Leon Chappelear

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Horace Leon Chappelear (born August 1, 1909 in Gilmer (Texas) , † October 22, 1962 in Gladewater ) was an American country musician ( vocals and guitar ) and songwriter who was one of the pioneers of western swing .

Live and act

Chappelear founded the Lone Star Cowboys in 1929 with brothers Joe and Bob Shelton. After starting out at the KGKB radio station in Tyler , the three musicians moved to Shreveport , where they signed a contract with the KWKH radio station. As a soloist, Chappelear played his first record for Gennett ; a Jimmie Rodgers inspired number called Trifling Mama Blues . In 1932 he recorded for Champion the record Little Joe The Wrangler (with the B-side I'd Like to Be in Texas for Roundup in Spring ). After reunification with the Sheltons, you worked in mid-1933 as an accompanist to the singer Jimmie Davis in a recording session for Bluebird . Davis put the Lone Star Cowboys in touch with RCA Victor ( Deep Elm Blues / Just Because) . After musical differences, Chappelear separated from the Sheltons and founded the band Leon's Lone Star Cowboys , with which he musically got closer to jazz . With the band he recorded a number of records such as New Do Right Daddy for Decca in the mid-1930s , until a serious traffic accident interrupted his career, from which he never fully recovered. After the breakup of the Leon's Lone Star Cowboys, Chappelear temporarily withdrew from the music scene, then worked for a while as a police officer until he lost his job because of bribery , finally as a pipe fitter.

In the late 1940s, Chappelear began performing again as a musician; he shortened his last name to Chappel and played with a honky tonk band called Lone Star Ramblers. He was then given the opportunity to play in Jimmie Davis' backing band, the Sunshine Boys. After receiving a record deal with Capitol , he recorded a few songs for the label from 1951, such as the blues-influenced number Slow Down Sweet Mama followed by I'm a Do-Right Daddy and Don't Dog Me 'Round (1953 ). One last single was Booger Blues / You're a Lovin 'Woman . After Capitol failed to renew his contract, he returned to Shreveport and served as the manager of the local dog kennel. Health problems as a result of his previous accident resulted in depression that resulted in suicide in 1962 after visiting his sister in Gladewater, Texas.

Discography

  • Automatic Mama (compilation of the Capitol recordings 1950–1953), Capitol, ed. 2001
  • Western Swing Chronicles, Volume 2 (compilation 1932–1938), Origin Jazz Library, ed. 2002

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Champion Discography 16000 series at 78discography.com
personal data
SURNAME Chappelear, Leon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chappelear, Horace Leon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Gilmer (Texas)
DATE OF DEATH October 22, 1962
Place of death Gladewater