RD Hendon and his Western Jamboree Cowboys
| RD Hendon and his Western Jamboree Cowboys | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Country music ( western swing , honky tonk ) |
| founding | 1950 |
| resolution | 1956 |
| Founding members | |
| Charlie Harris | |
| Johnny Cooper | |
| Theron Poteet | |
| Tiny Smith | |
Drums |
Don Brewer |
RD Hendon and his Western Jamboree Cowboys was an American country band from Texas . Until RD Hendon's death, the group was one of the most popular western swing bands in Texas.
Career
RD Hendon was born in Texas in 1924 and began running nightclubs after his military service. The increasing popularity of the house band of his Sphinx Club - the South Texas Cowboys - prompted Hendon to buy the Old Main Street Dance Hall, which he soon after converted into a western club and named Western Jamboree Night Club . The South Texas Cowboys named themselves after this club. As early as 1950, the band was filling the club six times a week and a year later the Western Jamboree Cowboys began making records. At the same time they got appearances on the program of the radio station KLEE, where Hendon also worked as a presenter.
Her first single was Those Tears In Your Eyes / No Shoes Boogie on the Freedom label. Hendon himself never really played in the band; Due to his only moderate musical talent, he preferred to manage the band and his club. The line-up at the time consisted of Charlie Harris (vocals / guitar), Johnny Cooper (guitar), Theron Poteet (piano), Tiny Smith (bass) and Don Brewer (drums). For their first session, the Western Jamboree Cowboys were also supported by Herb Remington on steel guitar . After a few appearances with Jerry Jericho and Hank Locklin , the group came to a contract with Four Star Records . Their first release there was Oh! Mr. President , on the political scandal surrounding Douglas MacArthur and Harry S. Truman . In the meantime Johnny Cooper had left the band and after some further changes in the line-up, the group stayed with the following line-up for a long time: Eddie Noack (vocals / guitar), Gig Sparks (vocals / guitar), Harold Sharp (vocals / guitar), Don Brewer (steel guitar) and Tiny Smith (bass). It was followed by more singles on Four Star and Shamrock. Hendon had organized the recordings at Shamrock.
Around 1953 the Western Jamboree Cowboys recorded an EP on Blue Ribbon with country songs that were in the charts at the time. In addition, the group, whose line-up changed almost every year, continued to appear in South and East Texas as well as on the radio and in Hendon's Club.
In 1954 Hendon signed a contract with Pappy Dailys Starday Records , for which the band recorded four singles by mid-1956. RD Hendon himself occasionally played drums with the band at the time and can be heard as the vocalist on the rockabilly song Big Black Cat , although it is obvious that Hendon was not a talented vocalist. During 1955 and 1956, new members such as Jack Rodgers and Bill Taylor, who had previously played in Memphis , Tennessee , with the Snearly Ranch Boys , joined the band, breaking the classic core line-up of Eddie Noack, Harold Sharper and Tiny Smith. The end of the band came unexpectedly in 1956 when RD Hendon committed suicide.
Discography
| year | title | Label # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Those Tears In Your Eyes / No Shoes Boogie | Freedom | |||
| 1951 | Oh! Mr. President /? | 4 star | |||
| 1951 | The Wandering Blues / Marking Time | 4 Star Records | |||
| 1951 | I Can't Run Away / This Moon Won't Last Forever | 4 star 1590 | |||
| I'd Still Want you / Music Making Mama From Memphis | 4 star 1595 | ||||
| Please Mr. Postman / There's a Place In My Heart | 4 star 1599 | ||||
| 1952 | Blues boogie /? | Shamrock | |||
| 1953 | Blues Boogie / Ain't Got A Lick of Sense | 4 star 1644 | |||
| 1954 | You Traveled Too Far / Return to My Broken Heart | Starday 45-167 | |||
| 1955 | Big Black Cat / Four Walls | Starday 45-194 | |||
| 1956 | Don't Push Me / We Smiled | Starday 45-228 | |||
| 1956 | The Waltz of Texas / Lonely Nights | Starday 45-248 | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
|
unknown | ||||
literature
- Kevin Coffey: RD Hendon & his Western Jamboree Cowboys . 2007
- Adam Komorowski: From Boppin 'Hillbilly To Red Hot Rockabilly . Proper Records 2005