Smoke That Cigarette ---TEX WILLIAMS

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 4 Mar 2010 4:49 pm

Here's a video clip with Tex Williams from a Country Show on KTLA in Los Angles. Perhaps 1950s?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn23zhBn ... re=related

ROGER

Ron Whitfield · Post by **Ron Whitfield** » 4 Mar 2010 7:26 pm

And here they are doing The Talkin' Boogie w/Thumbs and ? on steel? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUFU7rmB ... re=related

Roger Shackelton · Post by **Roger Shackelton** » 4 Mar 2010 7:46 pm

HI RON,

I believe the steel player is Curly Chalker.

ROGER

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 5 Mar 2010 12:29 am

Ron:

That is Dickie Phillips taking that great standard guitar break on Talkin' Boogie.

Not sure who the steel man is, possibly Wayne Burdick?

That is the then unknown and babe-alicious Sheree North at 23 seconds in.

Here is Dickie Phillips' obit:

JAMES RICHARD "DICKIE" PHILLIPS, b. August 30, 1920, Beamon, Pettis County, Missouri; d. April 23, 1991, Jackson County, Missouri; m. MARTHA KILLEBREW, Abt. 1940, St. Louis, Louis County, Missouri.

James Richard Phillips was an accomplished musician, playing the fiddle and guitar with many well known bands, such as Spike Jones, Tex Williams and Bob Scobey. He played with Pat Boone's backup band and appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Show as a regular attraction for several months, both on radio and television.

When he was with the Tex Williams band, he played background music for a number of movies, including several of the Walt Disney animated films. During his youth, he played with a band which appeared in Hawaii and during this time he contracted tuberculosis.

The disease progressed to the point where he was near death in the late 1940s. He had a lung and nine ribs removed in an attempt to halt the progress of the disease; however, the other lung was also infected. At that time a new family of drugs, including streptomycin was being experimented with but had not yet been released for use by the general public. He was one of the first people to be given the drug as an experiment on human beings. The drug was successful and he was eventually cured of tuberculosis. However, with only one lung remaining, he would spend the remainder of his life with chest problems.

As with many in the show business world, he was afflicted with alcoholism, and as a result, he left the business and returned to his home in Missouri in the early 1970s. In Missouri he was able to spend the rest of his days as a recovered alcoholic. He played his music in the Sedalia area until just a few years before his death.

Ernie Renn · Post by **Ernie Renn** » 5 Mar 2010 8:00 am

I'm fairly sure that's Curly Chalker.

Here's a clip on YouTube of Curly & Thumbs Carllile with similar band uniforms. Click Here!

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 5 Mar 2010 2:35 pm

On the Smoke, Smoke, Smoke vidio the M.C, was Doyle O'Dell. The other part of the trio was Eddy Cleatro.
These guys at differen't times had their own TV shows on KTLA and Channel 13, I think was KCOP. In the 50's the Band Members became interchangeable as nobody could make a livihg playing just for one of our local "Stars". Many had to play in local Clubs during the week in order to make a living. Unless you got a lot of recording gigs or was a trained Studio Musician, sidemen did not make a lot of money in So. Calif. Bandleaders usually did pretty well for themselves but the sidemen usually could only get Union Scale which was only one step above poverty. It was a great time musically, but you better have a day job.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 5 Mar 2010 9:20 pm

The steel player in "Talkin' Boogie" is Wayne Burdick. Singing with Tex is Deuce Spriggens on bass and Jimmy Widener on guitar. Max Fidler is the lead violinist, Ossie Godsen on vibraphone, Warren Penniman on drums, and I don't recognize the other players. Really good band, y'all.

Billy
I love hearing about Doye since I worked with him fairly frequently at the Mustang Room in downtown LA, across Alvarado St. from MacArthur Park. I was filling in for Noel B. when Boggs went up to Nevada with Jimmy Wakely. I used to mention to Doye that when I was a kid I'd watch his KTLA daytime kiddie show where he hosted western movies back in the early 50's, and me telling him that bugged him to no end!

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 6 Mar 2010 2:29 am

I too owe alot to Doye Odell. When I was a kid trying to stay alive in LA LA land he used me on alot of his week day gigs. If it hadn't been for Doye and Joaquin taking care of me I probably wouldn't have made it. cc

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 6 Mar 2010 12:20 pm

Herb, Billy, and CC:

Do any of you guys know for sure if Joaquin recorded with Doye??

I have my suspicions that he did, at least on a few tracks.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 6 Mar 2010 6:57 pm

Herb:
A lot of great Mucisians played at the Alvarado St,. club by Westlake Park (Later renamed McArthur Park} The neighborhood is now "Gangland". You do not want to drive anywhere near that area today.

Do you remember the "Irish World" on Prarie Ave. in Inglewood, Ca. A lot of Spade Cooley's week-end Musicians played there during the week including Noel, Red Egner, Les (Carrot Top} Anderson. When they did not have Drums, Les would play with a couple of brushes on a cardboard beer case.