Sunshine Ruby

Sunshine Ruby (born October 19, 1939 in Myrtle Springs , Texas ; actually Ruby Jewell Bateman ) is an American country musician . In the early 1950s, Sunshine Ruby became a child star on the Texan country scene.

Life

Childhood and youth

Ruby Batesman was born in Myrtle Springs, about 50 miles from Dallas . Very early on, she began to gain experience on stage and in front of an audience, and performed at school events and neighborhood parties. At the age of eleven she was discovered by the Shelton Brothers and engaged for their Texas Barn Dance .

Career

Sunshine Ruby's performances (under this name she performed from then on) in Barn Dance became a resounding success. Then she had a show together with Joe Shelton, a brother of the Sheltons, on the radio station KTER in Terrell, Texas.

She was in Dallas for a weekend and happened to have the chance to appear on a Big D Jamborees show. Producer Al Turner did not attach great importance to the appearance of the young girl and made her sing a song. However, the audience was so enthusiastic that Sunshine Ruby could only leave the stage after the third song. She was then immediately integrated into the show as a permanent member. Her performances soon made her popular across Texas and known as the "Sweetheart of the Big D Jamboree". Talent scouts of the major label RCA Victor saw Ruby in the Jamboree in 1953 and signed her for RCA.

Ruby's first single came out that same year, Too Young To Tango b / w Hearts Weren't Meant To Be Broken . Her sessions for RCA were held in Nashville with studio musicians who didn't take their work with the little 13-year-old girl seriously. Guitarist George Barnes, in particular, wandered into jazzy improv solos instead of using the usual country licks that would have suited Ruby's voice far better. As a result, the quality of the songs deteriorated significantly and their singles did not get beyond small successes. Some duets with teenage idol Tommy Sands couldn't help either.

In 1955 Sunshine Ruby retired from the music business, married and started a family. In 2005, Binge Discs released a CD entitled Sweetheart of the Big D Jamboree with their works. Most recently, Ruby was a former member of the Big D Jamborees on a TV documentary about the show that aired in 2008.

Discography

year	title	#	Remarks
RCA Victor
1953	Too Young To Tango / Hearts Weren't Meant To Be Broken	20-5250
	Nobody Asked Me To Dance / Datin '	20-5374
	Too Old For Toys / Little Girl Love	20-5467
	Too Fat For The Chimney / I Wanna Do Something For Santa Claus	20-5474
	That Ain't In Any Catalog / I Got My First Kiss Last Night	20-5582
	I'm So Bashful / I Think He Winked At Me	20-5806
	Hankerin '/ Don't You Kow I Love You	20-5860
	My Daddy Has Two Sweethearts / I Don't Care What The General Says	20-5930

Web links

• Sunshine Ruby on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
• Ruby's first single