The C&W circuit in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana
was based on Saturday night grange-hall dances, downhome live local radio
broadcasts, and on what may be to some readers, a surprising number of
Northwest singers and musicians of considerable talent. To hear old C&W fans tell it, the Northwest
enjoyed an incredibly rich scene in the 1950s. There was a point when local
fans could have gone to hoedowns held in area halls and danced to the singing
of Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, or Willie Nelson – and not from records on some
jukebox!
All three of these stars lived and
worked in the Northwest.
In the late-‘50s Owens ran dances in Tacoma, Washington, and hosted a
radio
show on station KAYE, and cut a few singles in Seattle. Meanwhile, Lynn
lived in Custer, Washington, got a guitar in Seattle, and
recorded her classic debut 45, “I’m A Honky Tonk Girl” (Zero Records
107), for
a local label. Nelson kept busy singing at area dances, working as a
C&W deejay at radio station KVAN in Vancouver, Washington, and in
1957 recorded his now-ultra-rare debut 45, "Lumberjack," in a tiny
studio in Portland.
There were also a number of less-famous local names who cut
interesting recordings showing a certain wild energy that was rather atypical
of traditional C&W music. Ace electric-guitar picker Jack Rivers cut an up-tempo bopper “Navy Hot Rod” (Listen
Records 1441), during his Seattle years.
Then there was Seattle’s Bill Osborne who recorded his guitar
instrumental, “Osborne’s Boogie” for Rivers' label (J.R. Ranch 1424). Though neither of these discs can be
considered rockabilly, they sure pointed the way!
In 1955 Bill Haley and his Comets first scorched their way
through the Northwest’s grange-hall circuit fanning the flames of early rock
‘n’ roll. Then Elvis Presley really kick-started the whole movement on Saturday
28, 1956, when he made his national TV debut on the Dorsey Brothers’ Stageshow.
It would seem that a zillion budding rockabillies and rockabelles
discovered their calling while watching the tube that particular day.
Some of the more notable rockabilly singles released in this
region include: Benny Cliff’s “Shake It Up Rock” (Drift 1441), Bobby Wayne's “Sally Ann” (LJV 101), Ray Gentry’s
“Willie Was A Bad Boy” (Maverick 164), Val Volk’s “There’ll Be A Rockin’ Party
Tonight” (Rocket / Drift 1050), Sherree Scott’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’” (Robbins
101), Leon Mach’s “You Hurt Me So” (Lavender 1554), Wally Lee’s “Oh No Daddy-O”
(Now 1010), Peggy Griffith’s “Rockin’ The Blues” (Now 1008), Leon Smith’s
“Little Forty Ford” (Epic 9326), and Clayton Watson and the Silhouettes’
1958 classic, “Everybody Boppin’” (Lavender 2454).
It was Clayton Watson and the Silhouettes from Centralia,
Washington, who probably gained the most notoriety of any area rockabillies.
Seattle’s KJR radio even billed them for a live appearance as “The First Rock
and Roll Band In The State.” But promoting a teen-dance is one thing, and
actually pushing the band’s record with airplay
is another. Thus, neither Watson nor any other early local rockers ere with
much, if any, radio support for their pioneering efforts.
As a live dance and concert act however, there was immediate
regional success awaiting Watson. The Silhouettes were soon backing most of the
top rockabilly stars on their Northwest tours in the late-‘50s, including: Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Knox,
Jimmy Bowen, and Dorsey Burnette. As things turned out both Watson and his pal,
Yakima, Washington’s rockabilly guitar-man, Jerry Lee Merritt, ended up touring
in 1959-’60 and then recording with their hero, Gene Vincent, in Los Angeles at
Capitol Studios.
Another interesting saga was that of the trio of boppin’
cats called the Maddy Brothers. Hailing from Snohomish, Washington, a small
rural community about 20 miles north of Seattle, the brothers’ first love was
bluegrass and C&W music. In 1954 Bob (mandolin), Jim (rhythm guitar), and
Tom (lead guitar) Maddy made their public debut in a guest spot at the old
Bryant Grange near Arlington, Washington.
Over the following couple years the brothers would be further influenced
by the hits songs of Elvis and the Everly Brothers. The Maddys were soon hired
to play regular weekends at Duffy’s Tavern in the nearby community of
Clearview. By this time they had added Bruce “Buddy” Brautsman (bass guitar) to
their lineup and occasionally hired one of several drummers to play these gigs.
Before long the Maddy Brothers were signed to a management
contract by Art Benson, a Seattle-based businessman who was a freelance talent
scout. This led to a recording session at Seattle’s Dimensional Sound studio
and, in late-1957, a record on its associated label, Celestial Records – a single that was a
unique specimen of rock ‘n’ roll to say the least! “Rockin’ Party” / “Hey Little Girlie”
(Celestial 109) featured some truly gone hillbilly harmonies, those two
twangin’ guitars, and one mad mandolin. All of this was served with a big greasy
side order of serious slap-back echo. Funny thing is though: the little record
rocked like crazy. Especially considering that there are no drums on it!
It’s always been tough, of course, for a lot of us to ignore
the allure of any ‘50s song with a title like “Rockin’ Party,” but if you’ve
ever heard the overtones of lasciviousness present in the vocals of the
flipside, “Hey Little Girlie,” you’ll know why no rational disc jockey in 1958
was gonna air this thing. No way. No how. Well, almost no deejay. There was
that one time…
Though the Maddy Brothers’ manager faced an almost
impossible task of trying to get Seattle’s deejays to look twice at a local
record back in those days, Benson gave it his best effort. He apparently
regaled many a local radio station Program Manager or Music Director with pleas
to give the 45 a listen. All this without any luck. The Maddys had almost lost
all hope. But then, one bright morning they had their radio tuned to one of the
region’s early powerhouse stations – a station that featured a popular
mid-morning show geared to introduce new sounds to the listening audience. The
public was invited to phone in votes to help judge a record’s musical merit. To
the Maddys’ utter surprise their “Hey Little Girlie” suddenly was being broadcasted.
After accepting plenty of congratulatory backslaps from their workmates they
heard the announcer explain that the record had received an outstanding 98%
“Potential Hit” rating. This was great
news and the guys no doubt felt that they were now well on their way to
Stardom, the Ed Sullivan Show,
Hollywood, et cetera. But too soon, reality set in. “Hey Little Girlie” was
never aired again. [Well, at least until I played the record on my KCMU radio
show 30+ years later!] Later their manager explained the facts of life in the
music biz to the brothers: though the song showed promise as a popular hit,
there was still a little matter of finances that he just wasn’t able to resolve
with the station. In other words: the deejays wanted cash as payola to continue
airing the record and he simply didn’t have the scratch to do that. So the disc
slipped into near-total obscurity – except
among us dedicated record collectors.
But, by the end of the 1950s the first genuine Northwest rock
bands – including the Frantics and Wailers – began to emerge and the era of the
rockabillies was all but over. The Maddy Brothers, having had their fling in
the rock realm, returned to their C&W roots and after two years as regulars
on KOMO-TV’s weekly music show, Evergreen Jubilee, they went back to the rural
dancehalls where they gigged together until the mid-1970s when they finally
retired.
Then suddenly – in the midst of the Punk / New Wave
explosion of the late-‘70s and early ‘80s – a full-blown rockabilly revival
brought forth a number of fine young Northwest bands (including the Magnetics,
the 88s, and the Rockin’ Fools) that released exciting recordings. But that
story has got to wait ‘til another time…
[NOTE:
This is a lightly edited version of an essay that was originally published in
the “Pacific Northwest Music Explosion” issue of DISCoveries magazine in
April 1990]