Slim Clark induction to the Western Music Hall of Fame

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 16 Apr 2000 6:35 am

Hi everyone, I got this forwarded on to me from a friend, Texas singer Janet McBride.
Janet used to be a peformer in Southern California from the 1950's to 1965, then to Texas, bar a short stint in Nashville in the late 1960's.
She is still an active performer to this day, she has asked to help gather tributes for Slim Clark who is to be inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in November at Tucson.

Janet writes:

Whether you are an older person who would know who Slim Clark is or you are an act in today's Western Music Scene who might just be singing or recording some of the songs recorded by Slim Clark or you are {or know} a yodeler who possibly learned some of your yodel runs/patterns from Slim's great recordings or know some DJ's that have played Slim's recordings over the years.

Slim started in the business singing Cowboy songs in the 1930's but did not make his first recording until 1946 and only with the help of Elton Britt and Denver Darling who coaxed him down to NYC to record.

What I am asking for is a letter of congratulations from you written to Slim Clark. These letters will be sleeved and put
into a notebook that will be presented to him if he is able to attend the festival (his health is not good) or it will be presented at his home if need be.

You can write as a fan if you enjoyed his recordings, or as an artist who learned from him, or as a DJ who played his records. Slim is in his 80's and is totally thrilled and honored with this news.

Please mail them to Janet McBride, 1501 Wheatfield Ct.,
Mesquite, TX 75149-6850. If you sent it email it would not
be signed.

If you know anyone else who might want to write a letter please
have them do so. You can collect them for us but they do need
to be mailed to me by October so that we can have everything
together for presentation.

Help us out. Love y'all, Janet McBride

------------------
[This message was edited by Jason Odd on 16 April 2000 at 07:41 AM.]

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 19 Apr 2000 6:27 pm

Just keepin' this one alive for a little longer.

------------------

Smiley Roberts · Post by **Smiley Roberts** » 19 Apr 2000 8:55 pm

Hey Jason,
Went through my "stack",& found a "78" by Yodeling Slim Clark on the Continental label entitled,"Swiss Lover's Lullaby",written by R. Clarke (Slim??),b/w "When You're Blue,Just Yodel",written by S.Sutter who,I would assume,would be Smiley Sutter. Smiley worked as a comedian on the WWVA Jamboree,in Wheeling W.V.,under the name,"Crazy Elmer". I worked several shows w/ him in the mid-'60's.
It was funny because,someone would holler out,"Hey Smiley",& we'd both say,"What". "Elmer" passed away several yrs. ago from throat cancer.

I remember seeing Slim,back in the early '50's at the Valley Arena in Holyoke Ma. I may or may not have backed him up. I can't seem to remember. I used to work there,but I don't know if I worked w/ him.
BTW,is Janet McBride any relation to Laura Lee McBride,who sang w/ Bob Wills?
------------------
<pre> ~ ~
©¿©
mm
-=sr€=-</pre> [This message was edited by Smiley Roberts on 19 April 2000 at 09:58 PM.]

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 19 Apr 2000 10:08 pm

Hiya Smiley, thanks for posting my man!

There's something I forgot to do, if you or anyone on the forum has a story about Slim or memories of a performance or even a record you bought, then you can email Janet with the story.

Janet's email is [email}jmcbride@airmail.net[/email]

She's decided to use the web and emails to help her put together her tribute to Slim, which I thought was pretty cool. In the next couple of weeks I'm going to surf all the singing Cowboy sites and posts and see if I can generate a bit of interest for her.

Thanks for posting Smiley.
Regards

Jason.

------------------

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 20 Apr 2000 7:14 am

Hey Jason,
I never knew her but I remember Janet McBride from LA in the early 60's. Didn't she do some stuff with Vern Stovall at one time?

------------------
Have a good one! JH U-12

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 20 Apr 2000 8:30 am

Hey Jerry, man it so good to have you back on the Forum.
and yes dude that is the same Janet McBride.
She and Vern cut an Lp in Texas around 1967.
Mainly duets, although they both had a couple of songs of their own on it, kind of like how Phil Baugh and Vern had that Lp on Longhorn on 1965, with Phil cutting half of it as instumentals, while Vern sang on the other half.
Janet, Phil, Vern and Leon Copeland were all on Longhorn, which I believe was the late Dewey Groom's label in Dallas. a lot of the Western Swing greats recorded for Longhorn in the 1960's to.
But back to the story, ..Dewey convinced them all to move to Texas, Phil backed out, but Janet and her husband moved to Texas in 1965 with Vern and Leon. Leon died from a stab wound from his girlfriend, basically he bled to death, i think she got an artery in his leg.
Anyway, that was the start of Texas for them, not the best and by the late 1960's Vern and Janet seperately tried their luck in Nashville, then both relocated to Texas.
Janet is still very active, does a lot of rodeos and festivals, a lot of 'Western' and Yodelling type events. she is pretty cool.
I'll send you a link to her site if I still have it, some of her old stuff has been reissued and might still be available, she even recorded for Toppa Records with some of the Palomino Riders in the early 1960's.

------------------