. In the late 1970s, Baldemar
formed "Los Norteños de Reynosa" and later formed "La Rama Muzikal" with
his two sons and six grandchildren. Together they released an independent recording
two weeks before Baldemar untimely death. Baldemar was also a master accordion
technician. Hohner accordions honored Baldemar at the 2000 Conjunto Festival in
San Antonio, Texas with a certificate of recognition for his many years of outstanding
support for the music community by repairing the instruments that are the very
heart of Conjunto Music: the Accordion.
Merrill
Ellis
2
Genres: Experimental
Based in: Denton
Instrument:
composer, performer, researcher
Birthplace: Cleburne
Birthdate: 12/9/1916 Deathdate: 7/21/1981
Renowned composer,
performer, researcher and University of North Texas professor Merrill Ellis appeared
throughout the central and southwestern United States in numerous performances
of electronic and intermedia compositions, and he lectured at different colleges
and universities. He was interested in the advancement of new music, carried out
research in new compositional techniques, development of new instruments, and
exploration of new notation techniques for scoring and performing new music. Ellis
began exploring electro-acoustic music when he arrived at the University of North
Texas at Denton in 1962. Ellis founded the university's Computer Music Center
in 1963 and was Director of the Electronic Music Center and Professor of Composition.
In 1963, Ellis established what was to become the precursor to the Center for
Experimental Music and Intermedia and christened it simply the Electronic Music
Center (EMC).
Frank
Elsass
2
Genres: Classical
Based in:
Instrument:
trumpet, cornet, french horn
Birthplace: Waynesburg, Ohio Birthdate:
1913 Deathdate: Unavailable
In 1947, Dr. Elsass taught a summer
session at The University of Texas and was persuaded by Dean E.W. Doty to stay
full-time. He received his Doctor of Education at UT and was the conductor of
the University Symphonic Band. He gave his time and talents to the whole program
of the College of fine Arts, including conducting.
Colleges: University
of Texas; Ernest Williams School of Music in New York; New York University
Booker
Ervin
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Denison
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Denison
Birthdate: 10/31/1930 Deathdate: 8/31/1970
Known primarily
for his work with jazz legend Charles Mingus, Booker Ervin was highly regarded
within the New York jazz community for his distinctive tenor saxophone style.
Ervin also recorded several solo albums for Prestige Records, including The Blues
Book, The Space Book, The Freedom Book, and The Song Book.
Colleges:
Berklee School of Music in Boston
Eligio
Roque Escobar
2
3
Genres: Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: Corpus Christi
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Ben
Bolt Birthdate: 12/1/1926 Deathdate: 10/4/1994
Buried
at: Corpus Christi
In 1960, Eligio Roque Escobar was in a serious
automobile accident and was unable to continue working as his legs were severely
injured. Eligio was bedridden for a year and began to develop his Texas-Mexican
conjunto music. Escobar recorded under various labels including: Ideal, Nopal,
Bego, Cometa, Bernal, Laredo, Reloj, and DINA of Joey International. His legacy
includes more then 250 songs. Some of Eligio's biggest hits were "Cuando Dos Almas,"
"Rosario Nocturno" and "El Gambler" under the Laredo label of Tony de la Rosa.
Elijio's most famous song was "El Veterano," a song he wrote for the Mexican-American
veterans of World War II. Six of Escobar's brothers Ricardo, Ramiro, Eligio, Rogerio,
Rafael, and Eleuterio were veterans of the armed services of the United States.
Sites
of interest:
Eligio
traced his family's origins to Escobares, a small town on the Rio Grande in Starr
County.
Annual event:
"El
Veterano" Annual Conjunto Festival in memory of Eligio Escobar presented by the
Eligio Escobar Foundation.
Francis
Octavia "Dale Evans" Smith 2
Genres:
Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Uvalde
Instrument: guitar,
vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Uvalde
Birthdate: 10/31/1912 Deathdate: 2/7/2001
Buried at: Sunset
Hills Memorial Park, Apple Valley, San Bernardino County, California
Dale
Evans was the singer-actress who teamed with husband Roy Rogers in popular Westerns
and co-wrote their theme song "Happy Trails to You." She was the "Queen of
the Cowgirls" and together they appeared in 35 movies, including "My Pal Trigger,"
"Apache Rose" and "Don't Fence Me In." She also wrote the 1955 gospel music standard
"The Bible Tells Me So." She and Rogers recorded more than 400 songs.
Schools:
she attended high school in Osceola, Arkansas
Herschel
Evans
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Denton
Instrument:
tenor saxophone
Birthplace: Denton
Birthdate: 3/9/1909 Deathdate: 2/9/1939
Herschel Evans, black
musician and composer, perfected his craft in the famous jam sessions held in
the jazz district between Twelfth and Eighteenth streets in Kansas City. Evans
returned to Texas in the 1920s and joined the Troy Floyd orchestra in San Antonio
in 1929. In the mid-1930s he returned to Kansas City to become a featured soloist
in Count Basie's big band. His musical duels with fellow band member Lester Young
are considered jazz classics. Evans also made records with such notable jazz figures
as Harry James, Theodore S. (Teddy) Wilson and Lionel Hampton. Evans has been
credited with influencing fellow tenorists Buddy Tate, Illinois Jacquet, and Arnett
Cobb.
Thomas
Hubert "Hugh" Farr 2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Llano
Instrument:
vocal, fiddle
Birthplace: Llano
Birthdate: 12/6/1903 Deathdate: 4/17/1980
Between 1929 and
1933, he and brother Karl played with Len Nash And His Country Boys on local venues
and on KFOX Long Beach, where the two also acted as station staff musicians. During
the time with Nash, Hugh also played on several Brunswick Records recordings.
In 1933, the two brothers and Ira McCullough performed as the Haywire Trio and
also played with Jack LeFevre And His Texas Outlaws. Soon afterwards, he became
a fourth member of the Pioneer Trio (joining Bob Nolan, Leonard Slye "Roy
Rogers"and Tim Spencer) who, before long, became the Sons Of The Pioneers.
Karl
Farr 2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Rochelle
Instrument:
vocal, guitar
Birthplace: Rochelle,
ten miles northeast of Brady Birthdate: 4/25/1909 Deathdate: 9/20/1961
Karl
Farr is known as a member of the Original Sons of the Pioneers. Landing a job
with KFWB, their popularity soon had them on the radio for three hours a day.
Soon the KFWB announcer introduced them as the Sons of the Pioneers and the name
stuck. The group recorded "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" at its first commercial recording
session in 1934 for Decca, added Hugh Farr's younger brother Karl on guitar, and
began appearing in movies.
Patrick
"Fat Pat" Lamont Hawkins
Genres: Rap/Hip Hop
Based
in: Houston
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: N/A Birthdate:
12/4/1970 Deathdate: 2/3/1998
Fat Pat was a rapper and an original
member of DJ Screw's Screwed Up Click. Also known as Mr. Fat Pat and P-A-T, he
was most prolific in the mid-1990s alongside his brother Big Hawk and longtime
friend Lil' Keke. Fat Pat was signed to Wreckshop Records. On February 3rd, 1998,
Fat Pat was shot dead after collecting an appearance fee from a promoter's apartment.
Two weeks later, his debut album, "Ghetto Dreams," was released. His
album release party became a wake of sorts with rap artists such as Scarface,
Willie D, Lil' Keke, DJ Screw, the Botany Boys, South Park Mexican, in attendance
to pay their respects. Four months later, Wreckshop Records released his second
album, "Throwed In Tha Game," which featured the single "Holla
At 'Cha Later." Weeks later, DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click released their
group's debut album, "Screwed Up For Life."
Wilton
Lewis Felder
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
sax, bass
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 8/31/1940 Deathdate:
Unavailable
Felder, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper formed the Swingsters
and played gigs at Texas Southern University and the Houston vicinity. They developed
their own unique blend of blues and jazz, which they termed "the gulf coast sound."
In 1970, the band shortened its name to the Crusaders and introduced a funk element.
The Crusaders topped the jazz charts and ranked high in the pop charts. Several
of their albums reached gold record status, and in 1973 and 1974, they were nominated
for grammys. Between Crusaders albums and a string of solo recordings, Felder
played with Barry White's Unlimited Orchestra, Steeley Dan, Marvin Gaye, Joni
Mitchell, the Four Tops, Diana Ross, and Joe Cocker.
Rosita Fernandez
Genres: Tejano music
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Monterey, Mexico Birthdate: 4/12/1918
Deathdate: 5/2/2006
San Antonio's First Lady of Song , Rosita
Fernandez, was born in Monterey on January 10, 1918, one of 16 children. She began
singing professionally as a child often performing in vaudeville tent shows in
South Texas in the 1920s and '30s with her uncles. Fernandez was in her teens
when she won a spot to sing on WOAI Radio's Gebhardt Chili Show and was the first
performer to appear live when WOAI established a television station in 1949. Fernandez
made hundreds of recordings on the RCA, Decca and Brunswick labels and appeared
on as many as 11 different radio programs a week. In 2000, she received the Albert
Peña Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mexican American Unity Council.
She was proclaimed Woman of the Year in 1983. In 1984, she was inducted into the
San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame and the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in 1987. Fernandez
was also a TV and film actress, appearing with John Wayne in "The Alamo."
She was known simply as "Rosita" and was given the title of San Antonio's
First Lady of Song in 1968 by Lady Bird Johnson at a special performance for 40
ambassadors at the Arneson River Theater.
Sites of interest: Rosita
Fernandez performed for a quarter-century in Fiesta Noche del Rio at the Arneson
River Theater.
Ernie Fields
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Nacogdoches
Instrument: trombone
Birthplace:
Nacogdoches Birthdate: 8/26/1905
Deathdate: 5/11/1997
The versatile Ernie Fields toured the United
States with his band for nearly four decades. Fields formed his own jazz big band
outfit and enjoyed considerable success. As his popularity grew, Fields and company
began touring the midwest and southwest. He also made several recordings for various
jazz and blues labels, including Frisco, Bullet, and Gotham. In 1939, he and his
band traveled to New York City, where they recorded and played shows at the legendary
Apollo Theater. With the advent of rock and roll and the decline of big band jazz
in the 1950s, Fields downsized his band and transformed it into a rhythm and blues
group. He also dabbled in the record industry and served as an arranger in various
rock and pop recording sessions. In 1959, he founded his own record label called
Rendezvous and cut a blistering rendition of Glenn Miller's classic, "In
the Mood." The single - a huge hit - reached gold record status and remained
on the charts for a staggering 23 weeks. Shortly after the success of "In
the Mood," Fields retired from playing and recording. He worked instead as
a promoter and talent manager in the Tulsa vicinity.
Colleges:
Tuskegee Institute
Therman "Sonny" Fisher
2
Genres: Rockabilly
Based in: Houston
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Chandler Birthdate:
11/13/1931 Deathdate: 10/8/2005
Sonny Fisher, one of America's
pioneering rockabilly artists, never achieved anything more than regional stardom
in the US during the 1950s yet, when London's Ace Records reissued his 1956 recordings
in 1979, he found himself proclaimed king of the rockabilly revival. Nicknamed
the "Wild Man from Texas," Fisher was a singer-songwriter who fused
country music with the blues to produce rockabilly. In the early Fifties, he put
together a hillbilly band which became the Rocking Boys after he saw an Elvis
Presley show at the Texas Korral in Houston in 1954.
Charles Wesley "Charlie"
Fitch
Based in: Luling
Instrument: record label
Birthplace: Halletsville Birthdate: 1918 Deathdate: 5/7/2006
Charlie Fitch owned and operated Sarg Records for more than 50 years, releasing
the first recordings of Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm. The label was started in
December 1953 with with Neal Merritt's "Korean Love Song." Dave Isbell
& the Mission City Playboys, featuring Willie Nelson on lead guitar, recorded
for the label in 1954 and in 1955, 12-year-old Doug Sahm released "A Real
American Joe." Sarg released more than 150 singles covering virtually every
genre of music being performed in Texas including western swing, country, polka,
rockabilly, rock & roll, R&B, and conjunto. Sarg's biggest hit was Cecil
Moore's 1964 instrumental "Diamond Back. Other artists on Sarg included western
swing pioneer Adolph Hofner, honky-tonkers Herby Shozel and Peck Touchton, rockabilly
mavericks Cecil Moore and Al Urban, and rock & rollers the Moods and the Downbeats.
Troy Floyd 2
Genres: Jazz
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: clarinet, alto saxophone
Birthplace:
1898 Birthdate: N/A Deathdate: N/A
Jazz bandleader
and instrumentalist Troy Floyd led various jazz groups in San Antonio during the
late 1920s and early 1930s. He played alto and tenor saxophone and clarinet. His
first unit was a sextet, organized in 1924 and increased to nine pieces by 1926.
His band broadcast regularly on radio station HTSA from the Plaza Hotel in San
Antonio, from which the group took the name Troy Floyd and His Plaza Hotel Orchestra
when it recorded for the first time on March 14, 1928. This was one of the first
black bands to record in Texas. Floyd's band also appeared at the Shadowland club,
from which its 1928 recording of "Shadowland Blues" derived its title.
Among the musicians in the Floyd bands were Claude "Benno" Kennedy,
"a trumpeter with a considerable technique and freak style," and Siki
Collins, an alto and soprano saxophonist who was praised by a number of his fellow
sidemen.
Michael David "Blaze Foley" Fuller 2 3 4
5
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Malvern, AR Birthdate:
12/18/1949 Deathdate: 2/1/1989
Buried at: in an Austin
Cemetery near Onion Creek
Foley named himself after Red Foley, changing
the first name to Blaze to suit his own personality. His talent - songs - came
from deep within him, so much so that it often was painful for him to sing them.
It is believed that Foley never worked at any job other than songwriting, singing,
and guitar picking. Foley was a homeless man, who slept on the couches of friends
and, sometimes, under pool tables at places like the Austin Outhouse. Blaze performed
through the 1970s and 1980s, mostly at venues in Houston and Austin, such as Anderson
Fair in Houston and Austin's Spellman's Lounge, emmajoe's, Soap Creek Saloon,
The Hole in the Wall, and, most regularly, Austin Outhouse. Foley counted Townes
Van Zandt, Pat MacDonald, Barbara K, Lucinda Williams, Mandy Mercier and "Lost
John" Casner among his friends and was often backed by quality musicians,
such as the Waddell brothers, the Muscle Shoals Horns, bassist/guitarist Gurf
Morlix, fiddler Champ Hood, and singer-songwriter Sarah Elizabeth Campbell.
Sites of interest:
Hole in the Wall (the last place Foley performed on stage) is
located at 2538 Guadalupe Street in Austin
Forty percent of Blaze Foley tribute album proceeds go to the
Austin Resource center for the Homeless located at 400 Nueces Street in Austin.
The Austin Outhouse of the recording "Live at the Austin Outhouse" was located
at 3512 Guadalupe Street.
Annual event:
Blaze's songs are included in the Annual Townes Van Zandt Wake
at the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe at 413 20th Street in Galveston, TX every January
1st
Jimmy Ford 2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument: saxophone
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 6/16/1927
Deathdate: 3/13/1994
Buried at: N/A
Alto saxophonist
James Martin (Jimmy) Ford was the first Caucasian to join the jazz band of Houston
native Milt Larkin. He played with the orchestra in 1947 and 1948, and was referred
to as the "white Bird" because his performance style was patterned on
that of Charlie Parker. Ford toured with trombonist Kai Winding's group in 1948
and later worked at the Royal Roost in New York with pianist-composer-arranger
Tadd Dameron, whose band included bebop giants Fats Navarro and Kenny Clarke.
For much of 1951 Ford played in New York with Parker's former trumpeter, Red Rodney,
with whom he recorded on tenor. In 195152 he also worked at times with another
outstanding bebop musician, pianist Bud Powell. Soon afterward Ford returned to
Houston but by 1957 he was back in New York, where he joined the Maynard Ferguson
big band, with which he played until 1960. During his tenure with the Ferguson
band, which appeared frequently at Birdland, Ford was the featured altoist and
"one of the band's most impassioned improvisers."
Arnim
Leroy "Curly" Fox
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Houston
Instrument: fiddle, vocals
Birthplace:
Graysville,
TN Birthdate: 11/19/1910 Deathdate: 11/10/1995
During
the '40s and '50s, Curly Fox and Texas Ruby were the preeminent husband and wife
team in country music. Fox remains one of the great hillbilly fiddlers, while
Ruby was one of the first female singers to become a major star. He began his
professional career playing and traveling with Chief White Owl's "Indian"
medicine show. Fox soon began working with Claude Davis and the Carolina Tar Heels
in Atlanta and founded the Tennessee Firecrackers. He played and recorded with
the Shelton Brothers in New Orleans from 1934 to 1936, also recording three singles
himself. In 1937, Fox met Texas Ruby (born Ruby Agnes Owens in Wise County, Texas)
at the Texas centennial celebration. Ruby, a true cowgirl and sister of radio
cowboy Tex Owens, had sung several times on the Grand Ole Opry and various radio
stations with Zeke Clements and His Bronco Busters. Soon after meeting Fox, the
two married and began appearing on the Opry from 1937-39 and again from 1944-48.
In between, they worked in Cincinnati and at other major stations as well. The
duo made some recordings, but according to Fox, Ruby's throaty contralto didn't
sound as good on records as it did on the radio. In 1948 the couple moved to Houston,
where they lived and worked for ten years bringing country music to local television.
Later, as Ruby's health suffered, Curley began to appear on the Grand Old Opry
alone and during one such appearance, she died in a tragic mobile home fire. In
1976, Curly returned to his hometown of Graysville, TN where he remained until
his death in 1995.
Oscar
Julius Fox
Genres: Cowboy/Western
Based in: San
Antonio
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Burnet
County Birthdate: 10/11/1879 Deathdate: 7/29/1961
Oscar
J. Fox, composer of Western songs, was a member of the Texas Music Teachers Association,
the Sinfonia Fraternity of America, the American Society of Composers, Authors,
and Publishers, the Composers-Authors Guild, and the Sons of the Republic of Texas.
He first achieved fame through setting to music the cowboy songs collected by
John A. Lomax. He never wrote lyrics but set existing poems to music. He drew
strongly on his Texas background, and some of his best-known compositions were
"The Hills of Home" (1925), "Old Paint" (1927), "The
Old Chisholm Trail" (1924), "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along, Little Dogies"
(1927), "Will You Come to the Bower?" (1936), and "The Cowboy's
Lament" (1923).
Ermant
Franklin Jr.
2
3
Genres: Christian
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: Deathdate: 1/17/1996
Ermant
Franklin Jr. organized the Sensational Wonders vocal group in 1975, later changing
the band's name to the Famous Mighty Clouds of Joy. He was with the group for
almost 20 years, earning two Grammys, six nominations, an NAACP Image Award and
three Gospel Music Workshop of America Awards. He is the son of E.M. Franklin
of the Paramount Singers.
Dalies
Erhardt Frantz
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
educator, piano
Birthplace: Lafayette, CO Birthdate: 1/9/1908
Deathdate: 12/1/1965
Buried at: Capital Memorial Gardens, Austin
Dalies
Erhardt Frantz, pianist and teacher, debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra under
Leopold Stokowski in 1934. Shortly thereafter, Frantz was signed by Columbia Concerts
Corporation. Frantz's eminence as a pianist attracted Hollywood's attention, and
he appeared in several motion pictures. In 1943 he joined the University of Texas
music department. He pursued his teaching until the time of his death and was
recognized as one of the outstanding music teachers in the country.
Schools:
Huntington Preparatory School in Boston
Colleges: University of Michigan
William
Orville R. C. "Lefty" Frizzell
2
3
4
Genres: Country
Based in: Corsicana
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Corsicana
Birthdate: 3/31/1928 Deathdate: 7/19/1975
Buried at: Music
Row at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Goodlettsville, TN
Lefty Frizzell has
been called the most influential singer/stylist in the history of Country Music.
Frizzell was only 22 when he made his first recordings for Columbia Records. He
recorded "Saginaw, Michigan," a number-one national hit. His career total of Top
Ten songs was thirteen, three of which were number one. His most successful recordings
include "If You've Got the Money, Honey, I've Got the Time," "I Love You in a
Thousand Ways," "Always Late," and "I Want to be with You Always." His unique
style and musical phrasing has influenced such singers as Willie Nelson and George
Jones.
Sites of interest:
Lefty
Frizzell Country Museum and statue (903) 654-4846
Adolph
Fuchs
2
3
Genres: Classical, German
Based in: Marble Falls
Instrument: educator, vocals, piano
Birthplace: Gustrow,
Mecklenburg, Germany Birthdate: 9/19/1805 Deathdate: 12/1885
Buried
at: Fuchs
Cemetery, Cottonwood Shores, Burnet County, Texas
Adolph Fuchs immigrated
to Texas and settled at Cat Spring, where copies of Fallersleben's Texanische
Lieder (Texas Songs) (with false imprint of "San Felipe de Austin Bei Adolf Fuchs
& Co."), which had been in part inspired by the pastor, arrived. Finding himself
unprepared to cope with pioneer conditions, Fuchs became a music teacher at Baylor
Female College at Independence. He was given credit for founding the first state-supported
public school in Texas. A good singer and great lover of music, Fuchs wrote settings
to many outstanding German poems and both the text and music of other songs; at
his home he and his family and friends frequently gathered for sing-songs around
his piano, one of the first west of the Colorado.
Colleges: Fuchs
became a music teacher at Baylor Female College at Independence.
Sites
of interest:
Fuchs died at the Goeth ranch near Cypress Mill in Blanco
County.
Richard
Fullbright
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Unavailable
Instrument:
string bass, tuba
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: Unavailable
Deathdate: 11/17/1962
Fullbright's recorded from 1927 to 1950 with
such bands as Dizzy Gillespie, King Oliver, Trixie Smith, Cow Cow Davenport, Clarence
Williams, Charles Davenport, Ebony Three, Jimmie Gordon, Eva Taylor, Willie "The
Lion" Smith, Sidney Bechet, Benny Carter, Bill Coleman, Roy Eldridge, Teddy Hill,
and Django Reinhardt.
Robert
Gaston "Bobby" Fuller
2
3
Genres: Rock
Based in: El Paso
Instrument:
guitar, vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Goose
Creek Birthdate: 10/22/1942 Deathdate: 7/18/1966
Buried
at: Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, Los
Angeles County, California
Fuller's band hit nationally with "Let
Her Dance." The Bobby Fuller Four recorded "I Fought The Law," and it soared to
the national Top Ten. Fuller made his film debut as the costar of "Bikini
Party in a Haunted House." The Bobby Fuller Four went on two national tours
and released two albums during Fuller's life, "King of the Wheels" and "I Fought
the Law." With his blatant reverence for Buddy Holly, fellow Texan Bobby
Fuller was a bit of an anomaly in the mid-'60s and had just become a star when
he died under mysterious circumstances in a parked car in Hollywood.
Lala
Yvette Garcia
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Unavailable
Instrument:
Unavailable
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: Deathdate:
Unavailable
Randy
Garibay 2
3
Genres: Blues, Tejano
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 12/3/1939
Deathdate: 5/23/2002
Buried at: San Fernando Cemetery No. 2
located at 746 Castroville Road, San Antonio, TX 78237
Randy Garibay is
considered by his musical peers as the "godfather" of San Antonio blues. Garibay's
style showcased his unique ability to play Texas blues with a Chicano twist-combining
blues, jazz, country, doo wop, and classic Mexican boleros. Garibay and his band
Cats Don't Sleep, were fixtures on the Texas music scene. Garibay's musical resume
included working with the Dell-Kings for 280 weeks as the house band at the Casbar
Lounge of the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel. There the group backed headliners such as
Jackie Wilson, Judy Garland, and Sammy Davis, Jr. The band changed its name to
Los Blues, and went on to play a nightclub circuit from Hawaii to Madison Square
Garden. The band also backed rhythm and blues acts, such as Curtis Mayfield and
the O'Jays. Band leader Frank Rodarte said of Garibay, "In his later life, what
he did for the whole Chicano nation with his blues was take things a step further
to a place that wasn't violent, to a place that sang about depression but with
humor."
Schools: Burbank High School
Sites of interest:
Randy played local San Antonio blues clubs including the renowned Eastwood
Country Club.
William
M. "Red" Garland 2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 5/13/1923 Deathdate: 4/23/1984
Red Garland was part of one of the most exciting periods of jazz evolution.
Much of the 1950s jazz now regarded as classic was built upon Garland's characteristic
block chords. He played in New York and Philadelphia with such famous musicians
as Charlie Parker, Billy Eckstine, Coleman Hawkins, and Fats Navarro. Garland
achieved his greatest fame, as a member of Miles Davis's Quintet from 1955 to
1958 and was sideman on several of Davis's recordings, including "Workin' and
Steamin'," "Round About Midnight," and "Milestones."
Schools: Booker
T. Washington High School in Dallas
Esther
C. Jonsson Garlinghouse
Genres: Classical, Balkan
Based
in: Amarillo
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Ishpeming,
MI Birthdate: 8/22/1901 Deathdate: 4/25/1982
Esther Garlinghouse,
concert pianist, was born on August 22, 1901, in Ishpeming, Michigan. Esther Jonsson
made her professional debut in Paris with the Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire, with Philippe Gaubert conducting. In 1931, she
became the first American to perform as a soloist at the Quarter-Century Mozart
Festival in Salzburg. In 1938, her study of Slavic music took her to southern
Serbia. She translated some of the folk music she studied during these years into
piano compositions and incorporated her films and recordings in her concerts whenever
she performed Balkan music for American audiences.
Schools: University
School of Music in Lincoln, NE
Vernon
Garrett
Genres: Blues, R&B
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Omaha, NE Birthdate: 1/18/1933 Deathdate:
Unavailable
Soul singer Vernon Garrett has been on the cover of "Living
Blues Magazine," was a headliner at The Chicago Blues Festival singing in
front of nearly 70,000 people and sung professionally for more than 40 years.
From 1986 to 1998 he called Dallas home.
John Gary 2
3
Genres:
Country, Pop
Based in: Richardson
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace:
Watertown, NY Birthdate: 11/29/1932 Deathdate: 1/1998
Born
John Gary Strader, Gary became a popular stage and television star during the
1960s and 1970s, because of his soulful, heartfelt singing style and three-octave
range. His signature song, "Danny Boy," revealed his love for Irish
tunes, but his singing repertoire included show tunes, country hits, and romantic
ballads. As a teenager, Gary made stage and radio appearances with artists such
as Lionel Barrymore, Paul Whiteman's Orchestra and Billy Wardell.. After a short
army hitch, Gary recorded 24 albums while under contract to RCA, including his
first album, "Catch a Rising Star." He recorded another 25 albums for
various independent labels. Gary performed on programs such as "The Tonight
Show," "the Ed Sullivan Show," "the Bell Telephone Hour,"
"Dick Clark's Bandstand," and "the Danny Kaye Show"; in the
early 1970s, a summer-replacement program for Danny Kaye's CBS television show
evolved into his own syndicated television variety show, "the John Gary Show"
which ran for three years. Gary's popularity continued well into the 1990s, and
he sang with numerous symphonies and at various concert halls, conventions, and
special events across the globe.
Zelma
Watson George
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Hearne
Instrument:
musicologist, opera singer
Birthplace: Hearne
Birthdate: 12/8/1903 Deathdate: 7/3/1994
Zelma Watson George
- diplomat, social-program administrator, musicologist, opera singer, and college
administrator - wrote her doctoral dissertation, "A Guide to Negro Music:
Toward A Sociology of Negro Music," catalogued approximately 12,000 musical
compositions either inspired or written by African Americans. During the 1950s
she became involved with national and international political issues as an adviser
to President Dwight David Eisenhower's administration.
Henry Clay Gilliland
Genres:
Country
Based in: north Texas
Instrument: fiddle
Birthplace:
Missouri Birthdate:1845 Deathdate: 4/24/1924
Fiddler
Henry Clay Gilliland - along with Alexander (Eck) Robertson - made the first country
music recording in New York City in 1922 for the Victor Talking Machine Co. After
the Civil War he developed a reputation as an Indian fighter and Texas Ranger,
and held numerous public offices in Texas and Oklahoma. He was also active in
the affairs of various Confederate veterans' organizations, eventually attaining
the rank of lieutenant general in the United Confederate Veterans. Gilliland won
many many fiddle contests in North Texas during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. He was a driving force behind the organization of the Old
Fiddlers' Association of Texas (1901) and served for many years as its secretary.
Donald
Eugene Gillis
Genres: Classical, Pop
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
composer, conductor, piano, trombone
Birthplace: Cameron, MO Birthdate:
6/17/1912 Deathdate: 1/10/1978
Composer, conductor, musician,
teacher, and producer Don Gillis taught at Texas Christian University and also
taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In 1942 Gillis became production
director for radio station WBAP. In December 1943 he transferred to the NBC affiliate
in Chicago. A year later he went to New York to become producer and scriptwriter
for the NBC Symphony Orchestra, directed by Arturo Toscanini. Gillis produced
several NBC radio programs, including "Serenade to America" and "NBC
Concert Hour." After Toscanini retired in 1954 Gillis, serving as president
of the Symphony Foundation of America, was instrumental in helping to form the
Symphony of the Air, using members of the old NBC Symphony. Gillis composed prolifically
in virtually all contemporary styles and genres. Much of his music emphasizes
the comical, and his works often carry whimsical titles that convey the satire
and humor of his music. One of his artistic goals was to interpret his American
background musically. His more than 150 works include ten symphonies; six string
quartets; "The Panhandle," a symphonic suite; "The Alamo"
and "Symphony No. 5*," the world premiere of which was conducted by
Toscanini.
Darrell Glenn
Genres: Country, Hillbilly
Based
in: Waco
Instrument: singer
Birthplace: Waco Birthdate:12/7/1935
Deathdate: 4/9/1990
Darrell Glenn was the son of singer / songwriter
Artie Glenn. In fact, Artie wrote his son's first hit record that was also a hit
for several others over the years - "Crying In The Chapel." Artie's
group, the Rhythm Riders provided the instrumental backup to Darrell's recording
of this song, released on the Valley Records label out of Knoxville. Darrell's
record on the seemingly small label reportedly sold over 15,000 copies in two
months. All of that happened before he was out of high school. Before he graduated
in June of 1953, he hadn't set foot outside of Texas. After graduation, he hit
the personal appearance trail on the coattails of his hit record, visiting nearly
20 states and Canada under the promotion of Valley Records.
Evans
"Tyree" Glenn
2 3
Genres:
Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Corsicana
Instrument: trombone
Birthplace:
Corsicana Birthdate: 11/23/1912
Deathdate: 5/18/1974
Glenn performed with several well-known entertainers
including Eddie Barefield, Lionel Hampton, Eddie Mallory, Charlie Nichols, Duke
Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Sy Oliver and Cab Calloway. During the 1950s, Glenn
did some radio, television, and acting work including Jack Sterling's New York
radio show. Although Glenn primarily backed and recorded with other bands, he
also recorded several of his own albums.
Lloyd
Glenn
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 11/21/1909 Deathdate:
5/23/1985
Glenn is best known as one of the pioneers of the "West
Coast" blues sounds. Glenn accompanied T-Bone Walker on his classic 1947 hit "Call
It Stormy Monday," recorded regularly for Imperial Records throughout the
1950s and 1960s and played with B.B. King on his "My Kind of Blues" and "Lucille"
recordings. He worked with a number of territory bands, including the George Corley's
Royal Aces and Boots And His Buddies.
Lillian
Glinn
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Hillsboro
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Hillsboro
Birthdate: 1902 Deathdate:
Blues singer and vaudeville performer
Lillian Glinn secured a recording contract with Columbia Records. She cut her
first record for Columbia in December, 1927, and over the next two years recorded
over twenty-two sides, including popular tunes, "Black Man Blues," "Doggin'
Me," "Atlanta Blues," and others. Glinn, who sang in a heavy contralto
voice, was often accompanied by banjo, piano, and brass bass musicians. Her songs,
which were often labeled "race music," revealed her life-experiences
in Dallas and the harsh realities of life on the streets. Her lyrics, some of
which advised other women how to keep their men and how to handle unreliable lovers,
often contained strong sexual overtones. Between 1927 and 1929, Glinn became nationally
known as a result of her recordings. On April 24, 1928, she cut her best-known
recording, "Shake It Down," in a New Orleans session. Glinn's musical
career was extremely brief. After recording for only two years, she gave up her
secular work to return to the church.
Thomas
Goggan and Brothers
Genres: Classical
Based in: Galveston
Instrument:
instrument and piano dealer
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate:
Unavailable Deathdate:
The historic firm, established in 1866,
of Thomas Goggan and Brothers of Galveston and San Antonio was the oldest and
largest music house in the state and arguably the best known Texas piano company.
The company motto was "Everything in Music." The Galveston store remained the
company headquarters, but Goggan eventually established sales branches over much
of the state, shipping pianos and other musical instruments by wagon and ox-team.
Colleges:
St. Edwards UniversitySpringhill College in Mobile, Alabama
Sites
of interest:
The original retail store was at the corner of East Market
and Twenty-second Street in Galveston.
The San Antonio store, called "Goggan
Palace of Music," was located at Broadway and Travis in the early twentieth century.
Balde González
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Beeville
Instrument: vocals, piano, composer
Birthplace: Beeville
Birthdate: 5/30/1928 Deathdate: 1974
Balde González,
singer, composer, pianist, saxophonist, and clarinet player, was born on May 30,
1928, in Beeville, Texas. He was blind at birth, and his mother sent him at age
eight to attend the state's School for the Blind in Austin. It was in Austin that
he learned to play several instruments. Along with a few of his classmates, González
performed mostly popular music at local parties. In 1948, he returned to Beeville
and formed his own orchestra. In 1949, González signed with Melco, a small
recording label from Corpus Christi. He recorded boleros and fox-trots in a more
cosmopolitan style, singing in Spanish and English with a soft, soothing, and
deep baritone voice. By the early 1950s, González had enlarged his band and
signed with Ideal Records. His self-composed hits included "Oye Corazón,"
"Qué me puede ya importar," and "Cuéntame tu vida."
His style of orquesta, which represented the jaiton wing, or "high class"
orquesta, emphasized the Americanized orquesta repertoire. In the 1960s, as his
fame began to diminish, González pursued his musical career as a soloist
by playing piano and singing in local clubs in the Houston area. In 1985, he was
inducted into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame, which recognized him for his "excellence
in the tejano music industry."
Forrest
R. Goodenough
2
Genres: Classical, Jazz
Based in: Austin,
San Antonio
Instrument: piano, composer, teacher
Birthplace:
South Bend, IN Birthdate: 7/27/1918 Deathdate: 8/14//2004
Forrest R. Goodenough lost his sight at age five. Despite growing up during
a time when our culture had a limited view of the amazing potential of children
who didn't see, he was around people who loved him and believed he could do nearly
anything. This eventually lead him to a Master's Degree at Eastman School of Music.
In 1965 he ranked 9th of the top 150 American composers by the American Composers
Alliance. In the 1940s he lived in New York City and was the staff pianist of
NBC and held two other regular jazz piano jobs at posh hotels in the Cotillion
Room and the Barbary Room. After a year long sabbatical in Woodstock, to work
on classical compositions, he accepted a faculty position at Trinity University
in San Antonio, Texas, teaching theory and composition in 1949. In 1952 he and
his to be wife of 51 years, Dorothy Churchill Goodenough, began 25 years of teaching
at the Texas State School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Under their guidance,
the music programs blossomed to include a string ensemble, an orchestra, band,
and numerous award winning soloists. The school's auditorium was renamed the Goodenough
Performance Hall and a charitable fund was established to benefit future students.
Schools: Texas
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Colleges: Eastman
School of Music , Trinity
University
Roxy
Gordon 2
3
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Talpa
Instrument:
guitar, vocals, music critic
Birthplace: Ballinger
Birthdate: 3/7/1945 Deathdate: 2/7/2000
Roxy assembled a
long list of credits including poet, songwriter, performer, author, activist and
storyteller. On the albums he recorded (such as 1990s Smaller Circles), in the
books he wrote and in nightclub performances, Mr. Gordon told stories between
speech and song. In the mid '70s, he ran a country music magazine "Picking Up
The Tempo" for three years and met well-known musicians Willie Nelson, Waylon
Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allen Coe, and Chuck Berry. In 1976, he moved
to Dallas, Texas, where he spent the next 20 years as an American Indian activist,
poet, and multimedia artist.
Colleges: University
of Texas
Billy Gray
Genres: Cowboy/Western
Based
in: Paris
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Paris,
TX Birthdate: 12/29/1924 Deathdate: 3/27/1975
Billy
Gray, singer/songwriter and guitarist, was born near Paris, Texas to a poor family
in 1924. He organized his first band when he was 19 and had his own radio show
in Paris in 1943, which was popular for the next three years. After teaming with
ex-Louisiana Governor James E. Knoe to tour the state, he and his band toured
the Southwest before he settled in Dallas to spend two years leading Hank Thompson's
Brazos Valley Boys. He and Thompson eventually founded the Texoma Music Publishing
Company and the Brazos Valley Publishing Company, and the two co-wrote some of
Thompson's greatest hits, including "Waiting in the Lobby of Your Heart,"
"The New Wears Off Too Fast" and "A Fool, A Faker." In 1954,
Gray had his lone hit, "You Can't Have My Love," a duet with Wanda Jackson.
The following year, he and his band the Western Oakies released "Dance-O-Rama,"
but had no hits. His large band eventually became too expensive to tour with,
so he returned to Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys. Gray went on to work
as a sideman for other bands, including the Nuggets and the Cowtowners, also appearing
on the syndicated TV show "Music Country Style."
Clarence
Green
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston's Fifth Ward
Instrument:
guitar
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 1934 Deathdate:
3/13/1997
Buried at: died in Houston
Clarence and his
brother Cal began performing in church, but soon became more interested country,
blues and zydeco music of their "Frenchtown" neighborhood. Clarence and Albert
Redeaux formed Blues for Two. They did not have transportation and had to take
the bus to the places they played, like the old Brown Derby in the Fifth Ward
and the Army bases. They only had a guitar and washboard. Blues for Two stayed
together for twelve years and included artists such as Lavelle White, Johnny Clyde
Copeland and Joe Hughes. Green backed touring artists such as Fats Domino and
Chuck Berry. He was also a studio musician for Don Robey and performed with artists
such as Clarence Hollimon, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker. Green eventually formed
the Rhythmaires and worked with B.B. Carter, Luvenia Lewis, and Trudy Lynn. The
Rhythmaires played all over the Houston area, including the Cinder Club, Sands
of Houston, Latin World, Casino Royale, the Warwick and Rice Hotels.
Sites
of interest:
He was a member of Houston's Buck Street Memorial Church
of God in Christ.
He worked regularly at Houston's Silver Spur.
Clarence
"Candy" Green
Genres: Blues
Based in: Galveston
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Galveston
Birthdate: 3/15/1929 Deathdate: 4/3/1988
Buried at: died
in Galveston
Clarence, who is not related to the guitar playing Green
brothers Cal and Clarence from Houston, is the blues composer of "Galveston Blues"
and "Green's Bounce." At the age of 15, Clarence played piano for tips in
the world of honky tonks and brothels. Later, Don Robey signed Clarence to a three
year contract for the Peacock label resulting in the recording "Hard Headed Woman"
with Bill Harvey's Band which was the "baddest band in America at the time."
He also worked with Johnny Fontenette, Horace Richmond, Rip Bolden, Wes Montgomery,
Leo Wright's band, and Sonny Boy Williamson. He travelled from Mexico City to
New York, East Germany to Czechoslovakia playing music and gambling.
Keith Gordon Green 2 3
Genres: Christian
Based in: Garden Valley
Instrument: vocals, songwriter, minister
Birthplace: Sheepshead Bay, NY Birthdate: 11/21/1953 Deathdate: 7/28/1982
Keith Green was born in Sheepshead Bay, NY and earned a recording contract with Decca Records at age 11. When he failed to achieve stardom, he turned to drugs. From a Jewish background, Green grew up reading the New Testament and turned to Christianity in the 1970s. Considered one of the best songwriters of the modern era of Christian music, Green counted Bob Dylan among his admirers. Keith Green's best known songs include "Your Love Broke Through"; "You Put This Love In My Heart"; "O Lord, You're Beautiful"; and "There Is A Redeemer". He sold between 560,000 and a million records, but always thought of himself as a Minister rather than a songwriter. He considered himself an instrument of God, saying that to give him (Green) credit for his music was like praising a pencil for writing a poem. At the peak of his career, he became convinced that ministry should not cost money. He talked his way out of a record contract to give his music away for whatever his listeners could afford. He gave away records and invited the homeless into his Christian commune which grew to seven homes and seventy people. With his wife Melody, his work grew to include a newsletter and the Last Days Ministries. The couple moved from California to tiny Garden Valley, east of Dallas, in 1979, where they were near other evangelists such as Leonard Ravenhill and David Wilkerson. Keith Green died in a plane crash at Garden Valley along with 11 others, including two of his children in 1982. Green's songs continue to be recorded and he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001. The Last Day Ministries property now belongs to Ron Luce's Teen Mania Ministries and the campus includes a dormitory named in honor of Keith Green while Green and his two children killed in the crash are buried together less than half a mile away in a small cemetery.
Thurman Alexander Green
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Longview
Instrument:
trombone
Birthplace: Longview
Birthdate: 8/12/1940 Deathdate: 6/19/1997
Buried at: died
in Los Angeles, CA
Thurman has recorded with greats like Ella, Miles,
the Ellington Orchestra and Michel Legrand and spent most of his career doing
studio work. Thurman recorded 54 sessions between 1967 and 1995. He was 54 when
he made his first record under his own name, and he died just three years later.
Green also appeared as an uncredited band member in the 1969 film "They Shoot
Horses, Don't They?" The Thurman Green Memorial Trombone Scholarship was established
in his name.
Al Grierson
2
Genres:
Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Fredericksburg
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace:
Canada Birthdate: Deathdate: 11/2/2000
A songwriter,
a Buddhist monk, a writer and a railroad worker, Al Grierson had a career that
spanned from Canada to Oregon to Luckenbach, where he spent his last years living
in a red school bus. According to a review in the folk music magazine "Sing
Out!" Grierson was a "quintessential folk singer following the traditions
and trails blazed by Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rodgers, Utah Phillips and the early
Bob Dylan."
C. Grunewald
Genres: Classical
Based
in: Unavailable
Instrument: Unavailable
Birthplace: Unavailable
Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate: Unavailable
Heinrich
Guenther
Genres: Classical, German
Based in: New
Braunfels
Instrument: educator
Birthplace: Zeitz, Saxony
Birthdate: 3/9/1821 Deathdate: 4/8/1870
Manuel
Guerrero 2
3
Genres: Conjunto, Mariachi
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: 6/17/1937 Deathdate:
1/22/1991
"El Sargento Que Canta," the Singing Sargent, Manuel
entertained troops in Vietnam, Korea and Japan while serving in the U.S. Army
from 1968 to 1970. He recorded on Del Bravo Records in San Antionio, Capitol in
Mexico and Pan American in Central America. Hit singles include: "Yo Tenia Dos
Corazones," "El Troquero" and "Mi Ultima Parranda." At one time, Manuel
Guerrero's group consisted of Guerrero, his wife Dora Guerrero, Miguel Cortes,
Fermin Canales, and Manfred Siehl who was German as the name indicates. Their
group played at U.S.O. clubs and also local German clubs in area cities. They
played traditional conjunto music and in a separate act they would play traditional
mariachi music. The group was together for about two 1/2 years until Fermin was
called back to the states in 1978. Manuel Guerrero was inducted into the Conjunto
Hall of Fame and is known as one of the first Tejanos to take Conjunto music to
Europe and one of the first to sing in English. He is the older brother of Ramz
Guerrero de Los Pioneers and was stationed north of Austin while in the Army at
Fort Hood in Killeen.
Jose Guajardo, Jr.
Genres: Jazz, Tejano
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
guitar, bass
Birthplace: Alice Birthdate:
9/24/1934 Deathdate: 11/26/2004
Jose Guajardo Jr. played guitar with Reymundo Trevino Orquestra starting at the age of 12 years old, from 1945 to 1951. He also played with Isidro Lopez, Freddie Martinez, Juan Colorado, and Oscar Martinez. He recorded with Chelo Silva , Carmen y Laura, Valerio Longoria, Tony De La Rosa and many, many more. Later, he played jazz in Houston at local jazz clubs.
Mary
Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan
2
3 4
Genres:
Cowboy/Western
Based in: Waco
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace:
near Waco Birthdate: 1/12/1884
Deathdate: 11/5/1933
Buried at: Calvary
Cemetery in Queens, New York
"Texas" Guinan became one of the most
colorful figures in American entertainment during the era of Prohibition. She
was one of the most popular singers and performers in the underground New York
City nightclub circuit. She entertained troops in France during World War I and
had a successful career as a film actress in perhaps as many as 200 silent two-reelers
including: "Miss Bob White," "The Hoyden," "The Gay Musician,"
and "The Passing Show of 1913."
Colleges: American Conservatory
of Music in Chicago
David
Wendel Guion
Genres: Classical, Cowboy/Western
Based
in: Ballinger
Instrument: composer, piano
Birthplace:
Ballinger Birthdate: 12/15/1892
Deathdate: 10/17/1981
Composer and musician David Wendel Guion
studied in Vienna, but returned to the states after the beginning of World War
II where he began teaching. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s he composed and performed
music that reflected his Texas heritage. For a time he hosted a Western-oriented
weekly radio show in New York City, for which he wrote the scripts and music.
But Guion, at one time himself an accomplished cowboy, became most famous for
his arrangement of the cowboy song "Home on the Range," which was performed
for the first time in his New York production Prairie Echoes. It became a favorite
of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the nation. In 1936 Guion was commissioned
to write Cavalcade of America for the Texas Centennial celebration, and in 1950
he received a commission from the Houston Symphony Orchestra, for whom he completed
the suite Texas in 1952. His wide range of compositions numbers over 200 published
works and includes orchestral suites, music for ballets, piano pieces, and secular
and religious songs. His music has been performed around the world.
Federico
Arturo "Tito" Guizar Tolentino
Genres: Cowboy/Western, Tejano
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace:
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Birthdate: 4/8/1908 Deathdate: 12/24/1999
Guizar
was the first of Mexico's singing charros, as the cowboys in broad-brimmed sombreros
and bolero jackets are known. His career, which ranged from performing and composing
music for films, theater and television, spanned more than 70 years. In 1936 he
returned to Mexico to play the lead in the film that would inaugurate a new genre
of singing charro movies: "Alla en el Rancho Grande" ("Out There on the Big Ranch").
The film was an immediate classic in Mexico and was also the first Mexican film
to transcend the country's borders, playing well in the United States. After that
Guizar learned English and became one of the first Mexican actors invited to appear
in Hollywood movies. He starred alongside Roy Rogers, Dorothy Lamour, Ray Milland
and Mae West. Recently he estimated that he had made more than 50 movies in either
Mexico or the United States.
Woodrow
Wilson "Woody" Guthrie 2
3 4 5
Genres:
Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Pampa
Instrument: guitar,
vocals
Birthplace: Okemah, OK Birthdate: 7/14/1912 Deathdate:
10/3/1967
Buried at: cremated; ashes scattered over Atlantic Ocean off the shore of Coney Island, NY
Woody Guthrie, a legendary folk poet, wrote or adapted nearly 3,000 song lyrics, including the classic, "This Land Is Your Land." In 1912, Guthrie followed his father to be with relatives in Pampa, where he lived from 1929 to 1937. Performing with bands at night clubs and radio stations in the Panhandle, Guthrie found his calling as a poet and lyricist. Guthrie experienced the pain of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, sources of his many songs that bound together a brotherhood of Americans that experienced a similar agony. The most memorable song of Guthrie's Pampa years, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You," was a response to the great dust storm of April 14, 1935. In his lifetime, aside from his nearly 3,000 song lyrics, Guthrie published two novels, created artworks, authored numerous published and unpublished manuscripts, poems, prose, and plays and hundreds of letters and news articles which are housed in the Woody Guthrie Archives in New York City.
Schools: Pampa High School
Sites of interest:
City officials dedicated a cast iron sculpture 150 feet long with the musical staff
and notes of "This Land". Sculpture is located at Hobart Street near the M.K.
Brown Civic Auditorium.
The Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center of Pampa - 320 S. Cuyler, Pampa, TX 79065 - is located in the old Harris Drug Store building where Guthrie worked during his time in Pampa and, according to legend, where he learned to play the guitar. Future plans for the center include a memorabilia exhibit and a performance area.
Black Sunday, The Great Dust Storm of April 14, 1935" (Eakin Press, Austin, TX) by Pampa
native, Frank Stallings.
Photo of the Panhandle dust storm, April 14, 1935, courtesy The Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
Annual
event:
Pampans held their first annual Tribute to Woody Guthrie on October
3, 1992, which Governor Ann Richards proclaimed as Woody Guthrie Day in Texas.
Eugenio "Tatita" Gutierrez
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Weslaco
Instrument:
saxophone, clarinet, violin
Birthplace: Runge Birthdate:
11/15/1903 Deathdate: 11/22/1972
Eugenio Gutierrez was born November
15, 1903 and was raised in Runge, Texas. Eugenio moved to Weslaco, Texas where
he played saxophone and clarinet with different bands, mostly playing American
music. Eugenio was still looking for a different sound and type of music. In the
late 1940s, Eugenio started his own orchestra, composing and arranging his own
lyrics and music. Eugenio found the sound he was looking for and began playing
more Mexican and Tejano music. Combining the orchestra and conjunto sound, he
was considered a pioneer of this type of music. Falcon Records liked the new sound
and began recording the combination of the Accordion with Pedro Ayala and Saxophone
with Eugenio Gutierrez. One of their greatest hits recorded was "El Naranjal."
Eugenio recorded several hit songs with Ideal Records and Falcon Records, such
as "Mi Juanita Polka," "Mi Cafetal," a duet with Delia and
Laura (of Carmen and Laura), "Julia Julia," "Mi Marianita,"
"Poco a Poquito," a duet with Delia and Minerva Rodriguez, "El
Hombre Aparecido," "Bandolera," "Pasito Tun Tun" and
"Blue Moon" in Spanish.
Frank Phillips Jr. "Billy Guy"
Genres:
R&B, Rock
Based in: Itasca
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace:
Itasca Birthdate: 7/20/1936 Deathdate:
11/5/2002
Billy Guy - the baritone in the legendary rock 'n' roll
group The Coasters - hit it big in the late 1950s by performing a string of Jerry
Leiber and Mike Stoller penned collaborations, including "Yakety Yak"
and "Charlie Brown." Historically, they were at the birth of rock 'n'
roll in 1956, becoming one of the first black groups to successfully cross over
from rhythm and blues. In their prime, The Coasters appeared at every major rock
'n' roll venue and on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" and "The
Ed Sullivan Show." The Coasters sold millions of singles and were the first
vocal group inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Edward
"Ed" Hagan
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Greenville
Instrument:
drums, percussion, vibraphone
Birthplace: Greenville
Birthdate: 1919 Deathdate: 1996
Helen Hall
Genres:
Country
Based in: Corsicana
Instrument:
vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Navarro
County Birthdate: 10/20/1927 Deathdate: 9/24/2006
Buried at: Oakwood Cemetary in Corsicana
During the 1950s,
Helen Hall was one of the stars of The Big 'D' Jamboree on Dallas radio station
KRLD and voted among the best country singers of the time, ahead of women who
would later become legends of the genre. Hall was unique in that she wrote her
own material. Offered a regular spot on the Louisiana Hayride, Hall declined,
not wanting to travel toe Shreveport every weekend. In 1955, Coral Records released
"Honky Tonk Husband/Wasted Life", but, the following year, the label
dropped her after she was involved in a car wreck, and a follow-up single was
never released. Hall's career never regained the lost momentum. Dragon Street
Records reissued the tracks along with demos of "Rock Till My Baby Comes
Home", "Hello Baby", "Footprints", "Little Joe"
and "Have It Your Way Baby" on The Gals Of The Big 'D' Jamboree CD in
2001. Helen Hall died of lung cancer at age 78 in 2006
Sites of Interest:
Big D Jamboree
Morris Eugene Hall
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Denton
Instrument:
sax, founder, jazz program, UNT
Birthplace: Whitewright
Birthdate: 1913 Deathdate: 1993
In 1942, M. E. Hall, a
North Texas graduate music student, was asked to teach dance band arranging to
two students. Wilfred Bain, dean of the School of Music, asked Hall to write his
master's thesis on proposed curriculum for a dance band (jazz) major. That thesis
became the basis for the UNT jazz degree curriculum, the first university in the
United States to set up an accredited jazz studies degree. Gene was a founder
and the first president of the National Association of Jazz Educators (now the
International Association of Jazz Educators) and was a North Texas Distinguished
Alumnus.
Carl
Stuart Hamblen
2
3
4
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Kellyville
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Kellyville,
near Jefferson Birthdate: 10/20/1908 Deathdate: 3/8/1989
Buried
at: Forest
Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles
Hamblen was recognized
as the first Country/Western singer on radio. He was a nationally known radio-recording
artist and cowboy film actor during the 1930s through the 1970s. During his long
span on radio, Stuart composed more than 225 songs many of which are still being
recorded today. Some of his greatest song classics: "It Is No Secret" (the original
manuscript is buried in the cornerstone on one of the Copyright Buildings of the
Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and which has been translated into over
50 languages around the world and was the first song to becoming number one in
Gospel, Country, and Pop categories); "This Ole House" (awarded 1954 Song of the
Year, was number one in seven countries at the same time, and has been on the
Billboard's top 100 for 36 weeks). In 1952, Stuart ran for the President of the
United States on the Prohibition ticket.
Colleges: McMurray
State Teachers College in Abilene
Sites of interest:
In
1999, a bronze memorial plaque was erected by Hamblen's family (located in Jefferson,
TX across the street from the post office on Market Street).
Hamblen's
career as a Country-Western-Gospel singer, composer, and radio-movie personality
began in 1926 on radio KAYO in Abilene, TX.
John Hardee
Genres: Jazz
Based in:
Corsicana
Instrument: piano, tenor saxophone
Birthplace:
Corsicana
Birthdate: 12/20/1918 Deathdate: 5/18/1984
While playing
as the lead band member with Tiny Grimes, Hardee signed with Blue Note Records,
recording swing and bop tunes. He also teamed up with Jimmy Ford to play at the
"845," the most important African-American club in the Bronx in 1946. Hardee moved
to Wichita Falls/Dallas area where taught as a band director at local high schools.
Hardee provided instruction to future stars, such as Leo Write from Wichita Falls
and James Clay from Dallas.
Schools: He
taught at the Wichita Falls High School; He
also taught at the Lincoln High School in Dallas.
Colleges: Bishop
College
Margaret
Pease Harper 2
Genres:
Classical, Drama
Based in: Amarillo
Instrument: piano,
founder of the musical drama "Texas"
Birthplace: St. Paul, MN Birthdate:
7/22/1911 Deathdate: 11/16/1991
Margaret Pease Harper was the
founder of the outdoor musical drama "Texas." Harper grew to love the
Panhandle and recognized Palo Duro Canyon's potential as a site for an outdoor
musical production. After discussing the idea with her husband and William and
Margaret Moore - and partly influenced by Allen Rankin's "His Theater is
as Big as All Outdoors," which appeared in the July 1960 issue of the Reader's
Digest - she wrote to the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green, suggesting
that the geography and history of the Panhandle of Texas provide the ideal setting
for a symphonic drama. Margaret Harper captured enough people's imagination with
her enthusiasm to make the theater and production a reality. She was elected the
first president of the Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, which sustains the
production "Texas," and served as the public-relations director for
the show from 1961 until 1985. Between its opening performance in July 1966 and
its twenty-fifth season in 1991, "Texas" was attended by more than two
million people.
Mack
Harrell
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
violin, vocals
Birthplace: Celeste
Birthdate: 10/08/1909 Deathdate: 1/29/1960
Buried at: died
in Dallas
Historical Marker Text: Mack Harrell received early training
as a violinist. He later studied the instrument at Oklahoma City University, where
he changed direction to pursue his baritone singing talent. After attending the
Juilliard School of Music, he began a professional opera career and performed
with the Metropolitan Opera. In 1945 he joined the voice faculty at Juilliard,
and was later administrator of the Aspen Music Festival and voice professor at
Southern Methodist University. He was a world renowned artist.
Colleges:
Mack was voice professor at Southern Methodist
University.
Sites of interest:
Birthplace
of Mack Harrell Historical Marker at 606 Sanger Street at South 7th Street in
Celeste.
Rebert
H. Harris 2
Genres:
Blues, Christian, Gospel
Based in: Trinity
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Trinity
Birthdate: 3/23/1916 Deathdate: 9/3/2000
Rebert H. Harris
was the lead singer for the Soul Stirrers, whose style was the fountainhead for
generations of gospel and soul singers. By the late 1930s the Soul Stirrers included
Mr. Harris, Thomas Brewster, Jesse Farley and Roy Crane. With Mr. Harris as lead
singer, the Soul Stirrers brought innovations to the quartet style that had appeared
in the 1920s. They traded lead vocals between two singers and used what Mr. Harris
called "delayed time," sustaining melodies against the group's steady beat to
create syncopated tension. By the early 1940s the Soul Stirrers were nationally
known and toured extensively. Some of Mr. Harris's best recordings appear on the
anthology "Kings of the Gospel Highway" (Shanachie) and on "Shine on Me: The Soul
Stirrers featuring R. H. Harris" (Specialty). In 1947 Mr. Harris and other quartet
lead singers formed the National Singing Quartets Union of America to promote
the music; Mr. Harris became its president.
George Haynes
Genres:
Jazz
Based in: Victoria
Instrument: drummer
Birthplace:
Victoria Birthdate: 1921
Deathdate: 9/2/2001
George Haynes was a jazz drummer from Victoria
that worked with Illinois Jacquet, La Big Band, Milt Larkin and the Musicians
Benevolent Society of Houston.
Cedric
Haywood
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
piano, composer, arranger
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: Unavailable
Deathdate: 1970
Cedric played in a high school band behind Arnett
Cobb and in other bands including Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, Wild Bill Davis,
Illinois Jacquet, and Milt Larkin. Haywood recorded 17 sessions on piano between
1946-1959. Grover Mitchell, best known as the leader of the Count Basie Orchestra,
also co-led bands with the Texas pianist in San Francisco. Haywood went back to
Houston in 1963 and spent the last six years of his life leading his own band.
At one point, he even recorded with bluesman Lightning Hopkins.
Sites
of interest:
One of the spots to catch Cedric Haywood's act as a bandleader
was Club Ebony in Houston.
James
Arthur "Jimmy" Heap
2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Rockabilly, Western Swing
Based
in: Taylor
Instrument: guitar
Birthplace: Taylor
Birthdate: 3/3/1922 Deathdate: 12/4/1977
Jimmy Heap led
the Melody Masters for over three decades and contributed one country classic
to the genre, "The Wild Side of Life," covered by Hank Thompson, Burl Ives & Grady
Martin, Freddy Fender, and most recently, Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter. The
Melody Masters recorded 37 Capitol sides, all but five being released. In 1954,
Heap gained a number 5 and his only Billboard chart hit, with "Release Me."
They also recorded the "Dessau Hall Waltz," a tribute to the area dancehall.
Sites
of interest:
Dessau
Hall
Annual event:
Jimmy
Heap and the Melody Masters Reunion
Franz
Xavier Heilig
Genres: Classical, German
Based in:
San Antonio
Instrument: teacher, violin, voice
Birthplace:
Maskirchen Grandduchy of Baden in Germany Birthdate: 10/6/1826 Deathdate:
4/26/1892
Buried at: Old Lutheran Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas
Franz
Xavier Heilig became a music teacher for San Antonio's public schools in 1853.
He is one of the earliest references to music among Texas German immigrants. He
was employed as a singing teacher at the German-English School in 1859. He was
director of the first choir of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Heilig's string orchestra
afforded much pleasure in the 1870s. Franz is historically known as Professor
Heilig.
Schools: Franz
taught at the German-English School
Sites of interest:
The
German-English School in San Antonio was first opened in the rooms of the Kleeper
Hotel on West Commerce Street between Navarro and St. Mary's Streets.
See
also: "Elmendorf and Related Families" by Wanda Bassett Carter ISBN 0-9625488-0-4
Copyright 1990.
Chet
Helms 2
3
4
Genres: Rock
Based in: Austin
Instrument: Promoter
Birthplace: Santa Maria, CA Birthdate: 8/2/1942 Deathdate: 6/25/2005
Buried at: San
Francisco Columbarium
Chet Helms and his production company - the
Family Dog turned small get-togethers of local San Francisco musicians and artists
into a scene that eventually produced the great legendary gatherings of the Summer
Of Love. While attending the University of Texas in Austin, he was drawn to the
civil rights movement bubbling under in the South. A stepchild from a mixed-race
marriage, Helms became actively engaged in organizing benefits for non-profit
civil and human rights groups, all the while learning and using the tools of the
trade he would later apply to the world of rock concert promotion. Helms moved
from Austin to San Francisco for the first time in the summer of 1962 but returned
in 1963 to beckon then-unknown folksinger Janis Joplin to hitch-hike back with
him. Helms organized informal jam sessions in the basement of 1090 Page Street
at the center of the colorful Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Through his relationships
with such celebrated figures as Ken Kesey, Big Brother and the Holding Company
and The Grateful Dead, Helms found himself at the center of the era's new interpretation
of music and youth culture. By February 1966, Helms started producing shows for
many bands under the name Family Dog Productions at the Fillmore Auditorium, on
alternating weekends with Bill Graham Presents. By April, Helms secured permits
to run his own dance hall, The Avalon Ballroom on Sutter Street. For three years,
Helms and the Family Dog hosted some of the most influential events in San Francisco
rock history, including free events in Golden Gate Park in 1966 and during what
has now become known as the "Summer of Love" in 1967. By the end of
1970, the small local scene Helms helped create had grown into a cultural phenomenon
exploited globally by a wide variety of entrepreneurs, for better or for worse.
He decided to take a break, and would not return to concert promoting until 1978,
when Family Dog produced the 1st Annual Tribal Stomp at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley.
After producing another Tribal Stomp in 1979 at the Monterey Fairgrounds - highlighted
by the first-ever California appearance of The Clash - Helms retreated from active
promotion.
Colleges: University
of Texas
Julius
Hemphill
2
3
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 1/24/1938
Deathdate: 4/2/1995
Julius Hemphill was an integral part of the
"loft jazz" scene in New York City. He is regarded as one of the more
experimental saxophonists of the modern era. In New York, he recorded with Anthony
Braxton, Lester Bowie, and Kool and the Gang. On the side, he dabbled in combining
dance, theater, and mixed media with jazz to create an extravagant blend of both
sound and vision. This experimentalism eventually culminated in his jazz opera
opus, "Long Toungue." Influenced by Ornette Coleman, he became a founding
member of the Black Arts Group in St. Louis and of the World Saxophone Quartet.
Schools: I.
M. Terrell High School (historical marker at 1411 East 18th Street, Fort Worth)
Colleges: North Texas State College
Nash
Hernandez
Genres: Big Band, Jazz, Latin Pop, Tejano
Based
in: Austin
Instrument: trumpet
Birthplace: New
Braunfels Birthdate: 2/1/1922 Deathdate: 6/25/1994
The
Nash Hernandez Orchestra is the longest running big band in the Austin area. A
twelve-piece band, the group was established in 1949 by trumpeter Nash Hernandez
and continues on under the direction of Nash's son, Ruben Hernandez. Initially,
it was comprised of all Hispanic musicians that Hernandez himself taught. Musicians
that have played in the Orchestra include: Mitch Watkins, Tomas Ramirez, Alphonso
Ramos, Tim Torres, Dave Gutierrez, John Mills, and Mike Mordecai. In 1975, Nash
was named Ambassador of Goodwill by Governor Dolph Brisco. In addition, Nash Hernandez
was twice honored by the city of Austin when the city council proclaimed Nash
Hernandez Day on October 26, 1975 and again on July 2, 1993. In that same year,
he was also honored by the Texas Senate with a proclamation sponsored by the Honorable
Senator Gonzalo Barrientos. In 1994, he was recognized by Vice-President Al Gore
for his contributions in the state.
Helen Hewitt
Genres:
Classical
Based in: Denton
Instrument: organ
Birthplace:
NA Birthdate: 1900 Deathdate: 1977
Helen Hewitt was
an internationally renowned American musicologist and organist. She received a
BA at Vassar College in 1921 and a BM at the Eastman School of Music in 1925.
She completed graduate degrees at Union Theological Seminary (MSM 1932) and Columbia
University (MA 1933) and then went to Europe where she studied under Besseler
at the University of Heidelberg. In 1938 she received her doctorate from Harvard.
In addition, Hewitt studied organ with Widor and Lynwood Farnam and harmony with
Boulanger. After teaching at the State Normal School, Potsdam, New York (1925-8),
Florida State College for Women (1938-9) and Hunter College (1942) she became
a Professor of Music at the University of North Texas from 1942 to 1969. Upon
her retirement, she donated a significant collection of organ music to the Music
Library. A variety of additional important materials, mostly musicology-related,
came to the library at the time of her death and together these materials are
known as the Helen Hewitt collection.
Rene E. Herrera
Genres: Tejano, Pop
Based in: Laredo
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: unknown Birthdate: unknown Deathdate:12/20/2005
As member of Rene and Rene, along with Rene Ornelas, of San Antonio, Rene E.
Herrera scored two pop-Tejano crossover hits in the 1960s and was one of the first
Latino artist to perform on "American Bandstand." After working in music
throughout the 1950s with groups including the Casa Blanca Quartet and the Quarternotes,
Rene and Rene hit it big with "Angelito" in 1964 and "Lo Mucho
Que Te Quiero" in 1968. Both English and Spanish radio stations picked up
on the songs. The songs were also recorded by other artists, including Peter Nero
and Herb Alpert. Rene and Rene were inducted into the Tejano ROOTS (Recognize
Our Own Tejano Stars) Hall of Fame 2001.
William
Melvin "Bill" Hicks
2
Genres: Rock, Comedy
Based in: the Memorial
area of Houston
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Valdosta,
GA Birthdate: 12/16/1961 Deathdate: 2/26/1994
Buried at:
Magnolia
Cemetery, Leakesville, Mississippi
Because of his strong love for
performing musically, Hicks would include recorded and live music in his comedy
act throughout his career. He was the singer and guitarist for the band Marble
Head Johnson and also played in a punk rock band called Stress. The Hicks family
moved to Houston, where Bill began his comedy career at the age of sixteen. In
1983, Hicks found his place as a comedian in a group of "outlaw" comics from Houston
that included the late Sam Kinison. Hicks' career inspired bands such as Radiohead,
Tool, Super Furry Animals, The Bluetones, and Rage Against the Machine to either
work Hicks' routines directly into their albums or pay homage to him on their
record jackets.
Schools: Stratford
High School
Sites of interest:
Hicks began performing
on Tuesday nights at the Houston
Comedy Workshop at 2105 San Felipe.
Hicks
appeared with Jay Leno February 8-13, 1983 at the Austin Comedy Workshop (302
West 15th). In 1984, it was leveled to make way the Bill Clements state office
building on 15th Street near Lavaca.
Bill
Hicks Foundation for Wildlife at 9600 Cheryl Lynn in Austin
Tommy
Hill
Genres: Country, Rockabilly
Based in: Coy
City
Instrument: vocals, guitar, producer, writer, studio owner
Birthplace:
Coy
City Birthdate: 4/27/1929 Deathdate: 3/21/2001
Rockabilly
pioneer Tommy Hill knew from a very early age that music could provide an escape
from his hard-knock life of picking cotton on the family farm. On guitar, his
biggest influence was Ernest Tubb's single string picker, Jimmy Short, and his
first radio gig was playing lead guitar on KTSA with San Antonio's six foot seven
inch singing cowboy, Big Bill Lister. That was in 1945; Hill was fifteen. Later,
Hill was instrumental in helping Buddy Holly and the Crickets sign with Decca
Records. Hill recorded several singles of his own, wrote and produced hit songs
for others, started Gusto Records and eventually bought King Records and Starday
Records.
Arzell
"Z.Z." Hill
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Naples
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Naples
Birthdate: 9/24/1935 Deathdate: 4/27/1984
Hill is recognized
for his role in restoring the blues to modern consciousness. He created a combination
of blues and contemporary soul styling. His first single, "You Were Wrong," reached
the Billboard's pop chart and stayed there for a week. Hill's best-selling hit
is "Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It." The album "Down Home Blues", which
included the title song of the same name became one of the most popular blues
songs of the 1980s. The album sold well, remaining on Billboard's soul album chart
for almost two years.
Adolph
Hofner
2
3
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Polka, Czech
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: vocals, bass, guitar, bandleader
Birthplace:
Moulton
Birthdate: 6/8/1916 Deathdate: 6/2/2000
Western swing pioneer
Adolph Hofner performed continuously in San Antonio and South Texas from about
1933-1993 and recorded for Okeh, Bluebird, Decca, and Columbia. Hofner blended
together the musical influences of his Czech heritage with blues, western swing,
and pop music. Hofner's best-known song, the 1941 fiddle breakdown "Cotton Eyed
Joe," has become a standard for most country and western dance bands.
Andrew
"Smokey" Hogg
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Westconnie Birthdate: 1/27/1914
Deathdate:
Smokey Hogg was a rural bluesman navigating a postwar
era infatuated by R&B, but he got along quite nicely nonetheless, scoring
a pair of major R&B hits in 1948 and 1950 and cutting a thick catalog for
a slew of labels (including Exclusive, Modern, Bullet, Macy's, Sittin' in With,
Imperial, Mercury, Recorded in Hollywood, Specialty, Fidelity, Combo, Federal,
and Showtime). During the early '30s, Hogg, who was influenced by Big Bill Broonzy
and Peetie Wheatstraw, worked with slide guitarist Black Ace at dances around
Greenville, TX. Hogg first recorded for Decca in 1937, but it was an isolated
occurrence - he didn't make it back into a studio for a decade. Both his chart
hits - 1948's "Long Tall Mama" and 1950's "Little School Girl"
- were issued on Modern.
Ima
Hogg
Genres: Classical
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
philanthropist, piano
Birthplace: Mineola
Birthdate: 7/10/1882 Deathdate: 8/19/1975
Ima Hogg, philanthropist
and patron of the arts, was the daughter of Governor James Stephen Hogg. In 1901
Ima, who had played the piano since the age of three, went to New York to study
music. From 1907 to 1909 she continued her music studies in Berlin and Vienna.
She then moved to Houston, where she gave piano lessons to a select group of pupils
and helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra, which played its first concert
in June 1913. In the meantime, oil had been struck on the Hogg property near West
Columbia, Texas, and by the late 1920s Hogg was involved in a wide range of philanthropic
projects. In 1943 Hogg won an election to the Houston school board, where she
worked to establish symphony concerts for school children, to get equal pay for
teachers regardless of sex or race, and to set up a painting-to-music program
in the public schools. In 1960 she served on a committee appointed by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower for the planning of the National Cultural Center (now Kennedy
Center) in Washington, D.C.
Harold
"Black Boy Shine" Holiday
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
vocals, piano
Birthplace: Unavailable Birthdate: Deathdate:
1/1/1948
Harold Holiday was based in a section of Houston, TX (which
may have been his home) called West Dallas. He also worked with the The Santa
Fe Group gathered in the Fourth Ward. In 1936 and 1937 he recorded for Vocalion
in San Antonio and Dallas, and left behind 18 sides. A smooth vocalist and pianist,
his music had a surprising elegance despite the barrelhouse environment reflected
in songs like "Dog House Blues" and "Back Home Blues." Aubrey "Moon" Mullican
came across Shine in many of the honky tonks and barrelhouses around Houston.
Aubrey made friends with "Shine" and they formed a duo called Moonshine.
At this time, Aubrey Mullican acquired the nickname "Moonshine" because
of this. In the duo, Aubrey was "Moon," while Shine was "Shine."
Charles
Hardin "Buddy Holly" Holley
2
3
4
Genres: Rock
Based in: Lubbock
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Lubbock
Birthdate: 9/7/1936 Deathdate: 2/3/1959
Buried at: City
of Lubbock Cemetery, Lubbock, Lubbock County
Buddy Holly is known
for helping pioneer rock-and-roll. The first single, "That'll Be the Day," backed
with "I'm Looking for Someone to Love," reached number three on the pop charts
and number two on the rhythm and blues charts. Holly's second solo single, "Peggy
Sue," backed with "Everyday," reached number three on the pop and R&B charts.
"Oh Boy!" backed with "Not Fade Away," was released in October 1957 and sold close
to a million copies.
Schools: Lubbock
High School; Hutchinson Junior High School
Sites of interest:
Buddy
Holly Park at 2525 Canyon Lake Drive c/o Parks and Recreation
Buddy Holly
Walk of Fame at 801 Avenue Q c/o Civic Lubbock, Inc.
Texas
Music Kitchen's Texas Music Tours
Lubbock
Avalanche Journal Buddy Holly Archives
Annual event:
Not
Fade Away: The Buddy Holly Music Festival and Symposium
Milton
Howard "Clarence" Hollimon
Genres: Blues
Based in:
Houston
Instrument: guitar
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate:
10/24/1937 Deathdate: 4/23/2000
A product of Houston's Fifth
Ward, Hollimon got his first break in 1954 when, at age 17, he toured with a top
show band, the Bill Harvey Orchestra. After an influential stint with Clarence
"Gatemouth" Brown, Hollimon joined the Duke-Peacock hit factory in the
late 1950s. In 1964, he took hi sophisticated jazzy blues technique to New York
City, where he played on records by Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson and toured
with Nancy Wilson. Hollimon and his wife Carol Fran, who started performing together
in 1982, specialized in a Gulf Coast blues style that incorporated the swamp pop
sounds of Fran's Louisiana roots. Together they released "Soul Sensation"
in 1992 and "See There!" in 1994 on the Black Top label. They also served
as cultural ambassadors, teaching African American folk songs to grade-school
students and performing weeklong residencies at out-of-the-way places such as
Clarksville and Fort Bend on behalf of the Texas Folklife Resources (excerpted
from Michael Corcoran's article, Austin-American Statesman Wednesday, April 26,
2000).
DesChamps
"Champ" Hood 2
3 4
Genres: Blues, Country, Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Austin
Instrument: fiddle, guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Spartanburg,
SC Birthdate: 8/16/1952 Deathdate: 11/3/2001
Champ Hood
formed Uncle Walts Band with fellow Spartanburg natives Walter Hyatt and
David Ball in the 1970s. Arriving in Austin via Nashville, the groups unique
melding of swing, country, and jazz made them popular in the local club circuit.
After the band broke up, Hood remained in Austin, where he played as a sideman
with a virtually every recognizable musician in town. He was a regular member
of the Threadgill's Troubadours, spent nine years in Toni Price's band, toured
as part of Lyle Lovett's Large Band, and worked with Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Champ
Hood appears on albums by Tish Hinojosa, Jerry Jeff Walker, Evan Johns & His
H-Bombs, Bad Livers, Lisa Mednick, Jello Biafra, David Halley, Dick Hamilton,
Ed Miller, Ted Roddy, Peter Keane, Richard Buckner, Loose Diamonds, Don McCalister,
Jr, Beaver Nelson, Shakin Apostles, the Barbers, Michael Hall, Lee Ann Atherton,
The Hollisters, Don Walser, Bill Pekar, Quatropaw, John Greenberg, and Linda Freeman.
Sam
"Lightnin'" Hopkins
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Centerville
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Centerville
Birthdate: 3/15/1912 Deathdate: 1/30/1982
Buried at: Forest
Park - Lawndale, Houston, Harris County
At age eight he made his
first instrument, a cigar-box guitar with chicken-wire strings. By ten he was
playing music with his cousin. In 1946 he had his big break and first recording-in
Los Angeles for Aladdin Recordings. He eventually made forty-three recordings
for the label. Over his career Hopkins recorded for close to twenty different
labels, including Gold Star Records in Houston, made more than eighty-five albums
and toured around the world.
Sites of interest:
Lightnin'
Hopkins Statue dedication on Camp Street in Crockett
Johnny
Horton
2
3
Genres: Country
Based in: Tyler
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA Birthdate: 4/30/1925
Deathdate: 11/5/1960
Buried at: Hill
Crest Cemetery, Haughton, Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Although he is
better-remembered for his historical songs, Johnny Horton was one of the most
popular honky tonk singers of the late '50s. He became a regular on the Louisiana
Hayride, a friend of Hank Williams, and eventually married Hank's widow Billie
Jean. At his first Columbia session, he cut "Honky Tonk Man," his first single
for the label which would eventually become a honky tonk classic. Other hits include
"I'm a One-Woman Man," "I'm Coming Home," "The Woman I Need," "All
Grown Up," "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" and "The Battle
of New Orleans."
Schools: Gallatin
High School in Gallatin, Texas
Colleges: Lon
Morris College in Jacksonville; Kilgore
Texas Junior College.
Sites of interest: He
also earned a basketball scholarship to Baylor University in Waco.
Baldemar "Freddy Fender" Huerta
2
Genres: Country, Spanish
Based in: Corpus Christi
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: San Benito Birthdate: 6/4/1937
Deathdate: 10/14/2006
Buried at: San Benito Memorial Park
With "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" in 1974, Freddy Fender was the first artist to have a song hit number one on both
the Billboard Country and Pop Charts. The son of migrant farm workers, Baldemar
Huerta, learned music by watching and listening at weddings and other neighborhood
events and at the age of 10, he made his first radio appearance. In 1957 he released
two songs as "The Bebop Kid," Spanish language versions of "Don't
Be Cruel" and "Jamaica Farewell" that charted in Mexico and South
Amercia. In 1959, inspired by the name on his guitar, Huerta changed his name
to Freddy Fender, signed to Imperial Records and recorded "Wasted Days and
Wasted Nights" a national hit in 1960. Following a short prison sentence
for possession of marijuanna, Fender bgan working as a mechanic, singing on weekends.
In 1975 his recording of "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," hit number
one on both the Pop and Country Charts. Fender followed this with a succession
of three more number one hits including a remake of "Wasted Days and Wasted
Nights" and won the Best Male Artist Grammy for that year. In 1989 he joined
Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez, and Augie Myers to form the Tex-Mex supergroup the Texas
Tornados releasing four albums with the group and winning a Grammy for Best Mexican
American Performance. In the 1990s, Fender was also a member of Los Super 7 along
with Joe Ely, Ruben Ramos, and members of Los Lobos. The group won a 1998 Grammy
for Best Mexican-American Musical Performance. In 2001, Fender's final studio
recording, La Musica de Baldemar Huerta, returned him to his roots and captured
another Grammy win for Best Latin Pop Album.
Sites of interest: Freddy Fender Memorial: 2500 Highway 345 San Benito, Texas 78586
The City of San Benito, Texas will host a Memorial Tribute and Gravesite Dedication in the honor of the late Freddy Fender on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 10
a.m. in San Benito, Texas, commemorating the new Freddy Fender Memorial.
Joe
"Guitar" Hughes
Genres: Blues
Based in: Missouri
City
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Houston,
in the Fourth Ward Birthdate: 9/29/1937 Deathdate: 5/21/2003
Hughes was a staple of the Houston and Texas blues scene, as well as Western
Europe's. Joe Maurice Hughes was born in the Fourth Ward in 1937 and moved to
the Third Ward four years later. In the early 1950s Hughes and Johnny Clyde Copeland
formed the Dukes of Rhythm, and they worked together occasionally through the
1970s. He was instrumental in helping his friend Copeland get to the national
level. Hughes also worked with such artists as Little Richard, Houston saxophonist
Grady Gaines, Bobby "Blue" Bland and Al "TNT" Braggs.
Sites of interest:
Performed at the Reddi Room at 5219 Washington Avenue in Houston.
Hughes and Copeland became the house band at Shady's Playhouse. Current location
is 3117 Elgin Street. Original Shady's Playhouse was located on 3339-3341 Simmons
Street just west of Sampson Street.
Jerry
Hunt 2
Genres:
Avant Garde, 20th Century
Based in: Canton
Instrument:
piano, composer
Birthplace: Waco
Birthdate: 11/30/1943 Deathdate: 11/27/1993
Composer and
performer Jerry Hunt is best-known for his performances which he called "interrelated
electronic, mechanic and social sound-sight interactive transactional systems."
He studied piano and composition at the University of North Texas. Hunt briefly
taught at Southern Methodist University and worked as a pianist until 1969. He
composed music for video and film production companies and served as technical
consultant for audio and video instrumentation companies. Hunt also performed
regularly at the Kitchen in New York and headlined various New Music festivals
throughout the United States and Europe. He was self-taught, yet, he was an avid
inventor of musical technology, including electronic circuitry, computer software
and cybernetic systems and was involved in the design of semiconductor integrated
circuits. This knowledge allowed Hunt access to the very early digital speech
synthesis heard in "Transform (Stream)" (1977) well in advance of others
in the field. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Hunt collaborated on projects with
visual artist Maria Blondeel, performance artist Karen Finley, and composer and
software designer Joel Ryan.
Schools: University of North Texas
Ernie Hunter
Genres:
Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: Deathdate: 10/22/2002
Fiddler
Ernie Hunter played with all the country and western bands in the Houston area
from the 1930s until his passing, including: River Road Boys, Ray Ruffino, Pappy
Selph, Dickie McBride, Leon Payne and more. He played several gigs with the Texas
Playboys, Playboys II and was a favorite regular at the Texas Hall of Fame show
and dance each May in San Marcos, TX. Hunter also recorded with Leon Payne and
Hank Locklin.
Ivory
Joe Hunter
Genres: Blues, Country
Based in: Kirbyville
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Kirbyville
Birthdate: 10/10/1914 Deathdate: 11/8/1974
Ivory Joe Hunter
was an African American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist, best known for
his hit recording, "Since I Met You, Baby" (1956). Billed as "The
Baron of the Boogie," he was also known as "The Happiest Man Alive."
Hunter started his own label, Ivory Records, and produced his first commercial
hit "Blues at Sunrise." Ivory Joe recorded for many labels during his
long career, including 4-Star, Excelsior, and King, before finding his professional
home with MGM in 1949. The 1950s proved to be Hunter's decade to shine, as he
produced a number of hits for Atlantic Records. He will be remembered not only
for his impressive string of hit records, but also for influencing such important
artists as Isaac Hayes and Ray Charles.
Willie
Hutch 2
3
Genres:
Blues, R&B
Based in: Cedar Hill
Instrument: vocals,
piano, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, record producer, etc.
Birthplace:
Los Angeles, CA Birthdate: 12/6/1944 Deathdate: 9/19/2005
Willie
McKinley Hutchison (Willie Hutch) grew up in the Dallas area where he led his
own doo-wop band, The Ambassadors. A keen and ambitious singer / songwriter as
a teenager, Willie first came to the attention of the music business in 1964 when
his debut single, "Love Has Put Me Down," was released by the Soul City
Records label. His songs attracted the attention of The Fifth Dimension who recorded
a number of them. Hutch recorded with Venture prior to two albums in the early
'70s with RCA (including "Let's Try It Over"). In 1970, he received
a phone call from producer Hal Davis who urgently needed a song written to a backing
track he had entitled, "I'll Be There." By 8 am the next morning, The
Jackson 5 were in the studio recording it. Willie later co-arranged vocals on
"Got To Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye" for the group,
impressing Berry Gordy who employed him at Motown on a more permanent basis. Willie
produced the first Smokey Robinson album without The Miracles, and when Sisters
Love had a cameo role in "The Mack," the group's manager suggested Willie
record the soundtrack. The result was "The Mack," including "Brother's
Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick," Willie's first album for Motown
in 1973. (Willie also worked with Sisters Love on "Mr Fix-it Man".)
His other albums at the label included "The Mark Of The Beast" (1975);
"Concert In Blues" (1976), including "Party Down"; "Color
Her Sunshine" (1976), including "I Like Everything About You,"
"Havin' A House Party" and "Fully Exposed" before he joined
the Whitfield label for two albums, "In Tune" (1978), including "Easy
Does It," and "Midnight Dancer."
Clarence
Hutchenrider
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Waco
Instrument:
clarinet, saxophone
Birthplace: Waco
Birthdate: 6/13/1908 Deathdate: 1991
Hutchenrider was considered
the top soloist with the influential Casa Loma Orchestra (1931-43). He appeared
on almost all of their most important records including "Casa Loma Stomp," "No
Name Jive" and "Smoke Rings." He freelanced in the Midwest with acts including
Jack Gardner, Dick Richardson, Claiborne Bryson, Ross Gorman, Tommy Tucker, Merle
Jacobs and Austin Wylie. Clarence also worked for three years with Jimmy Lytell's
group on ABC radio. In the early 1960s Clarence Hutchenrider led his only album,
a Dixieland oriented quartet date for the Aamco label.
Walter
Hyatt
2
3
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Spartanburg, SC Birthdate: 10/25/1949
Deathdate: 5/11/1996
Walter Hyatt formed Uncle Walt's Band, the
group with which he achieved his greatest musical success. The acoustic trio included
Deschamps "Champ" Hood and David Ball. The group's unique melding of
swing, country, and jazz made them popular in the local club circuit. Hyatt lived
in Austin for eleven years, where he, Hood, and Ball enjoyed a following of fellow
musicians who appreciated the group's three-part harmonies and eclectic arrangements.
Walter Hyatt bench graces the walkway at Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Lake Hike
and Bike Trail off of Riverside and provides a memorial for Hyatt's many fans.
Marchel
Ivery 2
3
Genres:
Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: tenor saxophone
Birthplace:
Ennis Birthdate: 9/13/1938 Deathdate: 10/30/07
Marchel Ivery
was a tenor saxophonist who spent most of his career in Dallas, playing with the
jazz masters that came through town. Occasionally he could be coaxed to travel
to New York where he toured and recorded with many of the great jazz masters including
Red Garland and David "Fathead" Newman. He went on the road with a variety
of rhythm and blues bands too, backing Bobby Blue Bland, Al "TNT" Braggs,
Big Joe Turner, Lightning Hopkins, Little Willie John, Jimmy Reed, Johnnie Taylor
and Freddie King, among others. He did not record under his own name until 1994,
when he released "Marchel's Mode" on Leaning House; also on the album
was Dallas-born piano great Cedar Walton, who had performed on John Coltrane's
original recordings for "Giant Steps," among the most influential albums
ever made. Although Ivery was not widely heralded outside of circles of jazz purists,
he continued to define the fat, wide-open Texas Tenor sound that had been initiated
by the likes of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, James Clay and Newman.
Schools:
George Washington Carver High School in Ennis
Melvin
"Lil' Son" Jackson
Genres: Blues
Based in: Barry
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Barry
Birthdate: 8/16/1915 Deathdate: 5/30/1976
Buried at: Lincoln
Memorial Cemetery, Dallas County, Texas
He was a Texas country bluesman
of the highest order whose rustic approach appealed wholeheartedly to the early
'50s blues marketplace. Bill Quinn, who owned a Houston diskery called Gold Star
Records, signed Jackson and enjoyed a national R&B hit, "Freedom Train Blues."
Jackson's "Rockin' and Rollin'," cut in December of 1950, became better-known
through a raft of subsequent covers as "Rock Me Baby."
Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet 2
Genres:
Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument: saxophone
Birthplace:
Broussard, LA Birthdate: 10/31/1922 Deathdate: 7/22/2004
Illinois
Jacquet was a legendary tenor saxophonist who played with nearly every jazz and
blues luminary of his time. His standout solo on Lionel Hampton's "Flying
Home" became a rhythm and blues standard. During a career spanning eight
decades, Jacquet played with such music greats as Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole,
Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles
Davis and Gene Krupa. Jacquet, who defined the jazz style called "screeching,"
was known as much for his trademark pork pie hat as his innovative playing style.
During his heyday in the 1940s and 1950s, Jacquet recorded more than 300 original
compositions, including three of his biggest hits, "Black Velvet," "Robbins'
Nest" and "Port of Rico."
Russell
Jacquet
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: St. Martinville, LA Birthdate: 12/4/1917
Deathdate: 3/4/1990
The older brother of tenor-saxophonist Illinois
Jacquet, Russell often worked with his brother through the years but never achieved
much fame. He originally played in the Midwest with the California Playboy Band
(1934-37), a group that also included another brother (Linton Jacquet) on drums.
Jacquet worked with Floyd Ray (1939-40) and then studied at Wiley College (1940-42)
and Texas Southern University (1942-44), leading a big band at the latter college.
In the meantime, Illinois had become famous. Russell recorded with his brother,
led his own unsuccessful group and then worked with Illinois on and off during
1946-54, often recording with his combo. He made further recordings with Illinois
in 1965 and 1969 and occasionally led his own bands but primarily worked as a
schoolteacher. Russell Jacquet, a decent trumpeter whose style fell between bop
and swing, led a few titles for Globe (1944), Modern Music (1946), Savoy (1946),
King (1948-49), Imperial (1960) and his own Town Hall label (1964). (Description
excerpted from All Music Guide)
Harry
Hagg James
2
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Beaumont
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: Albany, GA Birthdate: 3/15/1916 Deathdate:
7/5/1983
Buried at: Bunkers
Eden Vale Mausoleum, Las Vegas, Nevada
Hagg's stage life began as
the circus contortionist in the Hagg Circus, which later became the Christy Brothers
Circus. The gimmick was "the Youngest and Oldest Contortionists in the World,"
because young Harry worked with a seventy-year-old contortionist. After he started
the Harry James Band in 1940, his hit song, "You Made Me Love You," sold
over a million copies. Other popular Harry James recordings included "Carnival
in Venice" and "Flight of the Bumble Bee." Harry James was a world-famous trumpet
player and band leader, who discovered Frank Sinatra and gave him his first career
break. Harry's second wife was Betty Grable, and they appeared in several films
together.
Schools: Beaumont High School Band
Blind
Lemon Jefferson
2
3
4
Genres: Blues, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Coutchman
Instrument:
guitar, vocal
Birthplace: Coutchman
Birthdate: 10/15/1894 Deathdate: 12/1929
Buried at: Wortham
Black Cemetery, Wortham, Freestone County, Texas
Jefferson is one
of the earliest representatives of the "classic blues," considered to be
one of the best folk blues singers of the 1920s, and said to have influenced such
artists as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Bix Beiderbecker, and to have encouraged
Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins. He became a well-known figure in the Deep Ellum district
of Dallas where he met and played with Leadbelly. Jefferson made seventy-nine
records for Paramount in the 1920s, each estimated to have sold 100,000 copies;
he also made two recordings under the "Okeh" label. Recordings included "Matchbox
Blues," "Black Snake Moan," and "See that My Grave is Kept Clean."
Schools:
He received no formal education.
Sites of interest:
Texas
historical marker located at Wortham Negro Cemetery, just north (on SH 14) of
the Wortham Cemetery.
He
began singing and playing guitar on the streets of Wortham and Mexia.
Deep
Ellum in Dallas
Annual event:
Wortham
Blues Festival honoring Blind Lemon Jefferson c/o Wortham Area Chamber of Commerce
Waylon
Arnold Jennings
2
3
4
Genres: Country
Based in: Littlefield
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Littlefield
Birthdate: 6/15/1937 Deathdate: 2/13/2002
Buried at: Mesa
Cemetery, Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona
Buddy Holly produced Waylon's
first record and used him as a bass player. Additionally, it was Waylon who gave
up his seat to the Big Bopper on the plane that would crash, killing the Big Bopper,
Holly and Ritchie Valens as well. Waylon Jennings defined the outlaw movement
by breaking away from the Nashville music trend. He had 5 LPs that went gold or
platinum with his "Greatest Hits" RIAA Certified 4 million. Waylon narrated
and sang the theme of the popular TV series "Dukes Of Hazzard" in the
1980s that went to number one.
Schools: Dropped out of school
in the 10th grade.
Don
Santiago Jimenez 2
3
4
Genres: Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
accordion
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 4/25/1913
Deathdate: 6/22/1984
Don Santiago Jimenez was playing live music
on KEDA radio by the age of twenty. He became known for his inventive use of tololoche
that became prevalent in conjunto music of the 1940s and for his use of the two-row
button accordion. Arhoolie Records writes: "Is it possible to overstate the
importance of Don Santiago Jimenez? His recordings from the '30s helped spread
the popularity of conjunto. He was the father of two of today's biggest names
in conjunto, Flaco and namesake Santiago Jr. Both are outstanding artists, Flaco
taking conjunto accordion into fresh styles and to new audiences, Santiago remaining
staunch in his support of the old-time style. Both brothers have inherited their
talent directly, not only from a legendary father, but a grandfather, an accordionist
of equivalent popularity in his day, as well."
Sites of interest:
Santiago played regularly at El Gaucho, a club in West Side San Antonio.
Albert
J. "Budd" Johnson
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 12/14/1910 Deathdate:
10/20/1984
Credited with having organized the first bop jazz recording,
Albert Johnson was instrumental in the development of modern jazz. Budd played
with the Moonlight Melody Six, Gene Coy's Happy Black Aces, Louis Armstrong, Earl
Hines, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, and Billy Eckstine. He
played with Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, served as music director
for Atlantic Records and started his own publishing company.
Alfred
"Snuff" Johnson
2
Genres: Blues, Christian, Gospel
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Cedar
Creek Birthdate: 8/10/1913 Deathdate: 1/18/2000
Snuff's
relaxed style includes a steady thumb-strummed bass line that reflects Mance Lipscomb's
influence. Johnson began playing his "black cowboy blues" at house parties and
balls, but also played guitar in church. He settled in Austin after being discharged
from the army in 1945 and remained there, working in construction, at a service
station and, finally, as a piano mover. He played out (although not for pay) during
the '50s and '60s, and in the mid-70s. His material includes recompositions of
old blues standards such as "Good Morning Blues" and "post-gospel, camp meeting
era" religious songs, including hymns like "Going Back to Jesus" and "Old Time
Religion." Johnson's performed first professional shows in the late '80s, when
he was invited to perform at Austin's Continental Club, and Antone's. In the early
1990s he was invited by Alan Govenar to play at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Sites
of interest:
The Continental
Club
William "Big Bill" Johnson The Singing Drywall
Man
Genres: Country
Based in: Greenville
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Louisville, KY Birthdate:
5/3/1927 Deathdate: 12/2/2006
Big Bill Johnson spent more
than 50 years performing, writing thousands of songs and playing alongside some
of the biggest names in country music. Early in his career he appeared with or
opened for stars such as Hank Williams Sr., Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Willie
Nelson. More than 100 of his songs have been recorded by members of the Grand
Ole Opry. Johnson later became known as The Singing Drywall Man writing
songs on items featured in the news and performing on the worlds smallest
stage," a wooden crate he carried with him. Big Bill Johnson was honored
by the community of Greenville with both a Golden Guitar award for his music and
a Hunt County Builder award for his drywall work.
Blind Willie Johnson
Genres: Blues, Christian,
Gospel
Based in: Marlin
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Independence,
Washington County Birthdate: 1/22/1897 Deathdate: 9/18/1945
Buried at: Blanchette Cemetery in Beaumont
Blind Willie was known
to his followers as a performer "capable of making religious songs sound like
the blues." Johnson's unique voice and his original compositions influenced musicians
throughout the South, especially Texas bluesmen. He sang in a "rasping false bass,"
and played bottleneck guitar with "uncanny left-handed strength, accuracy and
agility." So forceful was his voice that legend has it he was once arrested for
inciting a riot simply by standing in front of the New Orleans Customs House singing
"If I Had My Way I'd Tear This Building Down."
Conrad O. Johnson
Kashmere Stage Band ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4
Genres: Big Band,
Jazz, R&B
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
band instructor
Birthplace: Victoria Birthdate:
11/15/1915 Deathdate: 02/03/2008
Conrad Johnson - the
envelope-pushing, innovative musician, composer and band director of the Kashmere
High School Stage Band - was nine when his family moved to Houston. A product
of the big band era, Johnson was childhood friends with jazz pioneers Illinois
Jacquet and Arnette Cobb. Following studies at Yates High School, he attended
Houston College for Negroes and later graduated from Wiley College. He started
his career in music education in 1941 and, following a 37 year career, retired
from his position at Kashmere High School in 1978. From 1968 to 1978, Johnson
composed, conducted and recorded the Kashmere Stage Band and their cutting-edge
big band/jazz/funk compositions. Under his stewartship, the band - which won 42
out of 46 contests entered between 1969 and 1977 - recorded eight albums featuring
more than 20 original compositions by Johnson and traveled throughout Europe,
Japan and the United States. After his retirement in '78, Johnson continued to
remain active in shaping music in Houston by conducting summer programs and in-home
tutoring.
Schools: Yates High School in Houston
Colleges:
Wiley College in Marshall
Frederic
H. "Keg" Johnson
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
trombone
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 11/19/1908 Deathdate:
11/8/1967
Keg and his brother, Budd, began playing on the Dallas scene
in bands such as the Blue Moon Chasers and Ben Smith's Music Makers. Later, he
and Budd joined up with Gene Coy's Amarillo-based Happy Black Aces, and toured
the southwest. Keg joined Louis Armstrong's orchestra and recorded his first solo
on the album, "Basin Street Blues." In New York, Keg played with Fletcher Henderson,
Benny Carter, and Cab Calloway. He reunited with his brother, Budd, recording
the album "Let's Swing," before joining forces with Ray Charles in 1961.
Schools:
He
studied music under Portia Pittman, the daughter of Booker T. Washington.
Gus
Johnson
2
3
4
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Tyler
Instrument:
drums
Birthplace: Tyler
Birthdate: 11/15/1913 Deathdate: 2/6/2000
Buried at: Fort
Logan National Cemetery in Denver
Johnson played with the some of
the most famous acts of the post-World .War II era including Jay McShann, Charlie
"Bird" Parker, Gene Ramey, the Jesse Miller Band, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella
Fitzgerald Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Eddie "Cleanhead'' Vinson, Stan Getz,
Zoot Sims, Al Cohn and Ralph Sutton. He is featured on hundreds of recordings.
Colleges:
Sumner Junior College in Kansas City
Harold
"Money" Johnson
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Tyler
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: Tyler
Birthdate: 2/23/1918 Deathdate: 3/28/1978
Harold "Money"
Johnson was borin in Tyler in 1918. He began playing the trumpet at the age of
15. In 1936, he moved to Oklahoma City where he took part in jam sessions with
Charlie Christian and Henry Bridges. The following year he joined Nat Towles's
band; after leaving Towles he played with Horace Henderson and the saxophonist
Bob Dorsey, but he rejoined Towles in Chicago in 1944. He worked with Count Basie,
Cootie Williams and Lucky Millinder, Lucky Thompson, Sy Oliver and Herbie Fields.
In 1953, he played in South America with Panama Francis. Johnson performed regularly
in a band led by Reuben Phillips at the Apollo Theatre, New York, in the 1960s.
He played with Duke Ellington in 1968 and replaced Cat Anderson in the band the
following year. In 1970 he played with Oliver again before rejoining Duke Ellington.
After Ellington's death in 1974, Johnson continued to perform in New York.
Hunter Johnson
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: NA Birthdate: 1906 Deathdate:
Hunter
Johnson was a Guggenheim fellowship recipient who wrote sonatas for piano and
voice during the 1930s and 1940s.
Willie
Neal "The Country Boy" Johnson
Genres: Blues, Christian, Gospel
Based
in: Tyler
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Tyler
Birthdate: 1936 Deathdate: 1/10/2001
Willie approached some
of his hometown pals and convinced them to join Willie Neal Johnson and the Gospel
Keynotes. The original members were: Ralph McGee, Rev. J.D. Talley, Charles Bailey,
John Jackson, Lonzo Jackson, and Archie B. McGee. The newly formed Gospel Keynotes
signed to Nashboro Records and had their first taste of success with a national
hit record, "Show Me The Way." "Lord, Take Us Through," with special guest
Evangelist Dorothy Norwood, hit Billboard's Top 25 and is a testament to the "cross-over"
appeal that the group garnered. The Gospel Keynotes produced more than 20 albums,
including "Ain't No Stopping Us Now," and signature song "That's My Son." "Ain't
No Stopping Us Now" received a Grammy nomination in 1981.
George
"Little Hat" Jones
2 3
Genres:
Blues
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace:
Bowie County Birthdate: 10/5/1899 Deathdate: 3/7/1981
George
"Little Hat" Jones was a talented, but little known, taut-voiced street
singer that performed primarily in San Antonio. In 1929 Jones first recorded in
San Antonio for Okeh Records, on June 15 of that year, when he cut two records
of his own, "New Two Sixteen Blues" and "Two String Blues,"
and played backup for Texas Alexander. Jones then made a contract with Okeh for
three years and recorded "Rolled from Side to Side Blues," "Hurry
Blues," "Little Hat Blues," "Corpus Blues," "Kentucky
Blues," "Bye Bye Baby Blues," "Cross the Water Blues,"
and "Cherry Street Blues." He also played in such cities as New Orleans,
Galveston, and Austin, and occasionally ventured into Mexico. He was influenced
in his guitar playing by Blind Lemon Jefferson and played with T. Texas Tyler
and Jimmie Rodgers. An eclectic guitarist, Jones blended finger picking, strumming
and boogie basses into a style that, while recognizably within the Texas mainstream,
was distinctively his own.
Maggie
"Fae Barnes" Jones
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Hillsboro
Instrument:
piano, vocals
Birthplace: Hillsboro
Birthdate: circa 1899 Deathdate: Unavailable
Jones is renowned
as the first Texas singer to record. She accomplished that feat on July 26, 1923.
Billed as the "Texas Nightingale," she also recorded various labels including
Black Swan, Victor, Pathe, and Paramount. Some of her best-known songs are "Undertaker's
Blues," "Single Woman's Blues," and "Northbound Blues." Jones recorded with legends
such as Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Green, and others. When the
Great Depression deepened in the early 1930s, Jones moved to Dallas. She formed
her own revue and performed at local venues such as the All-American Cabaret in
Fort Worth. In the mid-1930s, she disappeared from the music scene, and her whereabouts
after that became unknown.
Janis
Lyn Joplin
2
3 4
Genres: Blues, Rock
Based in: Port Arthur
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Port
Arthur Birthdate: 1/19/1943 Deathdate: 10/4/1970
Buried
at: Cremated,
Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean
Janis stopped the show at the
Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 with "Ball and Chain." That triumph and the album
Cheap Thrills (1968) elevated her to national stardom including concerts in Madison
Square Garden, Paris, London, Woodstock, and Harvard Stadium; adulation in the
New York Times; a guest appearance on the Ed Sullivan show; and a six-figure salary.
She has been called "the greatest female singer in the history of rock 'n' roll."
Schools:
Jefferson High School in Port
Arthur
Colleges: University of Texas
in Austin
Scott
Joplin 2
3
4
Genres:
Classical, Jazz
Based in: Texarkana
Instrument: piano
Birthplace:
Caves
Springs near Linden Birthdate: 11/24/1868 Deathdate: 4/11/1917
Buried
at: St.
Michael's Cemetery, Astoria, Queens County, New York
Scott Joplin
is known as the "King of Ragtime." His best-known piece, "Maple Leaf Rag" sold
over one million copies. In addition to his output of rags, Joplin's works include
the ballet and two operas, a manual, The School of Ragtime (1908), and many works
for piano: rags, including "Maple Leaf," "The Entertainer,"
"Elite Syncopations," "Peacherine"; marches, including "Great
Crush Collision," "March Majestic"; and waltzes, including "Harmony
Club," "Bethena." His collected works were published by the New
York Public Library in 1971, and his music was featured in the motion picture
"The Sting," which won an Academy Award for its film score. In 1976
Joplin was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for "Treemonisha,"
the first grand opera by an African American.
Colleges: George
R. Smith College in Sedalia, Missouri
Sites of interest:
Scott
Joplin historical marker at 901 State Line Avenue in Texarkana
John
Dickerson "Peck" Kelly
2 3
Genres: Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 10/22/1898 Deathdate:
12/26/1980
Buried at: Houston
Often referred to as "the
king of boogie-woogie," band leaders including Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and
Paul Whiteman offered Kelly positions with their bands. Kelly chose to remain
in Houston in order to play local dance halls and small clubs for most of his
life. Kelly's own band the Peck's Bad Boys included several budding young musicians:
Jack Teagarden, Johnny Wiggs, Pee Wee Russell, and Snoozer Quinn. Speaking about how impressed he was with Kelly, Jack Teagarden said, “The flashing changes of mood, the unpredictable paths of improvisation, the rolling intensities of jazz and the not incongruous from classics the boy had never heard of – this was strange and exciting piano playing. There were blues qualities, too, no doubt acquired by Peck from his early contact with Texas Negroes.”
Lawrence
Vincent Kelly
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
founder, Dallas Civic Opera
Birthplace: Chicago, IL Birthdate:
5/30/1928 Deathdate: 9/16/1974
Lawrence Vincent Kelly was the
founder and general manager of the Dallas Civic Opera. Through the efforts of
music critic John Rosenfield, Kelly was brought to Dallas, and by March 1957 the
Dallas Civic Opera was chartered. Kelly was general manager. In November 1957
the company presented soprano Maria Callas in a concert; she had been presented
by Kelly in her American debut three years earlier in Chicago. That first season
only one opera, Rossini's "L'Italiana in Algeri," was mounted; the cast
was headed by Giulietta Simionato, and the production was designed and staged
by Franco Zeffirelli, who made his American debut in it. This production set a
quality standard for the future of the company, and Kelly's subsequent pattern
of originality established the Dallas Civic Opera internationally. Over the next
seventeen years Dallas opera lovers saw the American debut of such singers as
Teresa Berganza, Jon Vickers, Joan Sutherland, and many others. Kelly also introduced
a distinguished group of theatrical directors and designers, and the company had
its own scenic department, which built productions for other companies as well.
Kent Wheeler Kennan
Genres: Classical
Based
in: Austin
Instrument: composer
Birthplace: Milwaukee,
WI Birthdate: 4/18/1913 Deathdate: 11/1/2003
University
of Texas Music Professor Emeritus Kent Wheeler Kennan was a nationally known composer
whose works were performed by more than 25 orchestras in this country under such
conductors as Toscanini, Stokowski, Ormandy and Ozawa. His compositions also included
piano pieces, chamber music, songs and choral works, many of them published, as
were several of his transcriptions. Kennan's two books on orchestration and musical
counterpoint, written in the 1950s, have remained the leading texts in their fields.
Claude "Benno" Kennedy
Genres: Jazz
Based in:
Unavailable
Instrument: piano
Birthplace: Unavailable
Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate: Unavailable
Claude "Benno"
Kennedy worked with Jack McVea, the Herbie Kaye Orchestra and Troy Floyd and His
Plaza Hotel Orchestra in San Antonio. Kennedy organized his own band, the Oleanders,
in 1927 and later left for California.
Joe
Keyes
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
trumpet
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate:
Unavailable
Joe Keyes was a master trumpeter who cut his teeth during
the early days of the Houston jazz scene during the late '20s and early '30s.
Keyes played with the incomparable Count Basie during the 1930s. During the early
'40s, Keyes had a run of work with big-name bandleaders, including both the innovative
Fletcher Henderson and the hilarious Fats Waller.
Freddie
King 2
3
Genres: Blues
Based in: Gilmer
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Gilmer
Birthdate: 9/3/1934 Deathdate: 12/28/1976
Buried at: Sparkman-Hillcrest
Memorial Park, Dallas.Dallas County
Along with T-Bone Walker, Lemon
Jefferson and Lightnin' Hopkins, Freddie King was one of Texas' most influential
blues guitarists. Two of his classic songs were his version of the Bill Myles'
"Have You Ever Loved a Woman," as well as King's and Federal Records producer
Sonny Thompson's collaboration "Hide Away." Musicians such as Eric Clapton and
Jeff Beck recorded his songs. He released a major live album recorded in Austin
at the Armadillo World Headquarters, and his recordings with Shelter Records brought
him recognition throughout the state as a "top-notch Texas bluesman."
Dave Kirby
2
Genres: Country
Based in: Brady
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Brady
Birthdate: 7/10/1938 Deathdate: 4/17/2004
"Dave Kirby
never realized his importance in the country music community," Brady, Texas,
disc jockey Tracy Pitcox said. "Dave played on virtually all of the sessions
leaving Nashville throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s. His songwriting is
legendary. We were very honored to recognize Dave in his hometown for the last
eight years during our Dave Kirby Celebration." Kirby's biggest hit was recorded
by Charley Pride, "Is Anybody Going To San Antone?" Other compositions
that became hits include: "Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You," "April's
Fool," "You Wouldn't Know Love," "What Have You Got Planned
Tonight Diana?" and more. Dave also had a successful session career playing
lead guitar for Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Janie Fricke, Ringo Star, Emmylou
Harris, Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Crystal Gayle, Wynn Stewart,
Ray Price, Moe Bandy, Ronnie Milsap, Connie Smith and Kenny Price.
Annual
event:
Dave Kirby Day is celebrated annually in Brady, TX.
Christian
Klaerner
Genres: Classical, German
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
educator, conductor
Birthplace: Bayreuth, Bavaria Birthdate:
11/9/1861 Deathdate: 9/16/1949
Christian Klaerner was a teacher,
state librarian, and choral director who settled in the Austin area after immigrating
from Bavaria. He taught in a Lutheran college at Brenham from 1891 to 1897, when
he established the German-American Institute, a demonstration school in teaching
methods. From 1915 to 1918 he was state librarian. Klaerner was director of a
Brenham singing club from 1897 to 1915, of the Uhland choir from 1925 to 1931,
and of the Saengerrunde Club at Austin from 1922 to 1949. He composed music for
church and choir use and directed choirs at St. Martin's Lutheran Church and First
English Lutheran Church in Austin.
Bill Kovar
Genres: Big Band
Based in: Baytown
Instrument:
tenor sax, clarinet
Birthplace: unknown Birthdate:
unknown Deathdate: unknown
Bill Kovar was the bandleader of Bill Kovar and The Baytonians, formed in 1947. They gigged around the Baytown area in the late 1940s and early 1950s, their base of operaton was the Humble Community House. Band members included pianist, Johnny King, vocalist Eddie Thompson, Paul Webber on vocals and trombone, Darrell Nickerson on trumpet and Carl O'Quinn, on drums along with Jerry Showalter, Tommy Bowen, and Willie Herndon. Other Baytown musicians who joined later were Clyde Smith, Chet Brantley, Paul Edwards, Emil Pauler, Paul French, Jimmy Petrick, Clem Kovar, Ray French, Harry Cox, Frank Hefner, Harry Cox, Burt Davison, Grady Tuck, R.L. "Doc" Jacobs and Zone Compton.
Buddy
Wayne Knox
2 3
4
Genres: Pop, Rockabilly
Based in: Happy
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Happy
Birthdate: 4/20/1933 Deathdate: 2/14/1999
Buddy Knox and
the Rhythm Orchids worked with songwriter and record producer Norman Petty at
his studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Among the songs they recorded at Petty's studio,
"Party Doll," became a national hit and earned them a series of high-profile appearances,
including a performance on the nationally-syndicated Ed Sullivan Show in 1957.
Colleges:
West Texas State College in Canyon
Bill Kovar
Genres: Big Band
Based in: Baytown
Instrument:
tenor sax, clarinet
Birthplace: unknownBirthdate:
unknownDeathdate: unknown
Bill Kovar was the bandleader of Bill Kovar and The Baytonians, formed in 1947. They gigged around the Baytown area in the late 1940s and early 1950s, their base of operaton was the Humble Community House. Band members included pianist, Johnny King, vocalist Eddie Thompson, Paul Webber on vocals and trombone, Darrell Nickerson on trumpet and Carl O'Quinn, on drums along with Jerry Showalter, Tommy Bowen, and Willie Herndon. Other Baytown musicians who joined later were Clyde Smith, Chet Brantley, Paul Edwards, Emil Pauler, Paul French, Jimmy Petrick, Clem Kovar, Ray French, Harry Cox, Frank Hefner, Harry Cox, Burt Davison, Grady Tuck, R.L. "Doc" Jacobs and Zone Compton.
Hans Kreissig
Genres: Classical
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
pianist, educator, conductor
Birthplace: Germany Birthdate:
1856 Deathdate: 12/28/1929
Hans Kreissig was a pianist, music
teacher, and conductor who settled in Dallas after traveling there with a London
opera company. For a time he directed choirs in Jewish synagogues and Catholic
churches; his major secular conducting assignment was a male chorus, the Dallas
Frohsinn. In May 1900, the orchestral movement had become strong enough in Dallas
that Kreissig could form the first Dallas Symphony Orchestra, even though the
Frohsinn performed on the new orchestra's first concert as well. In addition to
the orchestra, he founded the Beethoven Trio and a slightly larger chamber group,
the Phoenix Club. His longest association was with the Frohsinn; he remained its
conductor, except for brief periods, until 1912.
Harold
Land 2
3
4
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate: 2/18/1929 Deathdate:
7/21/2001
Buried at: Unknown
The
tenor saxophonist established himself as one of the most singular and powerful
of jazzmen and is remembered for his performances with the quintet led by trumpeter
Clifford Brown and drummer Max Roach in the mid-50s and with the internationally
acclaimed quintet he co-led with Bobby Hutcherson in the late '60s and early '70s.
Johnny Lee Land "Buddy Ace"
Genres: Blues, R&B
Based in: Houston
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Jasper, Tx Birthdate: 11/11/1936 Deathdate: 12/26/1994
Born James L. Land, Blues balladeer Buddy Ace was known as "The Silver Fox of the Blues" during a touring and recording career that spanned four decades. In the mid-'60s, Ace scored several R&B hits, including "Nothing in the World Can Hurt Me (Except You)" and "Hold On (To This Fool)." Ace continued to perform and record into the '90s with Don't Hurt No More and Silver Fox being issued in 1994. On December 26, 1994, Ace passed away in Waco, TX.
Miriam
Gordon Landrum
2
Genres: Classical
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Waco
Birthdate: 11/25/1893 Deathdate: 1/2/1967
Buried at: in
Whitewright, TX
In 1930 she cofounded the Austin chapter of the Music
Teachers' Association and helped to establish the Texas School of Fine Arts. She
was active in many religious and cultural activities, including the founding of
the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Many of her piano students won high ratings and
first places in auditions sponsored by the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She
was elected Music Teacher of the Year by the Austin District Music Teachers' Association
in 1962.
Schools: Miriam attended public schools in Altus, Oklahoma.
Colleges:
She studied and later taught piano at the University
of Texas; Landrum received a diploma from Kingfisher College in 1915.
Sidney
Lanier
Genres: Classical
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
flute
Birthplace: Macon, GA Birthdate: 2/3/1842 Deathdate:
9/7/1881
Flutist, poet and scholar Sidney Lanier was noted for his
theory that the laws of music and poetry are similar and both based upon the physics
of sound: duration, intensity, pitch, and tone color. His poem "The Marshes
of Glynn," with its scene of the sea marshes near Brunswick, Georgia, reflects
this theory.
Milton
"Milt" Larkin
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument: trumpet, trombone, bandleader
Birthplace: Navasota
Birthdate: 10/10/1910 Deathdate: 8/31/1996
The Milton Larkin
Orchestra, formed in 1936 was billed as the "Greatest Band of All Time."
Larkin's ensemble evolved into a top territory band and became famous for its
"big foot swing," an infectious dance style that drew large crowds wherever
they performed. Although Larkin's band was not well known nationally, many world-class
musicians played with the band in the late 1930s and early 1940s including Arnett
Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and Wild Bill Davis.
In 1942, Larkin took his band to Chicago for what was supposed to be a limited
engagement at Joe Louis's famous Rhumboogie Club. The band stayed for a nine-month
stint, during which they performed with the likes of Texas's own blues guitarist
T-Bone Walker. Unfortunately the Milt Larkin Band was never recorded. Larkin was
drafted into the service in 1943. He learned to play trombone and performed in
the Army band. Although Larkin reformed his band after the war, he could not replicate
his earlier successes, the era of big bands was waning. Larkin and his family
moved to New York City in the early 1950s, where he became leader of the house
band at Harlem's Apollo Theater, a position he held until 1977. After returning
to his home state and hometown in 1977, Larkin supported educational endeavors
to promote jazz in Houston. He served as director of "Get Involved Now,"
a nonprofit organization that sponsored jazz for shut-ins, and, he also acted
as honorary chairman of the Milt Larkin Jazz Society, named in his honor, which
formed in 1990 to promote Houston jazz musicians by forming a publicity campaign
and creating an information network.
William
"Prince" Lasha
2
3
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
clarinet, alto saxophone, flute
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate:
9/10/1929 Deathdate: Unavailable
Lasha was classmates with
Ornette Coleman and Charles Moffett. He played locally around Fort Worth before
heading to New York City and the West Coast. He worked with Sonny Simmons, Jimmy
Garrison, Elvin Jones, Eric Dolphy, Bobby Hutcherson and Herbie Hancock. William
also led his own band at the famous jazz club, Birdland.
Schools:
I.
M. Terrell High School (historical marker at 1411 East 18th Street, Fort Worth)
Harry
"Big Jim" Lawson
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Round
Rock
Instrument: trumpet
Birthplace: Round
Rock Birthdate: 1904 Deathdate: Unavailable
Lawson
played with Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds Of Joy, Bing Crosby & the Andrews
Sisters and Peggy Lee.
Huddie
"Lead Belly" Ledbetter
2
3 4
Genres: Blues
Based
in: Dallas
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Dedar
Plantation, LA Birthdate: 1/21/1888 Deathdate: 12/6/1949
Buried
at: Shiloh
Baptist Church, Mooringsport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana
From the age
of 16, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter began rambling through the Deep
South, absorbing a vast repertoire of songs and styles. He mastered primordial
blues, spirituals, reels, cowboy songs, folk ballads and prison hollers. In 1917,
Lead Belly served as Blind Lemon Jefferson's "lead boy" - i.e., his
sighted-guide, companion and protégé - on the streets of Dallas. Lead
Belly possessed a hot temper and great strength; he was convicted on charges of
murder (1917) and attempted murder (1930). Texas folklorist John Avery Lomax and
his son Alan helped release Leadbelly from prison, and for several months he toured
with the Lomaxes, giving concerts and assisting them in their efforts to record
the work songs and spirituals of African-American convicts. Soon after their arrival
in New York City, Leadbelly's singing and his unconventional background combined
to bring him national prominence. Leadbelly's associates included Woody Guthrie,
Pete Seger, and Sonny Terry. Leadbelly's most popular composition, "Goodnight
Irene," achieved its greatest success in the early 1950s shortly after his death
when the Weavers recorded it.
Schools: Huddie attended grade school
in Texas at Lake Chapel School.
Sites of interest:
After
serving seven years of a thirty year prison term at Shaw State Prison Farm in
Huntsville, Texas, Ledbetter was released after composing a song in honor of Governor
Pat Neff.
Sonny Lee
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Huntsville
Instrument:
trombone
Birthplace: Huntsville
Birthdate: 8/26/1904 Deathdate: 1975
Sonny Lee worked with
Mildred Bailey, Charlie Barnet, Bing Crosby, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Woody
Herman, Isham Jones, Charles Creath, Teddy Grace, and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
He was described as Bunny Berigan's top trombonist, the best of any in Bunny's
many bands.
Frederick Lemsky
2
3
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Houston
Instrument: fife
Birthplace: Europe Birthdate: Unavailable
Deathdate: 1844
Frederick Lemsky was most noted for being the
fife player at the battle of San Jacinto, and was said to have played the song
"Come to the Bower." Later on he offered his services as a music teacher
as well as teaching German and French.
William
T. Lewis
Genres: Big Band, Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
clarinet, bandleader
Birthplace: Cleburne
Birthdate: 7/10/1905 Deathdate: 1/13/1971
William T. Lewis,
a black jazz clarinetist and bandleader grew up in Dallas and begin her career
playing in a Texas variety theatre. William toured through Europe, South America,
North Africa, and Europe. In the 1930s he was the first prominent bandleader in
Europe performing as not just a clarinet player, but also alto and baritone saxophone,
and singer. After the end of the band, Lewis returned to New York and faded from
the jazz scene, doing some brief acting, but earning his living as a Harlem waiter.
His musical works include "Christopher Columbus" (1936), "Swinging
for a Swiss Miss" (1937), "Happy Feet" (1941), and "Willie
Lewis and His Entertainers" (1985), a compilation highlighting trumpeter
Bill Coleman.
Jerry Lightfoot 2
Genres:
Blues, Rock
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar
Birthplace:
Pasadena Birthdate: 9/9/1951 Deathdate: 9/9/2006
Jerry
Lightfoot was a blues guitarist with immense passion who was a fixture of the
Austin and Houston local blues scenes through most of the '80s and '90s. Lightfoot
rocked a Houston club called Local Charm at least once a month for more than 10
years. He was also well-known at the defunct Houston nightspot Rockefellers, where
he and his group, The Essentials, played as the house band. Though he played originals
from the band's album "Burning Desire," he also backed blues heavyweights
such as B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. He put some dives on the map: Local Charm,
the Reddi Room and Etta's Lounge on Scott Street. Lightfoot was also responsible
for coaxing forsaken blues legends out of retirement, including his mentor Big
Walter "The Thunderbird."
Vin
Lindhe
Genres: Classical
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Chicago Birthdate: 1907 Deathdate:
11/3/1986
Buried at: Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas
Vin
Lindhe, showed an interest in music from an early age, especially in playing the
piano. She worked as the staff pianist for a Chicago radio station, and joined
a trio that traveled the country. While in Dallas doing a promotion on WFAA radio
for the trio's show she was offered a job, which she accepted. She dabbled in
acting and directing at the Dallas Little Theatre. While playing the piano at
the local Rotary Club meeting she was discovered and moved to New York City to
work at Radio City Music Hall where she served as assistant conductor. She later
moved to Cleveland to host her own radio show, and then back to Dallas to continue
her previous work at WFAA. She played at the Old Warsaw Restaurant throughout
the 1950s and 1960s entertaining Dallas diners with her classical and popular
performances on the grand piano.
Mance
Lipscomb
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Navasota
Instrument:
guitar, vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Navasota
Birthdate: 4/9/1895 Deathdate: 1/30/1976
Buried at: West
Haven Cemetery, Navasota
Lipscomb represented one of the last remnants
of the nineteenth-century songster tradition, which predated the blues. Though
songsters might incorporate blues into their repertoires, as did Lipscomb, they
performed a wide variety of material in diverse styles including ballads, rags,
dance pieces (breakdowns, waltzes, one and two steps, slow drags, reels, ballin'
the jack, the buzzard lope, hop scop, buck and wing, heel and toe polka), and
popular, sacred, and secular songs. Lipscomb himself insisted that he was a songster,
not a guitarist or "blues singer," since he played "all kinds of music." His eclectic
repertoire has been reported to have contained 350 pieces spanning two centuries.
Annual
event:
Navasota
Blues Festival's proceeds benefit the Mance Lipscomb Scholarship Fund and other
related activities.
Alan
Lomax 2
3
4 5
Genres: Blues, Country, Cowboy/Western,
Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Austin
Instrument: folklorist,
guitar
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: 1/15/1915 Deathdate:
7/19/2002
Alan Lomax, the world's pre-eminent collector of folk songs,
was born in Austin in 1915. Lomax, best known for his discovery of Muddy Waters
and for his chronicles of America's blues traditions, spent most of his time hunting
down and recording songs and dance traditions across the globe. As the son of
folk song collector John Avery Lomax, Alan is also known for his blues recordings
and his association with the folk singers Woody Guthrie and Huddie "Leadbelly"
Ledbetter. He is credited with bringing to popular attention many of the blues
and country music traditions that later coalesced into rock 'n' roll. In an incident
famous in music circles, Lomax gave the thumbs-down to Bob Dylan when Dylan dared
to unleash an electric guitar on the unsuspecting crowd at the 1965 Newport Folk
Festival. "Without Lomax," the British record producer and musician
Brian Eno once wrote, "it's possible that there would have been no blues
explosion, no R&B movement, no Beatles and no Stones and no Velvet Underground."
Schools:
Choate
Colleges: Harvard; University of Texas; Columbia University
John
Avery Lomax
2
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Meridian
Instrument:
folklorist
Birthplace: Goodman, MI Birthdate: 9/23/1867
Deathdate: 1/26/1948
John Avery Lomax, a true Texas pioneer, arrived
in Texas in 1869 when his parents left Mississippi in two covered wagons. In 1895
he attended the University of Texas, from which he graduated in 1897. In 1906
he received a scholarship from Harvard University to compile a collection of western
ballads. He collected by means of an appeal published in western newspapers and
through his own vacation travel, financed in part by the Harvard fellowships.
A Gypsy woman living in a truck near Fort Worth sang "Git Along, Little Dogies."
In San Antonio in 1908 a black saloonkeeper who had been a trail cook sang "Home
on the Range." His first collection, "Cowboy Songs and other Frontier
Ballads," was published in 1910. In his collecting of folk songs, he traveled
200,000 miles and visited all but one of the states. Often accompanied by his
son, Alan, he visited prisons to record on phonograph
disks the work songs and spirituals of black inmates. At the Angola prison farm
in Louisiana, he encountered a talented black artist, Huddie
Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly. Upon Leadbelly's release from prison,
Lomax took him on a tour in the north and recorded many of his songs. In 1919
Lomax published "Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp." With his son
he edited other collections: "American Ballads and Folk Songs" (1934),
"Negro Songs as Sung by Lead Belly" (1936), "Our Singing County"
(1941), and "Folk Song: U.S.A." (1947). In 1947 his autobiographical
"Adventures of a Ballad Hunter" (1947) was awarded the Carr P. Collins
prize as the best Texas book of the year by the Texas Institute of Letters. Beginning
in 1933 Lomax was honorary curator of the Archive of Folksong at the Library of
Congress, which he helped establish as the primary agency for preservation of
American folksongs and culture.
Hubert
Long
Genres: Country
Based in: Poteet
Instrument:
promoter, talent agent
Birthplace: Poteet
Birthdate: 12/3/1923 Deathdate: 9/7/1972
Hubert Long made
his mark as a Nashville-based country music promoter and talent agent. He was
also a founding member of the Country Music Association. Long's work in the music
industry had humble beginnings in Corpus Christi, where he worked in the record
department of a local five and dime store. Long entered the production end of
the music industry when he took a job at Decca Records in San Antonio. He followed
his Decca boss to RCA Victor in Houston, where he met music promoter Colonel Tom
Parker. Parker put Long in charge of publicity for Eddy Arnold, whom Long is credited
with having promoted to superstardom. Long came into his own professionally in
the early 1950s when he signed Faron Young and Webb Pierce to management contracts.
Long founded the Hubert Long Agency in 1952 and further increased his influence
as a talent agent when he founded the independent talent agency Stable of Stars
in 1955. Over the course of his career, Long expanded his interests to include
the famous Moss Rose music publishing house, among other ventures. Whether he
managed them, sold their songs, promoted their shows, or fought for them through
the CMA, Hubert Long touched the lives of countless country musicians. He was
posthumously elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1979.
Joseph
Earl "Joey Long" Longoria
Genres: Blues, Rockabilly
Based
in: Houston
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Zwolle,
LA Birthdate: 12/17/1932 Deathdate: 3/24/1995
Buried at:
Houston
Joey partnered with Sonny Fisher and the duo were some of
the first musicians to play rockabilly. Fisher and Long made appearances on Shreveport's
Louisiana Hayride. Long's involvement in the Texas music scene and his profound
influence on a whole generation of Texas musicians is not widely recognized outside
of the Houston area. Despite this lack of recognition, Long's playing style had
a huge impact on musicians such as Johnny Winter and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top,
two of the most successful bands ever to come out of Texas. John Turner, who has
also played with Johnny Winter, described Joey Long as "The Godfather."
Schools:
Joey only attended school through the third grade.
Valerio
Longoria
2
3 4
Genres:
Tejano, Conjunto
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: accordion,
vocals
Birthplace: Clarksdale, Mississippi Birthdate: 2/14/1924
Deathdate: 12/19/2000
Buried at: Mission Burial Park South
in San Antonio
The first to incorporate singing with accordion music,
Valerio Longoria is also credited with being the first Conjunto musician to experiment
with octave tuning and introducing drums and boleros to the repertoire. He is
credited with many innovations within the genre including being one of the first
musicians to perform standing up with using straps.
Schools: As
a child, Valerio was taken to work in the fields by his father. For that reason,
he rarely attended school.
Isidro
López 2
Genres: Tejano, Country
Based in: Bishop
Instrument:
vocals, flute, saxophone, guitar
Birthplace: Bishop
Birthdate: 5/17/1933 Deathdate: 8/16/2004
Buried at: Seaside
Memorial Cemetery, Corpus Christi, Nueces County
Isidro López
is a towering figure in Texas music history, a musician who understood the heritage
of both Texas and Mexican music and who with his bandmates helped create the Modern
era of Tejano music.
Fred
Lowery
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Palestine
Instrument:
whistle
Birthplace: Palestine
Birthdate: 11/2/1909 Deathdate: 12/11/1984
Buried at: Jacksonville's
Old City Cemetery
Fred Lowery was dubbed greatest whistler on earth,
ever, the "King of Whistlers." He appeared with Steve Allen, Edgar Bergen, Bing
Crosby, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Stan Kenton, Vincent Lopez, Ed Sullivan, Paul
Whiteman, and others.
Schools: Texas
School for the Blind and Visually Imapired in Austin
Josephine
Lucchese
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in: San
Antonio
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate:
7/24/1901 Deathdate: 9/10/1974
Josephine Lucchese, a SanAntonio
opera singer, began her musical career at the tender age of six when she began
studying the mandolin and then continued with piano at the age of ten. By fifteen
she had began voice lessons with Mme. Virginia Colombati, who she accompanied
to New York three years later to make her recital debut at the Aeolian Hall on
November 26, 1919. She made her operatic debut as Gilda in "Rigoletto"
at the Manhattan Grand Opera House in 1921. She earned a reputation throughout
Europe as the "American Nightingale," and was a huge operatic success
at a time when it was considered impossible to earn an international reputation
without having studied in Italy. She appeared with opera companies throughout
the United States and around the world, and was especially acclaimed for such
roles as Lucia di Lammermoor and Rosina in "The Barber of Seville."
Lucchese later returned to Texas to teach voice lessons at the University of Texas
from 1956 to 1968.
Schools: Main Avenue High School in San Antonio
Robert
Glynn "Bob" Luman
Genres: Country, Rockabilly
Based
in: Nacogdoches
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace:
Nacogdoches
Birthdate: 4/15/1937 Deathdate: 12/27/1978
Bob Luman, guitarist
and country and rockabilly singer, was inspired to pursue music more passionately
after witnessing an Elvis Presley performance in 1955. In 1957, Luman signed with
Imperial Records. A year later, after being released by the Imperial label, Luman
signed with Capitol Towers. After a dispute with Capitol over changing his name,
which he refused to do, Luman was dropped by the label. He then signed with Warner
Brothers in 1959, recording "Class of '59" and "Loretta."
In 1960, Luman was called into the U.S. Army, but not before he released the single,
"Let's Think about Living." Luman was in the Army when his single hit
the top ten. Even though he never had another song on the pop charts, "Let's
Think about Living" started a long string of country hits. In 1965, Luman
joined the Grand Ole Opry and toured regularly. He became a popular attraction
in Las Vegas by mixing country and rockabilly in his live shows. In 1968, he signed
with Epic Records, producing 15 top-ten hits over the next ten years, including
"Lonely Women Make Good Lovers," and "Still Loving You."
Schools:
Kilgore High School
Lucil
Manning Lyons
Genres: Classical
Based in: Fort
Worth
Instrument: organizer of musical activities and clubs
Birthplace:
Raymond Birthdate: 9/11/1879
Deathdate: 9/25/1958
Lucil Manning Lyons was one of the state's
most influential and industrious organizers of musical activities and clubs as
president of the Harmony Music Club in Fort Worth. Lyons helped bring music to
Fort Worth under sponsorship of the club until 1926, at which time she continued
as an independent concert manager. Mrs. Lyons organized the Texas Federation of
Music Clubs and served as its first president from 1915 to 1917; she was secretary
of the National Federation of Music Clubs from 1917 to 1921. She became the first
woman honored with two terms as president of the national organization (1921-25)
and subsequently served on its board until 1955. She organized and was first secretary
of the Fort Worth Civic Music Association and served as the regional director
of the Federal Music Project in Texas from its inception to its end (1936-41).
Colleges:
George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville; University of Nashville
Isabella
Offenbach Maas
Genres: Classical, Opera
Based in:
Galveston
Instrument: opera singer
Birthplace: Cologne,
Germany Birthdate: 3/11/1817 Deathdate: 2/19/1891
Isabella
Offenbach Maas was an opera singer from Cologne, Germany. The daughter of the
rabbi of Cologne, she was also the older sister of composer Jacques Offenbach.
Her husband, Texan Samuel Maas, first saw her performing in a cathedral that he
visited on one of his many trips to Europe. After their marriage in the spring
of 1844 in Cologne, the couple settled in Galveston where Isabella barely survived
an attack of yellow fever. She performed in Galveston mainly for family and friends,
and often at her son Max's home on a special stage he built for her in his attic.
She also conducted concerts for the German Ladies Benevolent Society and the French
Benevolent Society.
Louise
Massey Mabie
2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: San
Angelo
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: Midland
Birthdate: 1902 Deathdate: 6/20/1983
Louise Massey Mabie,
known as Louise Massey, was a country and western singer often labeled the "original
rhinestone cowgirl" by later generations as she was known for her spectacular
costumes and ladylike style on stage. Her career, which spanned the period from
1918 to 1950, marked a time when women first became prominent in country music.
She formed a band in 1918 with her father, husband, and two brothers. The band,
based in Roswell, New Mexico, was called Louise Massey and the Westerners. After
playing local venues and touring the Texas area, the band auditioned for a music
show, "The Red Path Chautauqua." The success of the audition led to
a two-year tour of the United States and Canada. In 1930 the Westerners signed
a five-year contract with CBS radio. In 1934 their song "When the White Azaleas
Start Blooming" was released; it sold three million copies. Other hit songs
included "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" and Louise's original
composition "My Adobe Hacienda." The latter had the distinction of being
listed on both the hillbilly and the pop charts simultaneously, causing some to
classify it as the first-ever "crossover" hit. In 1938 Louise Massey
began recording and singing for NBC programs in New York. She retired in 1950
to the Hondo valley in Texas. Louise Massey was inducted into the National Cowgirl
Hall of Fame in 1982.
Armando
Marroquín
2
Genres: Tejano
Based in: Alice
Instrument:
Tejano record label founder
Birthplace: Alice
Birthdate: 9/12/1912 Deathdate: 7/4/1990
Buried at: Alice
The
popular duet of Carmen y Laura consisted of sisters Carmen and Laura Hernández
from Kingsville. Carmen married Armando who went into the jukebox business in
nearby Alice. IDEAL Records was launched in 1946 after Marroquín released
several records of Carmen y Laura. The first were recorded in the Marroquín
kitchen. Their success brought businessman Paco Betancourt from San Benito to
propose a partnership where Armando would make all the recordings, and receive
all the records he needed for his jukeboxes. Paco Betancourt for his part would
arrange for the manufacture of the discs and their distribution both in the U.S.
and in Mexico.
Colleges: Texas
A&I University in Kingsville
Sites of interest:
Marroquín
started La Villita, an open air dance platform in Alice, where he featured top
Tejano musicians. La Villita was later covered and transformed into a 700-seat
ballroom. (3050 Old Kingsville Road in Alice)
Tina Marsh
Genres: Classical, Jazz
Based in:
Austin
Instrument: voice, composer
Birthplace:
Annapolis, MD Birthdate: 1/18/1954 Deathdate:
6/16/2009
A jazz vocalist and composer based in Austin, Texas, Tina Marsh was the co-founder and creative director of the Creative Opportunity Orchestra jazz ensemble, a member of the Texas Music Hall of Fame and a member of the Austin Arts Hall of Fame. Born in Annapolis, MD, Marsh worked in New York and Philadelphia as an actor in musical theater before moving to Austin. She formed her first professional group, New Visions Ensemble with Alex Coke, Rock Savage, Booka Michel and Horatio Rodriguez. In 1980, Marsh studied at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, later returning to Austin and joining the members of her former group to form the core of the Creative Opportunity Orchestra, an improvisational big band that could reach as many as two dozen members. Creative Opportunity Orchestra concerts were presented at unusual venues including the amphitheater at the Laguna Gloria art museum , playhouses, art spaces, schools, university theaters, or Austin's Victory Grill. Also, exotic foods were matched with concert themes to add to the experience. For more than a decade, Marsh presented her "Circle of Light" project to elementary schools, showcasing holiday music from around the world and celebrating diversity while focusing on light as a universal symbol. The project included multicultural musicians and dancers celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Diwali in a weeklong event, including music, food and dance in a workshop setting and ending with a formal performance. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994, Tina Marsh passed away on June 16, 2009
Schools: Creative Music Studio
William
John Marsh
Genres: Classical
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
composer, educator, organ, piano
Birthplace: Woolton, Liverpool,
England Birthdate: 6/24/1880 Deathdate: 2/1/1971
Buried
at: Greenwood Cemetery in Fort Worth at 3100 White Settlement Road
Marsh
published more than 100 works, mainly classical and sacred including "The Flower
Fair at Peking" a one-act opera, reputedly the first opera to be composed and
produced in Texas. He also composed the official Mass for the Texas Centennial
and the state song, "Texas, Our Texas." John Philip Sousa once described
"Texas, Our Texas" as the finest state song he had ever heard.
Colleges:
He was professor of organ, composition, and theory
at Texas Christian University.
Sites of interest:
Historical
Marker located at 3100 White Settlement Road, Greenwood Cemetery, Fort Worth.
Lecil
Travis "Boxcar Willie" Martin
Genres: Country, Gospel
Based
in: Sterrett
Instrument: guitar, vocal
Birthplace: Sterrett
Birthdate: 9/1/1931 Deathdate: 4/12/1999
Buried at: Ozarks
Memorial Park, Branson, Taney County, Missouri
Martin was a member
of the Grand Ole Opry and a regular guest on the long-running television show
"Hee Haw." His "King of the Road" album, released in 1982, was number one on the
British country music chart for nineteen weeks and eventually sold nearly a million
copies in that country.
Mary
Virginia Martin
Genres: Pop, Broadway
Based in: Weatherford
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Weatherford
Birthdate: 12/1/1913 Deathdate: 11/3/1990
Mary Martin used
her own optimistic tenacity to become a world renown musical theater star. Born
in Weatherford, Texas. She gained singing spots on national radio broadcasts in
Dallas and at Los Angeles nightclubs. Those spots led to Martin being cast in
Cole Porter's production "Leave It To Me." Martin's rendition of "My
Heart Belongs to Daddy" soon endeared her to Broadway audiences. The film
career she always dreamed of having followed, with appearances in 10 Paramount
films. Martin won Tony Awards for performances Broadway performances in "Peter
Pan" and "The Sound of Music." She is credited with having advanced
the significance of the performer in musical theater. Larry Hagman, her son from
her first marriage, also became a well known actor.
Narciso
Martinez
2 3
4
Genres: Tejano, Conjunto, Norteño
Based in:
La Paloma
Instrument: vocals, accordion
Birthplace: Mexico
Birthdate: 10/29/1911 Deathdate: 6/5/1992
Buried at: Montmeta
Memorial Park in San Benito
Narciso Martínez is the "Father
of the Texas-Mexican Conjunto." Martínez made major innovations
in the development of the conjunto. He emphasized the right-side melody and treble
notes of the accordion, leaving the left-side bass notes to the bajo sexto player.
All other conjunto accordionists soon adopted this change. Narciso often played
for Czech as well as for the Mexican audiences. This is important because it was
Narciso Martinez who first recorded with saxophonist Beto Villa. Accompanied by
a reduced orchestra, Beto and Narciso, changed the course and character of Tejano
and Norteño music forever with these recordings.
Schools: Martínez
received little formal education.
Lee Roy Matocha
Genres: Polka
Based
in: Fayetteville
Instrument: vocals, accordion
Birthplace:
La Grange Birthdate: 8/2/1933 Deathdate: 7/12/2003
Lee
Roy Matocha was a long time KMIL Polka show host and band leader. He was a renowned
accordion player for 56 years. Matocha formed the Lee Roy Matocha Orchestra in
1964. Matocha got his start playing accordion music with his Uncle Zbranek's Accordian
Band of West Point, Texas in 1947. Even in retirement he continued to stay busy
helping out other bands, and hosting as many as 13 polka radio shows per week
over 7 different radio stations in Central and South Texas.
Pete Mayes
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Houston
Instrument:
guitar
Birthplace:Anahuac
Birthdate: 3/21/1938 Deathdate: 12/17/2008
Pete Mayes is a Texas blues legend. Mayes was enamored of the blues at a young age, and was just 16 years old when he was brought up on a Houston stage by his idol T-Bone Walker. He later joined Walker's band and would become Walker's bandleader. Through his career, Mayes performed with blues and jazz legends including Brown, Junior Parker, Bill Doggett, Lowell Fulsom, Count Basie, Buddy Guy, Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. And, of course, he also played with Walker, the epitome of the Texas blues that remained Mayes’ great love. Mayes became a well-known figure on the Texas blues circuit, and released three albums on his own before recording what would become his best-known effort, "For Pete's Sake", which was released by the Austin-based Antone's Records. The album won Mayes a W.C. Handy Award from the Blues Foundation and assured his reputation as one of the most overlooked and underrated talents in blues music.
Leon
McAuliffe
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Western Swing
Based
in: Houston
Instrument: steel guitar
Birthplace: Houston
Birthdate: 1/3/1917 Deathdate: 9/20/1988
Leon McAuliffe
became one of Country and Western Music's most recognizable and popular steel
guitar players. At the age of sixteen, he was hired to play for W. Lee O'Daniel
and the Light Crust Doughboys. Two years later, he signed on with Bob Wills and
his Texas Playboys and quickly gained national prominence. McAuliffe's signature
song, "Steel Guitar Rag," also brought the trademark phrase "Take
it away, Leon," which Wills called out each time he introduced the song.
The song has become somewhat of an anthem for all steel guitar players.
Laura
Lee Owens McBride
2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Western Swing
Based
in: Bryan
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: near the
Canadian River in Oklahoma Birthdate: 1920 Deathdate: 1/25/1989
Buried
at: Franklin Cemetery in
Franklin, TX
Laura Lee Owens McBride was known as the "Queen
of Western Swing" and was the first female vocalist to tour with Bob Wills
and the Texas Playboys. Her most famous song was "I Betcha My Heart I Love
You." She also made thirteen movies with cowboy star Gene Autry, toured briefly
with Tex Ritter, toured for eight years with Ernest Tubb and worked occasionally
with Hank Williams.
Schools: She graduated from high school in
Kansas City.
Red
River Dave McEnery
2
Genres: Christian, Country
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 12/15/1914
Deathdate: 1/15/2002
Red River Dave McEnry was known as the first
country cowboy singer on television, appearing at New York's 1939 World's Fair.
He is reputed to have written 52 songs in 12 hours while handcuffed to a piano.
McEnery composed more than 1,000 songs during his career and was inducted into
the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars in 1976.
John
McGregor
Genres: Folk/Acoustic
Based in: Nacogdoches
Instrument:
bagpipe
Birthplace: Scotland Birthdate: 1808 Deathdate:
3/6/1836
Alamo defender John McGregor was born in Scotland in 1808,
but was living in Nacogdoches by 1836. He took part in the siege of Bexar and
later served in the Alamo garrison as a second sergeant of Capt. William R. Carey's
artillery company. It is said that during the siege of the Alamo, McGregor engaged
in musical duels with David Crockett, McGregor playing the bagpipes and Crockett
the fiddle. McGregor died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
Max "Scotty McKay"
Lipscomb 2
3
Genres: Pop
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 1937 Deathdate:
3/17/1991
Vocalist Scotty McKay was a member of Gene Vincent's Blue
Caps for a short period. He released numerous 45s throughout the 1960s and also
sang vocals on The Gator Shades Blues Band 45, a Kenny And The Kasuals-related
venture. He recorded a highly regarded version of "The Train Kept A Rollin.'"
This was strongly rumored to have featured Jimmy Page on lead guitar, although
it was actually Exotics guitarist Blair Smith.
Schools: Thomas
Jefferson High
Raymond
"Ray" Frederick McKinley
2
3
4
Genres: Big Band, Jazz, Dixieland
Based in: Fort
Worth
Instrument: bandleader, drums
Birthplace: Fort Worth
Birthdate: 6/18/1910 Deathdate: 5/7/1995
After drumming
in the danceband led by fellow Texan, singer Smith Ballew, McKinley joined the
Dorsey Brothers orchestra in 1934. When the band became Jimmy Dorsey's, after
his brother Tommy walked out, McKinley remained in the drum chair until 1939.
When World War II broke out, McKinley joined the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band
and traveled throughout Europe playing for allied troops. In 1944, after Miller
and most of the band died in a plane crash, McKinley carried on as bandleader.
Baylus
Benjamin McKinney
Genres: Christian, Gospel
Based
in: Dallas
Instrument: songwriter, teacher, music editor
Birthplace:
Heflin, LA Birthdate: 7/22/1886 Deathdate: 9/7/1952
B.
B. McKinney - gospel songwriter, teacher, and music editor - served as music editor
for Robert Henry Coleman, songbook publisher in Dallas, and many of his works
were originally published in Coleman's songbooks and hymnals. In 1919, after several
months in the United States Army, McKinney returned to Fort Worth, where Isham
E. Reynolds asked him to join the faculty of the School of Sacred Music at SWBTS,
where he taught until 1932. In 1935 he was named music editor for the Baptist
Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, Tennessee,
where he edited the popular Broadman Hymnal (1940). In 1941 he became secretary
of the newly formed Department of Church Music of the Sunday School Board, a post
held until his death. During McKinney's career he led music in numerous revivals
including those at the Buckner Orphan's Home in Dallas. He had a special relationship
with the children there who, from his initials "B. B.," called him "Big
Brother." He also taught in schools of church music in local Southern Baptist
churches. Under his own name and pen names including Martha Annis, Otto Nellen,
and Gene Routh, he composed words and music to 149 gospel hymns and songs, composed
the music for 114 others, and arranged more than 100 works. Additionally, he contributed
to several textbooks. He is included in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Gordon
Barton McLendon
2 3
4
Genres: Radio
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
radio programming innovator
Birthplace: Paris,
TX Birthdate: 6/8/1921 Deathdate: 9/14/1986
Buried at:
died at his ranch home near Lake Dallas, Texas.
McLendon "the Old
Scotchman" is credited by most broadcast historians with having established the
first mobile news units in American radio, the first traffic reports, the first
jingles, the first all-news radio station, and the first "easy-listening" programming.
He also was among the first broadcasters in the United States to editorialize.
He introduced five-minute bit news broadcasts and pioneered in top-forty record
presentations as a standard format for radio. McLendon bought an interest in radio
station KNET, Palestine. Later, Gordon and B.R. (his father) formed Trinity Broadcasting
and the new radio station KLIF was their first acquisitioin.
Colleges:
Yale University; Kemper Military Academy, Booneville, Missouri
Sites
of interest:
An Inventory of His Papers,
1917-1978, are at the Texas Tech Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library
in Lubbock.
KLIF originally broadcast
out of the basement of the "Cliff Towers Hotel" at 329 East Colorado in Oak Cliff,
a suburb of Dallas.
Shirley McPhatter
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace:
Unavailable Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate: 3/31/1994
Shirley McPhatter was a jazz vocalist who lived the Oak Cliff area of Dallas. The African American Museum (located at 3536 Grand Avenue, Dallas, TX 75315-0153;
214-565-9026 ext. 312) has about 500 albums of jazz in its music archives donated
by her husband.
Sites of interest:
African American
Museum
Joe
"Joe Medwick" Medwick Veasey
Genres: Blues, R&B
Based in: Houston
Instrument: vocals, songwriter
Birthplace:
Houston Birthdate: 6/22/1931 Deathdate: 4/12/1992
A
native Houstonian and vocalist, Joe Medwick Veasey is best remembered as a songwriter
who's most famous tune, "Farther On Up the Road," has been performed
by Eric Clapton, James Brown, T-Bone Walker, Jimmie Smith, Robin Trower, Gary
Moore, Lonnie Mack and more. Medwick began singing Gospel with the Chosen Gospel
Singers in the late 1940s. In the 1950s he began recording for and selling songs
to Don Robey at Duke-Peacock Records. Although their records are incomplete, it
seems certain that Medwick wrote "Further On Up The Road," "I Pity
The Fool," "Cry Cry Cry" and "Call On Me" for Bobby "Blue"
Bland and "Driving Wheel" for Junior Parker. Medwick's classic recordings
from this period include "Second Time Around," "I Cried" and
"You Ain't Treating Her Right." Throughout the 1960s Joe Medwick wrote
for a variety of Houston based labels recording blues and soul sides such as "You
Made Me Love You," "Nearer To You," "Have Fun Baby" and
"This Is Why The End Must Begin." Medwick's 1985 single "She Fooled
Me This Time" / "If I Don't Get Involved" led to interest from
Black Top Records who paired Medwick with Grady Gaines & the Texas Upsetters
for several recordings.
Leonora
Mendoza 2
3
4
Genres: Tejano
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: vocals
Birthplace: San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Birthdate: Unavailable Deathdate: 1952
Leonora Mendoza
learned to sing from her mother who, some sources say, taught music in Rosita,
Coahuila. Three of Leonora's eight children became popular female singers among
Mexican Texans. Leonora Mendoza passed on the repertoire she learned from her
mother to her own children and in 1927-28 organized the family into a musical
and performing troupe called La Familia Mendoza. Around 1928 they recorded a double
sided disc for which they received $140. Because of the growing success of daughter,
Lydia, the family toured throughout the Southwest and Midwest. Leonora organized
and directed the shows, which included music, skits, and comedy routines. When
World War II started, La Familia Mendoza's touring stopped due to gasoline and
tire rationing. Mendoza then accompanied daughters Juanita and María, as
Las Hermanas Mendoza, on the guitar in San Antonio. The success of the women was
great enough to help them purchase the first family home in San Antonio. After
the war La Familia Mendoza's show, now expanded to include Lydia as a soloist
and Juanita and María as Las Hermanas Mendoza, did a six-months-a-year tour
throughout the Southwest for the next six years.
Sites of interest:
Leonora convinced Arturo Vásquez, the proprietor of Club Bohemia
in San Antonio, to let them sing at his club starting at $10 a night plus tips.
Later, she was able to set up an arrangement at the Pullman Bar moving up to $15
plus tips.
Lydia
Mendoza
2
3
4
Genres: Tejano
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument: guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Houston Birthdate:
5/21/1916 Deathdate: 12/20/2007
"La Alondra de la Frontera,"
the Lark of the Border singer Lydia Mendoza was an early legend of Tejano music.
Born in to a musical family on May 21, 1916, in Houston, Texas; she performed
with her parents and sister Francisca in La Familia Mendoza. The family first
recorded in San Antonio for the Okeh label before moving to Detroit Michigan as
migrant workers. While in Detroit, they continued to earn a dedicated fanbase.
In the 1930s, the Mendoza family returned to San Antonio to play the Plaza de
Zacate and in 1934 recorded another six songs. Lydia was also offered a chance
to record six songs solo including "Mal Hombre" which became a major
hit in the Spanish speaking community. This led to a contract with Bluebird records
and she recorded close to 200 songs from 1934 to 1940. The family stopped touring
during World War II. After her mother's death in 1952, Mendoza pursued a solo
career as both performer and composer, recording for Falcon, Ideal and Victor
and writing "Amor Bonito". She announced her retirement in 1988. In
1999, she was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.
Johann
Nicholaus Simon Menger
Genres: Classical, German
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: piano teacher, choral conductor
Birthplace:
Stadtilm, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thuringia Birthdate: 6/6/1807 Deathdate:
1892
Simon Menger founded the San Antonio Männergesang-Verein
in July 1847, possibly the first formally organized male singing society in Texas.
He was a teacher in Germany for many years before immigrating to Texas as a member
of Castro's colony. After arriving in Galveston, Menger moved from town to town
working as a farmer until he moved to San Antonio in June 1847 to work as a piano
teacher. In 1850 Menger opened a soap and candle factory, which became his principal
source of income. The business, San Antonio's first industrial enterprise, prospered,
and after Menger's death it was taken over by his son Erich, who operated it until
the end of World War I. Menger must have let his singing society lapse, for the
Männergesang-Verein seems to have been reorganized on March 2, 1851. The
society continued to make progress under Menger until he resigned in early March
1853. Late the same year he composed a male chorus, "Deutscher Sang,"
for the New Braunfels Germania society, but Menger's public musical activities
became fewer as his soap business prospered. He sang sporadically with the San
Antonio chorus for another two years and afterwards essentially restricted his
musical activities to teaching piano, primarily to family members.
Henry
E. Meyer 2
3
Genres: Classical
Based in: Georgetown
Instrument: Collegiate Dean, vocals
Birthplace: NA Birthdate:
NA Deathdate: NA
Henry E. Meyer was the first Dean of Fine
Arts at Southwestern University in 1941. He arranged "Hog Drover's Song."
Southwestern University now houses the Henry E. Meyer Hymnal Collection.
Johannes
Mgebroff
Genres: Christian
Based in: Salem
Instrument:
Lutheran pastor, writer, historian
Birthplace: Mikolajeff in South
Russia Birthdate: 7/18/1868 Deathdate: 5/24/1920
Johannes
Mgebroff was a Lutheran pastor, composer, writer, and historian who settled in
Giddings in 1894. In 1902 Wartburg Publishing House of Chicago published his noted
"Die Geschichte der ersten deutschen evangelisch-lutherischen Synode in Texas"
(The History of the First German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas). Mgebroff
also composed church music. While writing a book on the history of famous Christian
women of the world, he died at his home at Salem on May 24, 1920, and was buried
in Salem Cemetery, which in 1984 was all that remained of the community.
Schools:
He attended school in Russia and at Dorpat, Germany.
Colleges: St.
Chrischona in Switzerland
Lena
Triplett Milam
Genres: Classical
Based in: Beaumont
Instrument:
music teacher
Birthplace: Sweet Springs, MO Birthdate: 10/19/1884
Deathdate: 11/8/1984
Lena Triplett Milam was a music teacher and
a pioneer in the development of community music based primarily in Beaumont. In
1911 she began teaching in Beaumont. In 1919 she became music supervisor of the
Beaumont schools, a position she held until her retirement in 1955. Under Mrs.
Milam's direction the Beaumont High School Orchestra became well known throughout
the state. She developed a music-appreciation program that involved the community
as well as students. She was a charter member and president of the Music Study
Club. She served as co-chairman of the city's first Music Week celebration (1922)
and helped develop the Beaumont Music Commission (1923) and the Beaumont Symphony
Orchestra (1953). She also founded and directed the Schubert Ensemble, a group
that gained considerable distinction for its community performances in the 1930s.
In 1929 she organized the First Methodist Orchestra, an ensemble that became a
regular part of the church's Sunday night services. Milam was president of the
Texas Federation of Music Clubs from 1932 to 1934 and served on the organization's
national board until her retirement in 1955. She often served as chairman of the
music division of the Texas State Teachers Association and was on committees of
the Texas Music Educators' Association, the National Education Association, and
the Texas Music Teachers Association. She was the author of a graded music-workbook
series published by the Steck-Vaughn Company of Austin. She wrote a Handbook for
Junior Clubs Counselors published by the National Federation of Music Clubs in
1954.
Schools: She attended school in Sweet Springs and later
in Ennis, Texas.
Colleges: North Texas Normal School; North Texas
State Teachers College
Amos
Milburn 2 3
Genres:
Blues
Based in: Houston
Instrument: piano, vocals
Birthplace:
Houston Birthdate: 4/1/1927 Deathdate: 1/3/1980
Self-taught
rocking rhythm and blues pianist, singer, and bandleader Amos Milburn is considered
by many to be "the first of the great Texas R&B singers." In 1942,
at age fifteen, Milburn lied about his age and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He spent
just over three years in the Pacific theater, where he entertained troops with
his lively piano tunes. Upon returning to Houston, Milburn put together a band
and played clubs all over Houston and the surrounding suburbs. Amos Milburn began
his twelve-year recording relationship with Aladdin Records in 1946. He recorded
about 125 songs, most of them arranged by saxophonist Maxwell Davis. Milburn's
record, "After Midnite," sold over 50,000 copies. In 1949, Milburn was
Billboard's best selling R&B artist. Maxwell Davis helped Milburn on seven
of his greatest hits: "Chicken Shack Boogie," "In the Middle of
the Night," "Hold Me Baby," "Bad Bad Whiskey," "Good
Good Whiskey," "Vicious, Vicious Vodka," "Let's Have a Party,"
"House Party (Tonight)," Let Me Go Home, Whiskey," and "One
Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer." Milburn also recorded for labels such as
Ace, King, and Motown. Miburn's rocking, boogie-woogie piano style greatly influenced
younger artists, including Fats Domino and Little Richard. In fact, Milburn songs
- such as "Let's Rock a While" in 1951 and "Rock, Rock, Rock"
in 1952 - predated the mid-1950s surge in popularity of rock and roll.
Roger Dean Miller
2
3
Genres: Country
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
guitar, vocals, composer
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate:
1/2/1936 Deathdate: 10/25/1992
Buried at: Cremated,
Location of ashes is unknown.
Roger Dean Miller earned eleven Grammy
awards, both as composer and performer in the categories of contemporary and country
and western. In 1985 he received five Tony awards for his score to "Big River,"
a musical based on "Huckleberry Finn." His hits include "When Two Worlds
Collide," "Chug-a-lug," "Dang Me," "King of the Road," "Engine, Engine No. 9,"
"Kansas City Star," and "One Dyin and a-Buryin'."
Schools: His
schooling ended before graduation from high school.
Dan
"Slamfoot" Minor
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
trombone
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 8/10/1909 Deathdate:
8/11/1982
Dan Minor is best known for being the main trombone soloist
with Count Basie's Orchestra, albeit for a short period of time. Minor started
out playing professionally in 1926 with the Blue Moon Chasers in Dallas. Minor
worked in the Midwest with Walter Page's Blue Devils (1927-29), Ben Smith's Blue
Syncopators, Earl Dykes, Gene Coy's Black Aces, Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders, Alphonso
Trent (1931) and Bennie Moten's final orchestra (1931-34). Minor joined Basie's
big band in Kansas City in 1936 and stayed for five years, through Basie's successes
in New York. Minor was eventually underfeatured due to the presence of Benny Morton,
Dicky Wells and Vic Dickenson at various times in the trombone section. After
leaving Basie, Minor was with the orchestras of Buddy Johnson (1941-44), Mercer
Ellington, Lucky Millinder and Willie Bryant (1946). He retired from full-time
playing when the swing era ended, but played on a part-time basis throughout the
remainder of his life. In addition to Basie, Minor recorded with Walter Page (1929),
Bennie Moten (including on his classic session in 1932), Sidney Bechet (1938)
and Buddy Johnson.
Joseph Charles Miszner
Genres: Classical
Based
in: Henderson
Instrument: composer, professor
Birthplace:
Prussia Birthdate: 7/9/1822 Deathdate: 8/11/1918
Buried
at: Mount
Enterprise, Texas
Historical Marker Text: Professor of Music. Born
in kingdom of Prussia. Known as a pupil of composer Franz Liszt and a graduate
of Leipzig Conservatory. Came to America in 1845; was naturalized in 1860 (Vol.
H, page 408), Probate Records, Rusk County, Texas). A composer and teacher of
music and languages, he became a large landowner and respected citizen of Henderson.
Married (in 1868) Margaret Harwood McClarty; had a son, Wiley Harris Miszner.
Colleges: Leipzig Conservatory
Sites of interest:
Historical
Grave Marker located in the city of Mount Enterprise, Texas.
Charles
Moffett
2
Genres: Jazz
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument:
drums
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 9/11/1929 Deathdate:
2/14/1997
Jazz drummer Charles Moffett was known primarily for his work
with fellow Texan Ornette Coleman. Charles Moffett was born on September 11, 1929,
in Fort Worth, Texas. His family attended services on a daily basis at the local
sanctified church, where music was central to the services and his mother was
the pianist. Charles developed an interest in and an ear for music - at the local
sanctified church, where music was central to the services and his mother was
the pianist - that eventually led him to take up playing the trumpet. In high
school, he joined the marching band, switched to drums, and began playing on the
local music scene-including a stint with Jimmy Witherspoon's band. He met Ornette
Coleman during this period, and the two became close friends. After graduation,
Moffett served in the Navy and became an accomplished boxer, but music remained
his obsession. Upon being discharged from the Navy, he entered Huston-Tillotson
College in Austin, Texas, to study music. He graduated in 1953, married (with
Coleman presiding as best man), and was hired as a music education teacher at
the public school in Rosenberg, Texas. Moffett played music on the local scene
and experienced his first brush with fame when he spent a summer drumming for
Little Richard. In 1961, beckoned by Coleman to New York City, Moffett began a
successful, yet rocky stint on the city's jazz scene. Although Coleman paid his
band mates well, work was sporadic, and this led Moffett to supplement his income
by teaching. Musical differences eventually dissolved the partnership and subsequently
led Moffett to Oakland, California, in 1968. After quickly gaining a reputation
in Oakland by setting up a successful music studio, he was named the city's music
director. He also organized a band - the Moffettettes - which included his children
and several of their schoolmates. The band played throughout California and made
several recordings. In the 1980s, Moffett and his family moved back to New York,
where he took a job teaching mentally retarded children. He remained musically
active on the local scene, but never reached the prominence of his earlier years.
Schools:
I. M. Terrell High School (historical marker at 1411 East 18th Street, Fort Worth)
Colleges:
Huston-Tillotson College in
Austin
Roy
Montelongo
2
Genres: Big Band, Tejano
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
saxophone
Birthplace: Hays County
Birthdate: 9/21/1938 Deathdate: Unavailable
Roy Montelongo
joined Beto Villa's orquestra in 1954 as a saxophonist and stayed until 1957.
He later joined Isidro Lopez's orquestra and played with Freddie Martinez. He
formed his own band in 1964 and cut his first album for Valmon Records. He gave
up performing after his Father's death in 1967 and began a long career as a radio
announcer.
Marvin
"Smokey" Montgomery
Genres: Country
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
banjo
Birthplace: Rinard, IA Birthdate: 1913 Deathdate:
6/6/2001
Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery was a member of The Light
Crust Doughboys - one of country music's top bands since the 1930s - and the man
known worldwide for introducing Dixieland-style jazz banjo to western swing music.
Since joining the band in 1935 and continuing through concert appearances as late
as May 2001, the influence of Montgomery can be heard every time western swing
music, Dixieland-style jazz banjo, or intricate, swinging banjo solos are played.
In February 2001, Smokey was honored with a Grammy nomination in gospel music
for his work with The Light Crust Doughboys, and he earned Grammy nominations
in 1997, 1998 and 2000 for best recorded work.
Alexander
Herman "Whistlin' Alex" Moore
2 3
4
Genres: Blues
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
piano, vocals
Birthplace: Dallas Birthdate: 11/22/1899
Deathdate: 1/20/1989
Buried at: Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in
Dallas
Moore arrived at his unique sound during the 1920s by combining
elements of various musical styles, including blues, ragtime, barrelhouse boogie,
and stride. He acquired the nickname "Whistlin' Alex" for a piercing whistle he
made with his lips curled back while playing the piano. Moore was among the first
of his peers to record in a studio. In 1987 he was awarded a National Heritage
Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He became the first African-American
Texan to receive this honor. On November 22, 1988, the state of Texas designated
his birthday "Alex Moore Day."
Schools: He dropped out of the
sixth grade to support his mother and two siblings.
Billie
"Tiny" Moore
2
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western
Based in: Port
Arthur
Instrument: mandolin, fiddle, vocals, guitar, drums
Birthplace:
Energy Birthdate:
5/12/1920 Deathdate: 12/15/1987
Billie "Tiny" Moore
is most known for playing fiddle in the legendary western swing band, Bob Wills
and the Texas Playboys. Beginning in 1937, Moore traveled the South playing mandolin
in several bands. Moore joined Bob Wills and his band the Texas Playboys after
serving in World War II. After years with the Texas Playboys, Moore formed a Western
Swing band with Bob's younger brother, Billy Jack Wills. Moore arranged most of
the music and played fiddle on his newly built Bigsby 5-string electric mandolin.
Billy Jack played drums, and a young Vance Terry played steel guitar in the ensemble.
In 1954, the band broke up, but Moore continued to play with Bob and Billy Jack
Wills at local venues throughout the decade. In 1961, Moore opened the Tiny Moore
Music Center, where he gave lessons on mandolin, fiddle, and guitar. He focused
on teaching throughout much of the 1960s and wrote an instructional book called
"Tiny Moore's Music." Moore played as a guest musician on numerous albums
and was a member of Merle Haggard's band in the mid-1970s. In 1972, Moore recorded
his first solo album "Tiny Moore's Music." In 1973, he played on Bob
Wills's final recording, "For the Last Time."
Cecil Moore
Genres: Country, Rockabilly
Based in: Luling
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Luling Birthdate:
7/5/1929 Deathdate: 2/9/2006
Cecil Moore was a deep-voiced, guitar-slinging,
country-rockabilly maverick that released several singles on Sarg Records. All
Music Guide notes: "Cecil Moore's 1964 instrumental single 'Diamond Back'
has a little bit of Lonnie Mack about it; a regional hit that was picked up by
Atco for national distribution, it was as close as Sarg came to getting a national
hit."
Johnny
Moore
2
Genres: Blues
Based in: Austin
Instrument:
guitar, vocals
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: 10/20/1906
Deathdate: 1/5/1969
Moore (whose brother Oscar played guitar in
the Nat King Cole Trio), Eddie Williams, and Charles Brown formed Johnny Moore's
Three Blazers. They cut "Drifting Blues," which went to number 2 on Billboard
magazine's R&B charts. Cash Box voted it R&B Record of the Year in 1946. Other
hits include "Merry Christmas, Baby" which went to number 3 on the charts. Moore
performed solos on recordings by Ivory Joe Hunter, Floyd Dixon, and Charles Brown.
B.B. King lists Moore as one of the top ten guitarists of all time.
Oscar
Frederic Moore
2
3
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Austin
Instrument: guitar
Birthplace: Austin Birthdate: 12/25/1912
Deathdate: 10/8/1981
An excellent guitarist influenced after 1939
by Charlie Christian, Moore was an invaluable part of the Nat King Cole Trio during
1937-47, appearing on virtually all of Cole's records during the period. He also
recorded with Lionel Hampton, Art Tatum, the Capitol Jazzmen, Lester Young, and
his brother Johnny Moore in the Three Blazers. He is considered one of the first
important modern combo guitarists.
Winston
Lee "Slim Willett" Moore 2
Genres: Country
Based in: Abilene
Instrument: vocals, songwriter
Birthplace: Victor Birthdate: 12/1/1919 Deathdate: 7/1/1966
Buried at: died in Abilene
Slim Willet was best known for writing "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,"
a hit for Perry Como, Skeets McDonald and Ray Price. Other songs included: "Star
Light Waltz," "Tool Pusher From Snyder," "Party Party," and "The
Abilene Waltz." Willet became a regular on KRBC Abilene, WFAA Dallas' "Big
D Jamboree," KNIT Abilene, and later purchased part of Abilene's KCAD.
He also joined Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride in 1951 and debuted on the Grand
Ole Opry in 1954.
Schools: Clyde High School
Colleges: Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene
Madeline
Charlotte Moorman 2
3
4
Genres: Classical, Performance Artist
Based in: Austin
Instrument: cello, performance artist
Birthplace: Little Rock, AR Birthdate: 11/18/1933 Deathdate:
11/8/1991
Madeline Charlotte Moorman was born in Little Rock, AR. A cello player from
age 10, she won a scholarship to Centenary College in Shreveport, LA, earning
a BA in music in 1955. She continued her education at the University of Texas
at Austin, receiving a M.A. and, in 1962, went on to postgraduate studies at
The Juilliard School. Moorman began a traditional career as a concert cellist,
but became active in the performance art scene of the 1960s, touring and collaborating
with Korean avant-garde artist Nam June Paik. In 1963, she established the New
York Avant Garde Festival which played in locations around the city including
Central Park and the Staten Island Ferry until 1980. In 1967, Moorman was arrested
on charges of indecent exposure and given a suspended sentence for her performance
of Paik's Opera Sextronique earning nationwide fame as the "topless cellist".
In addition to being a performer, Moorman negotiated with the bureaucracies
of New York and other major cities to cooperate with and provide facilities
for advanced art including pieces that were thought of as controversial and
challenging. Diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1970s, Moorman underwent a
mastectomy and despite deteriorating health continued performing through the
1980s. She died of cancer in New York City on November 8, 1991, at age 57.
Colleges: University of Texas at Austin
Eracleo
"Rocky" Morales
Genres: R&B
Based
in: San Antonio
Instrument: saxophone
Birthplace:
Birthdate: 12/31/1940 Deathdate: 8/2/2006
Eracleo "Rocky"
M. Morales was a fixture of San Antonio's music scene and with Louis Bustos, saxophone
and Charlie McBurney, trumpet was a founding member of the West Side Horns. Rocky
started playing sax in junior high and at Fox Tech High School. He began working
with Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers in the early 1960s. inventing his "West Side
tenor style" and continued to work with the two, both solo and with the Sir
Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados on and off for years to come, touring the
world including a show at Carnegie Hall. He was a founding member of the West
Side Horns. He also played with Joe & the VIPs, Rudy & the Reno Bops,
and Joe "King" Carrasco, Rick Danko, Randy Garibay, Kim Wilson, Johnny
Nicholas and Lou Ann Barton.
Felix
Hessbrook Morales
Genres: Regional Mexican, Tejano
Based in: New Braunfels
Instrument: radio station owner, radio
personality, guitar
Birthplace: New
Braunfels Birthdate: 5/27/1907 Deathdate: 6/8/1988
Buried
at: Morales Cemetery in Houston
Felix and his wife Angela created
radio station KLVL, "La Voz Latina," the first Spanish-language radio station
to cover news for the Gulf Coast area. KLVL produced various news, education,
and music programs including "Yo necesito trabajo" ("I need a job"), during which
unemployed persons called in and received job referrals. Angie Morales also produced
"Que Dios se lo pague" ("May God reward you") where she asked her listeners to
assist needy cases in the community. Because of its commitment to community service,
KLVL was dubbed "la madre de los Mexicanos."
Colleges: Felix
and Angelo both graduated from the Landig School of Mortuary Science in the 1930s.
Sites of interest:
An
elementary school in Pasadena was named for Morales in 1991 at 305 West Harris
Avenue.
The original
building on the HCCS Eastside Campus is named in honor of Felix Morales at 6815
Rustic Street in Houston.
The
Angela V. Morales Building is also located on the HCC-Southeast Eastside Campus
at 6815 Rustic Street in Houston.
Felix opened his first funeral home
at 2701 Navigation Street in Houston's Second Ward.
Tom
Morrell
Genres: Country, Cowboy/Western, Jazz
Based
in: Little Elm
Instrument: steel guitar
Birthplace: Dallas
Birthdate: 10/31/1938 Deathdate: 1/29/2007
Dallas native
Tom Morrell is considered one of the greatest steel guitar players of all time.
Morrell first picked up a guitar at St. James Catholic School in Oak Cliff. His
music carreer spanned more than fifty years as he recorded or toured with a diverse
group of artists including Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Day, Herb Remington,
Asleep at the Wheel, The Cornell Hurd Band, Craig Chambers, Johnny Bush, Don Edwards,
Red Steagall, and Talking Heads. In 2001 Tom Morrell was indicted into the Steel
Guitar Hall of Fame and was one of the founders and designers of MSA Pedal Steel
Guitars.
Sites of interest: Steel
Guitar Hall of Fame
MSA
Pedal Steel Guitars
Harold
Morris
Genres: Classical
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
composer
Birthplace: San Antonio Birthdate: 3/17/1890 Deathdate:
5/6/1964
Harold Morris was a highly regarded musician, teacher and lecturer
who toured often around the United States to perform recitals and give lectures.
He held the guest music lectureship at Rice Institute (now Rice University) in
1933. The lectures at Rice were later published as Contemporary Music (1934).
In 1939 and 1940 he gave lectures and recitals at Duke University. Morris' compositions
include three symphonies, piano and violin concertos and sonatas, chamber music,
and solos. His works won the Juilliard Publication Award, the New York State and
National awards of the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Publication Award
of the National Association of American Composers and Conductors, the Philadelphia
Music Guild Award, the Fellowship of American Composers Award, and the Award of
Merit from the National Association of Composers and Conductors for service to
American music.
Terry
Morris
2
Genres: Country
Based in: Greenwood
Instrument:
fiddle
Birthplace: Fort Worth Birthdate: 3/6/1956 Deathdate:
9/7/1988
Terry Morris gave his first public performance at the age
of two singing "Cotton Fields Back Home" at a school program in Fort Worth. Terry
won innumberable awards including: Texas Old Time Fiddlers Association Winner,
5 years Crockett World Champion Fiddler, 3 successive years Grand Masters Champion
at Nashville, 3 successive years Texas State Champion Fiddlers' Frolics in Hallettsville.
Morris was a featured star at the Grand Ole Opry in 1976.
Annual event:
Texas State
Championship Fiddlers Frolic
Ella
Mae Morse 2
3 4
Genres: Blues, Jazz
Based in: Mansfield
Instrument:
vocals
Birthplace: Mansfield
Birthdate: 9/12/1924 Deathdate: 10/16/1999
Buried at: Unavailable
When
she was 13, she boldly auditioned with Jimmy Dorsey's band at Dallas' Adolphus
Hotel. She and her mother told Dorsey she was 19, and he hired her. Ella Mae's
recording of "Cow Cow Boogie" with Freddie Slack's group became Capitol's first
gold record. Ella Mae Morse was one of the most exciting vocalists of the 1940s-1950s.
She worked with: Freddie Slack, Benny Carter, Barney Kessel, Gerald Wiggins, Pete
Johnson, Jimmy Rowles, Red Callender, Al Hendrickson, Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West,
and Alvin Stoller. Her songs, including "The House of Blue Lights," earned her
10 gold records.
Aubrey
Wilson "Moon" Mullican
2
3 4
Genres:
Country
Based in: Corrigan
Instrument: piano
Birthplace:
Corrigan or Moscow
in Polk County Birthdate: 3/27/1909 Deathdate: 1/27/1967
Aubrey
Wilson "Moon" Mullican - "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players" - played
with the Blue Ridge Playboys, a band that included such pioneers as Leon (Pappy)
Selph, Floyd Tillman, and Ted Daffan; he later worked with Cliff Bruner's bands,
the Texas Wanderers and the Showboys. Mullican sang the lead vocal on the classic
"Truck Driver's Blues" and played a role in the movie "Village Barn Dance". With
King Records he recorded Harry H. Choates' "New Jole Blon" and "I'll Sail My Ship
Alone" that sold over a million copies each. He recorded a total of 100 songs
for King Records, partially owned several nightclubs in Texas, and served as a
supporting musician on more than 200 recordings by other performers. He joined
the cast of the "Grand Ole Opry" and was probably the first singing piano player
to perform as a solo act on a regular basis. Mullican's bobbing two-finger piano
style influenced other musicians such as Jerry Lee Lewis and his cousin, Mickey
Gilley.
Carolina
Malpica Munguía
2
Genres: Tejano
Based in: San Antonio
Instrument:
piano
Birthplace: Puebla, Mexico Birthdate: 1891 Deathdate:
5/25/1977
Carolina Malpica Munguía was a teacher, radio
personality, and founder of many organizations. She was the grandmother of Henry
Cisneros, the first Mexican-American mayor of San Antonio. In 1926, she moved
to San Antonio where she taught Spanish classes at the Wesleyan Institute. Carolina
was the first Mexican woman on the radio in San Antonio and around 1932 she started
a radio program, "La Estrella," on KONO. In it she selected music, literature,
and discussed the geography and culture of Mexico. Her lengthy career included
establishing and operating the family printing business, Munguía Printers,
of which she was vice president. She helped found the Círculo Social Feminino
de México, a women's group dedicated to help people of Mexican origin. Carolina
Munguía served as secretary and then president of the Crockett Latin American
Parent-Teachers Association, an affiliate of the Spanish-Speaking PTA formed to
counter discrimination. And she worked with El Patronato, a group that supported
the founding of the Universidad Autónoma de México in San Antonio.
Schools:
Munguía received her primary education in Puebla, Mexico.
Colleges:
Munguía obtained her teacher's certificate from the Instituto Normal
Methodista for women in 1911 and did graduate work in English.
Audie
Leon Murphy
2
Genres: Country
Based in: Kingston
Instrument:
vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Kingston
Birthdate: 6/20/1924 Deathdate: 5/28/1971
Buried at: Arlington National Cemertery
Audie Leon Murphy, at
the time of his death the most decorated combat soldier in United States history.
He subsequently pursued several careers. He was a successful movie actor, a lyric
writer for country and western songs, an author, and a poet. He appeared in forty-five
motion pictures and starred in thirty-nine of them. His best known films were
"The Red Badge of Courage" (1951), "To Hell and Back" (1955),
"Night Passage" (1957, with James Stewart), and "The Unforgiven"
(1960, with Burt Lancaster). In 1955 Murphy was selected one of the year's most
popular Western stars by United States theater owners, and in 1957 he was chosen
as the most popular Western actor by British audiences. He wrote the lyrics for
fourteen songs and collaborated on three instrumentals. Two of his songs, "Shutters
and Boards" and "When the Wind Blows in Chicago," were recorded
by such top-ranking vocalists as Dean Martin, Porter Waggoner, and Eddy Arnold.
Both were in the top ten songs on the Hit Parade for several weeks. With David
McClure, Murphy wrote the best selling book "To Hell and Back" (1949),
the story of his World War II exploits, which went through nine printings and
was made into a successful motion picture by the same name, starring Murphy.
Annual event: Audie Days - Two-day event June 17-18 in Greenville, TX to
honor Audie Murphy, most decorated soldier of World War II along with all military
veterans.
William McKinley "Billy" Muth
Genres: Christian,
Classical
Based in: Fort Worth
Instrument: organ, piano
Birthplace: Allentown, PA Birthdate: 1902 Deathdate: 1949
Buried at: Greenwood Cemetery in Fort Worth at 3100 White Settlement Road
Historical Marker Text: William McKinley (Billy) Muth made significant contributions
to Texas' cultural history. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Muth was a church
organist at the age of nine. Nationally known as "the master of the keyboard,"
Muth was organist at Casa Manana during the 1936 Texas Centennial, the Worth Theatre,
multi-instrument Fort Worth symphony musician and church organist. A Paramount/Publix
Theatres' pipe organist, Muth opened theatres across the United States. Settling
in Texas in 1926, Muth performed concerts, benefits, and taught statewide organ
and music seminars. Muth became a member of the American Guild of Organists on
March 10, 1947. In 2004, he posthumously received The President's Award for Outstanding
Artistic Achievement in Music from Five Towns College, Long Island, New York.
Five Towns College also houses the Billy Muth Memorial Collection containing over
seven thousand pieces of professional sheet music.
Sites of interest:
Historical
Marker located at 3100 White Settlement Road, Greenwood Cemetery, Fort Worth.
Billy Muth
Collection at the Bowld Music Library, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
in Fort Worth.
Muth was
organist at Casa Manana, located at 3101 West Lancaster in Fort Worth.
Billy
was the organist at First Baptist Church located at 5001 Northeast Loop 820 in
Fort Worth.
Five
Towns College, Long Island, New York.
Alan
Glenn Myers
Genres: Blues, Folk/Acoustic
Based in:
Austin
Instrument: vocals, guitar
Birthplace: Fort
Worth Birthdate: 5/24/1947 Deathdate: 6/4/2000
Alan Glenn
Myers, who wrote and performed as Glen Alyn, was the author of Texas Blue's legend
Mance Lipscomb's oral autobiography, "I Say Me for a Parable." Myers
was a musician, poet, author and songwriter who was present in the recording studio
for every session of the band Ride the Blind.
Sam
Myers
Genres: Blues
Based in: Dallas
Instrument:
vocals, harmonica, drums
Birthplace: Laurel, MS Birthdate:
2/191936 Deathdate: 7/17/2006
Buried at: Near Meridian,
MS
Sam Myers received a non-degree scholarship from the American Conservatory
School of Music in Chicago where he spent his days in the classroom and his nights
honing his blues chops in the rough nightclubs of Chicago's South Side. Myers
sat in with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor, Robert
Lockwood, Jr. and Elmore James, playing drums with James on a steady basis from
1952 until James' death in 1963. In 1956, Sam wrote and recorded what was to be
his most famous single, "Sleeping In The Ground," since covered by Eric
Clapton, and Robert Cray among others. Myers spent the 1960s, 70s and early 80s
working the clubs in and around Jackson and across the South and touring the world
with Sylvia Embrey and the Mississippi All-Stars Blues Band. In 1986, Sam joined
Anson Funderburgh and The Rockets as their featured vocalist. The Rockets traveled
all over the US and the world, winning nine W.C. Handy blues awards.
Schools: The Piney
Woods School
Colleges: American
Conservatory of Music
The Texas Music Office would like to thank the following folks for their assistance in providing this information: Texas State Historical Association, Texas State University's Center for Texas Music History, TMO intern Cory Kenworthy, Texas Historical Commission, Texas Music Museum, Texas Almanac, FindAGrave.com, TexasEscapes.com, Arhoolie Records, BobKat Designs' Texas Chamber of Commerce & CVB list, AllMusic.com, Gordon Polatnick's Dead Musician Directory, The Red Hot Jazz Archive, Big Bands Database, the Dallas Morning News, the Austin American-Statesman and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.