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Slim Whitman
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This topic was originally posted in this forum: Wanted To Buy |
| Author | Topic: Slim Whitman |
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Rick Collins Member Posts: 3286 |
posted 17 June 2000 09:34 AM
I listen to classical music about fifty percent of the time and the remainder of the time, I mostly listen to recordings with the steel guitar. I like selections from all fields of music, especially Hawaiian. I practice most types of music on my collection of string instruments including country. I have both pedal and non-pedal steel guitars. Music is only my avocation and I very much appreciate you who make this your livelihood. I also appreciate this forum. I've learned much from it. Some of my preconceived notions that were not quite true have been set straight by some of you who really know this subject. I feel someone will know the answer to this: Slim Whitman is good listening. Who is playing steel guitar on "North Wind" and "Rose Marie"? Thanks in advance. Mr. Moon in Alaska, I like your website and your posts. I hope I have your intense interest in music when I'm your age. Rick [This message was edited by Rick Collins on 19 June 2000 at 08:38 AM.] [This message was edited by Rick Collins on 19 June 2000 at 08:39 AM.] |
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 17 June 2000 09:57 AM
Hi Rick, I am not sure about the answer to your question who played steel guitar on the Whitman recordings of "North Wind," and "Rose Marie." He used a lot of sdifferent steel players on sessions over the years. However, I do know that when I saw Slim in a concert years ago. Johnny "Dumplin" Cox played steel behind him. Cox was working as a Texas Troubador at the time. Whitman, Ernest Tubb and others were doing a packaged road show together. Cox played an old stand up Fender steel with Whitman and man he ripped it out note for note just like he'd been working with Slim for years. Incidently, that day Slim Whitman sang the "Star Spangled Banner," with just his accoustic guitar, and you could have heard a pin drop in a crowd of about 20,000 when he sang that great song. Slim Whitman was a class act, as was the late Ernest Tubb. Wish I could answer your question but sorry I just don't know the answer. God Bless You, Terry Wood |
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Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 17 June 2000 02:37 PM
Hey Rick, A steeler by the name of Hoot Raines played for Slim Whitman on a lot of those old records. I'm not sure if it was him or not on those two cuts though. He had that thing about picking a note and sliding up a complete octave for some neat effects. ------------------ |
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 17 June 2000 07:29 PM
Hi Rick, I done some research for on Slim and the steel guitar playing. As Jerry mentioned the steel player recording for Slim in the early fifties was a guy named Hoot Rains. Slim's "Love Song of the Waterfall," was released in 1951 and shot to the number two position on the charts. That song was son followed later that year with Slim's number one and first million seller, :Indian Love Call." In 1954 Slim recorded his second American million seller, 'Rose Marie." According to the information I gathered In 1979 the Suffok marketing decided to release a TV album of Slim's hits. The company pressed 5000 records and ran a limited number of commercials in a test market. "All My Best," by Slim Whitman sold 1,200,000 albums in the first few weeks and eventually sold 4,000,000 records. This made Slim the biggest selling record star in TV music history. Well, Slim even said himself on the Tonight Show, "They made fun, but Old Slim laughed all the way to the bank!" After the research, I think Jerry's right-on, and I believe it was Hoot Rain. He and Slim apparently met on the Louisiana Hayride. One final note, a friend of mine, Dr. Ralph Sheets a Chemistry Professor these days at SMSU at Springfield, MO and a former member of the SGHOF Board. He too played steel for Slim Whitman and Jim Reeves years ago. Ralph played for a short time with Slim but gave up the road because he would get car sick traveling. Ralph's brother-in-law was also Slim's lead guitar player. Slim was a great and your right the steel playing's great too! I hope this helped! T.J. Wood |
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Ray Cothren Member Posts: 327 |
posted 17 June 2000 09:25 PM
This desn't answer the original question but Indian Love Call was recorded in Apr or May 1952 at radio station KWKH Shreveport, LA with musicians: Slim Whitman - vocal, guitar; Curly Herndon - fiddle; Sugarfoot Collins - guitar; Hoot Rains - steel guitar; Sonny Harville - piano; Curly Harris - bass ( info from Rhino CD Hillbilly Fever Vol 3) |
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C Dixon Member Posts: 5912 |
posted 18 June 2000 04:59 AM
Boy, am I glad this thread answered a long standing question for me. I always wondered who Slim's steel player was on those classic records like "Indian Love Call". I do NOT mean this to be disrespectful, but I have a paradoxial feeling about the steel player in question. And it is this; I always felt that his steel guitar talents were not that great, but it fit perfectly with Slim's voice. It could not have been better IMHO. I believe this happens a lot in life. I know of many cases where "lessor than the best" actually achieved more. There is no question in my mind that he contributed in a very big way to Slim's success. The same way that Little Roy Wiggins became "THE" Eddy Arnold sound (on Eddy's rise to fame). Pete Drake is the most classic example of this I know of. All my opinion of course. God bless the "little" ones, carl |
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Bobby Bowman Member Posts: 1271 |
posted 18 June 2000 06:06 AM
One further note. If memory serves me correct, Hoot played a double neck Gibson Grand Console with seven strings on one neck and eight on the other. When I was quiet young I filled in for Hoot for a few jobs and Slim asked me to play Hoot's guitar. I was playing a Fender double or triple at the time and it didn't have the same sound as the Gibson, which Slim liked. BB ------------------ |
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Jody Sanders Member Posts: 2889 |
posted 18 June 2000 09:43 AM
Jimmy Crawford was with Slim much later, about the time Weldon switched fret boards on him one night on the OPRY. |
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Ray Montee Member Posts: 4090 |
posted 18 June 2000 05:35 PM
Okay forumites.... JERRY BYRD also did a number of records with S.Whitman. An album or two for sure, some old green 45's later some black 45's. All were RCA I believe. Chet Atkins, Homer & Jethro (the Country All Stars) as well as fiddler Dale Potter, were the session people as I recall. |
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Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 18 June 2000 06:00 PM
I believe Slim's old records which were hits in the early 50's were on Imperial Records. I know they weren't on RCA, Columbia, Decca, or any of the major labels at the time. ------------------ |
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 18 June 2000 08:10 PM
Jerry's right the earlier recordings were on the Imperial Record label. I purchased a Christmas album by Slim a few years back. It was recorded during 1980 and Jimmy Crawford and Weldon Myrick were the steel guitarists on that particular CBS record. God Bless, Terry Wood |
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Loy B Moore Member Posts: 56 |
posted 18 June 2000 09:30 PM
According to the Discography in the Bear Family CD set, Slim Whitman probably recorded "Northwind" June 15, 1953 at the KWKH studios in Shreveport. Sam Hodge, who was a student at Texas Tech in Lubbock was the steel guitarist. "Rose Marie" was recorded March 1, 1954 also at the KWKH studios in Shreveport. Lester "Tinker" Fry was steel guitarist. Hoot Rains, who played steel on "Indian Love Call" left the Slim Whitman band sometime after March, 1953 and the "Northwind" session in June, 1953. Loy Moore |
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Ray Montee Member Posts: 4090 |
posted 18 June 2000 09:36 PM
It must be great to be young and know all of the answers to all of the questions! To know in your own mind, that your knowledge is the total of all knowledge and that your confidence allows you to presume everyone else has to be wrong in order for you to be right. I will only carry this argument so far and that is to make a point! JERRY....I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, but you're mistaken. I realize this must be really hard for you to take but that's the way it is, here in the real world. And Terry, you too, are in error. Either you two are incorrect in your bold statements, or, what I have in my hand is some kind of a conspiracy, no doubt started by the same bunch that can't get it straight as to whether push-pull is better than push-push. I'm sitting here at this very moment looking at a small, Green,45 rpm disk with the BIG hole in the center. It's an RCA Victor label complete with the little dog "spot" or was that the dog's name in the Buster Brown Shoe ad? Any way, "I'll Never Pass This Way Again", written by Dale Parker and recorded by Slim Whitman is Record No. 48-0145-A. It's backed with "Birmingham Jail". Now, item two: "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" and "There's A Rainbow in Every Teardrop"...is on a BLACK, RCA VICTOR 45 rpm record, Record No. 47-5431. Tell me fellas, am I wrong or might you be mistaken? The next thing on this Forum we're likely to hear, is someone telling Buddy Emmons or John Hughey, that they're playing it all wrong or whatever! I can't believe people...sometimes. |
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Ray Cothren Member Posts: 327 |
posted 18 June 2000 10:09 PM
Indian Love Call was originally released as Imperial 8156 in June 1952. Actually everyone is right. Slim's first label was RCA. He only recorded 10 songs for them. He then signed with Imperial, had the big hits and stayed with them for 27 years. http://personal.riverusers.com/~flash/swliner.html [This message was edited by Ray Cothren on 18 June 2000 at 10:57 PM.] |
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 19 June 2000 09:04 AM
Hi Guys, I have a few comments and information to share with you that might be interested. The cassette is titled 'Una Paloma Blanca:The Best of Slim Whitman" from the Legendary Masters Series EMI E4-94315 "Indian Love Call" recorded June, 1952 (Imperial 81560) Charted C & W 7-5-52 Reached #2 , charted Pop chart 7-26-52, reached #9. This song turned out to be his first million seller. 'North Wind" recorded 11-53, released 12-14-53 (Imperial records8223) charted C & W chart 1-23-54, reached #8. "Rose-Marie" recorded 3-1-54, released 3-15-54 (Imperial 8236) charted C & W chart 5-1-54, reached #4 charted Pop chart 5-1-54, reached #22. This was Slim second million seller in the USA. To Mr. Ray Montee, you could be alittle more cautious when throwing accusations. To Mr. Ray Cothren, thanks for trying to be a peace keeper. To Jerry, hang in there bro, there's often those who try to discredit others. I knew we were right along! Finally, I'm sure glad I read that cassette sleeve as I was typing in the information yesterday. Terry J. Wood
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 19 June 2000 09:30 AM
Hi Guys, Ray Montee is right though about Slim recording for RCA Victor too. I know this because some place I have an old 33 L.P. with the songs Birmingham Jail and the Lasso song on it. I bought it for 50 cents when the local county library sold all the records and went to CDs about 5 years ago. I don't know the date, but I'm guesing RCA released that 33 L.P. sometime in the late 50's or early 60's. Terry Wood |
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billchav Member Posts: 128 |
posted 19 June 2000 09:56 PM
Hey Loy; figured you could not pass this up. I think everyone would like some more info that you have. Bill |
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Loy B Moore Member Posts: 56 |
posted 19 June 2000 10:44 PM
The information about Slim Whitman's first records being on RCA is correct, but they were not of the 45 RPM variety. They were the big ones with the little holes that spun at 78 RPM. Some of them were Slim's best but never did anything until he hit it big with Imperial in the early 1950s. Unfortunately Hoot Rains passed away a few years ago. He truly had a "signature" sound on the early Imperial records that no one was able to really duplicate after he left Whitman's band. |
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Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 20 June 2000 05:05 AM
Hey Ray Montee, Cool it with the hostility! This isn't the Off Topic Board is it? If you read my posts it's an opinion I stated from memory as I have no facts in front of me. If I was wrong (which I wasn't) then'd I'd apologize. Please try some Preparation H for your hemorhoids and maybe your attitude would improve! ------------------ [This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 20 June 2000 at 05:09 AM.] |
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kyle reid Member Posts: 468 |
posted 20 June 2000 04:13 PM
Man! who cares? |
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John Hanusch Member Posts: 142 |
posted 04 March 2001 07:49 AM
Note: see my earlier topic "Puzzle? Gibson Multiharp, etc. I should have done the search first & put the Gibson MultiHarp info & question here. A above post mentioned that Hoot left the band in '53, but the markings under this steel say "1955 Model", Slim Whitman Band ,etc. But, I guess this guitar is as it is marked, not an albatross. I'll probably post this in "Buy & Sell" after I clean it up & see if it all works. Also, I'll try to have some pictures with me in Dallas, If any one is interested. I'm staying at the Harvey. |
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Paul Graupp Member Posts: 3199 |
posted 04 March 2001 08:34 AM
This goes back a ways but I seem to recall reading on one of Curly Chalker's albums that he had played with Slim as well. I can't verify that or say anything else, it's just something I had in the back of my you know what. I remember him also saying that he and Ray Price got kicked out of some place in Dallas because " They were no good !" Wonder who's playing there now? Regards, Paul |
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John Drury Member Posts: 779 |
posted 04 March 2001 11:50 AM
Skip, The dogs name is "Nipper". John Drury |
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