Little Shoe

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Little Shoe (middle) and the Cowboy Sweethearts, ca.1946

Little Shoe (born January 26, 1910 as Alma Crosby ; † unknown) was an American country musician . She was the founder and producer of the Arkansas Jamboree Barndances on KRLA.

Life

Beginnings

Born in 1910, Little Shoe played, at that time still under her real name, in Frankie Mores Log Cabin Boys , who were part of the WWVA Jamborees from Wheeling , West Virginia , in the late 1930s . With her aunt, known as Cousin Emmy , Little Shoe also performed at the Jamboree from time to time. In 1941 Little Shoe left the band and formed the Polka Dot Girls , a group that consisted only of women and stayed together during World War II.

Little Shoe traveled extensively in the 1940s , stopping at many different radio stations including KMOX ( St. Louis , Missouri ), WJBC ( Bloomington , Illinois ), and more.

In Little Rock

While at KMBC in Kansas City , Little Shoe decided to put on their own barn dance show . She presented her concept to various broadcasters, but all of them rejected it. After returning from Indiana with her new band, the Cowboy Sweethearts , she auditioned for the direction of KLRA in Little Rock , Arkansas , and was hired. Her idea of ​​the Barn Dance Show was also implemented in Little Rock. The Arkansas Jamboree Barndance premiered in 1946 and established itself as a successful show in Arkansas over the next few years. Little Shoe acted as producer and also ran the show every Saturday night.

At the beginning of the Arkansas Jamboree Barndance, the Cowboy Sweethearts consisted of her husband Charlie Dial (guitar), Fiddlin 'Bill ( fiddle ), Little Boy Blue and Hank ( piano ) alongside Little Shoe ( vocals / guitar ). However, the group was marked by frequent changes in line-up; Overall, Sammy Barnhart, Roy Hodge, Bill Brantley, Vic the Accordion Player, Ezzie Nickerbocker, Cowboy Louie, Glenn Reed and a bassist named Doug were intermittent members of the group.

Little Shoe also had a children's show on KLRA in the mid-1940s, which she hosted with her husband and which also included Nita Lynn. Little Shoe kept it in Little Rock until about 1949; In 1954, Chick Adams had already taken over the production of the Arkansas Jamboree Barndance, which was now better known under the name Barnyard Frolic .

After 1949, the Little Shoes trail disappears.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ivan M. Tribe: "Mountaineer Jamboree" (1996), p. 49; University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0813108780
  2. ↑ Mary A. Bufwack: "Finding her voice: Women in Country Music" (2003), p 128; Country Music Foundation Press, ISBN 0826514324
  3. ^ Billboard dated February 12, 1949: "Informative Two-Day Arkansas Meeting"

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Little Shoe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Crosby, Alma (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country musician
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1910
DATE OF DEATH 20th century or 21st century