Modern music critics forget that there was country music in the North as well as the south. Yodelin' Slim Clark was from Massachusetts originally. The tradition continues in Canada whereas New England has largely moved on. Clark himself retired in the 1970s and began painting. Strangely beyond his discography and his career painting landscapes much of his biography is convoluted.His career began in 1936 at the age of 19. On air he used the name "Wyoming Buck" thought he had never even been to Wyoming himself. Some sources state he went pro in 1931 but that seems absurd since he would have been 0nly 14. Regardless the "Wyoming Buck" name didn't' stick. The station manager dubbed him "Yodeling Slim Clark," a nick name he kept for the rest of his career.
In 1938 he got a weekly spot on a show at WKNE with announcer, Ozzie Wade. Numerous sources put him on the radio program "RFD Dinner Bell" out of Bangor but this does not jive. RDF Dinner Bell was at WSB in Atlanta about 1000 miles away. RFD stands for Radio Farmers Democracy. The acronym was a play on the Postal Service's Rural Free Delivery service which began in 1896 for farming families in rural areas. By 1905 the Post Office was serving 32,000 RFD routes. It was discontinued in 1915 in favor of parcel post. More here.
It was a program of agriculture and country music which would have aired him. Starting in 1926, it ran three times a week at noon sponsored by Sears & Roebuck. Sears stopped working with WSB in 1928 and the show was discontinued. Clark did not appear on a show of the same name for 10 more years. However, WLS ran their own version of the show, so it's entirely possible that 910 WABI-AM in Bangor did as well. More here.
He had several bands over the years. With the Red River Rangers he played often at 1240 WHAI-AM in Greenfield, MA. His later bands The Trailriders and The Trailsmen were nearly as successful. In 1952 he started in television at WABI-TV.
In 1946 he signed a record deal with Continental Records in New York City. He stayed with them until 1957. He wasn't on to record another 50 albums before he began his second career as a painter.
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Contrary to the info in this article, Yodeling Slim Clark (my Dad) did indeed host a radio program called the RFD Dinnerbell on WABI radio in Bangor, Maine for a number of years...well over 10. Also, I do believe he began performing even before age 14, as "absurd" as that may sound. I'm guessing that some of the other information regarding Slim Clark that this blog author suspects is "convoluted", on the contrary may actually be "accurate".
ReplyDeleteI never said it was absurd that he was performing at 14, but that it was absurd he was a professional musician at 14. Then as now, it's hard to go pro when you cant sign a legally binding contract. Regardless, his storied career is indisputable.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with RFD Dinnerbell on WABI is that I can only find a single reference to the program in the book "Yodel-ay-ee-oooo the secret history of yodeling." That doesn't mean the program wasn't real. It only means It's dubious. It's obviously possible for one program to re-use the name of another, there are of course other instances of that in history.
What's strange is that I cant confirm it with any published schedules or ads for WABI. Furthermore, another book that mentions Mr. Clark "Singing in the saddle" never mentions the program at all. That's unusual for a long running program.
If you have more information I'd be thrilled to confirm it all here. There is far too little written about your pop. If you have pictures, articles.. anything. You scan and I'll post. Radio history is best written by those who were there.
I lived in the Bangor Maine area from 1963 through 1967 when my father was stationed at Dow Air Force Base there. We lived very close to our school, and we would come home for lunch every day. My mom would put the radio on a Bangor station, and we'd listen to the "RFD Dinner Bell" radio show as we ate.
Deletehere are some memories of people who actually heard Slim on the show or at least the station: http://www.a-free-guestbook.com/gb/slimclark/2
ReplyDeletecurrently finishing up yodel book 2: YODEL IN HIFI. thanx,
bart plantenga
i found more on rfd dinnerbell:
ReplyDeletehttp://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1178777&sid=2f3944c896cb9681909d72da0db8c429
I'm originally from Bangor, Maine. I can confirm we did have that announcer in Bangor, Maine. The reason I searched RFD dinner bell is because I remember hearing this phrase RFD... on the radio every day when I was a child and I was curious to know who it was all these years later. The year would have been approx 1958-1959 ish when we live with my Grandparents in Charleston, Maine. Our mailing addresses were all RFD#'s. To this day I remember the voice announcing RFD DINNERBELL... It brings back warm fuzzy memories of the WAY LIFE USE TO BE....
ReplyDelete