Who Buried Harry Choates?

If you don't know the name Harry Choate (or Choates) let me briefly summarize his ethno-musical significance. He played the fiddle, the guitar and the accordion. He played a mix of French-Cajun music and western swing that changed the genre forever. He wasn't epicly popular like Elvis, he was more of a Ernest Tubb character who's musician ship and song craft influenced everything. He had a single "Jole Blon" a transformation of a traditional Cajun waltz into a swing dance tune that became a regional hit in 1946 on Gold Star Records. It was licensed to a few other labels for national distribution and hit #4 on the Billboard country music chart. But he was a so naive and drunk he sold the publishing rights to the song to Quinn Recording Studio for $100 and a bottle of whiskey. He never even owned an instrument.

His hometown is somewhat disputed as is his birth date. It's generally accepted to be Rayne, LA December 26th 1923. Other dates are as early as 1922, other places include Vermillion, LA. He was performing in bands by the age of 13. He played around New Orleans, Port Arthur, and Houston. He appeared on KOAI-TV in San Antonio. His career was on the upswing with or without the rights to his hit single.

In 1951 his band the Melody Boys, fell apart over Choate's constant drunkenness and missed concert dates. His wife divorced him. But that didn't slow down Harry, he kept touring and drinking. . Later that year he played on KTBC with Jesse James & His Gang. Jesse James and crew were a long running western swing band based in Austin. They formed before WWII and reformed after. Their program was sponsored by Pearl Beer.

Harry never left Austin. He was dragged into court for not paying child support. The judge found him in contempt and tossed him in jail. Three days later on July 17, 1951 he was dead at 28 years old. There are two stories of how he died. One version has him shaking from the DTs and banging his own head on the bars until he knocked himself unconscious, then falling into a coma then eventually dying. If you think that's a stretch the other version is that the cops beat his head on the bars and accidentally killed him. Witnesses claim there was a gash on his forehead. His autopsy intimated that he was beaten but attributed his death to liver failure. The family was so poor they could not afford to bring him back to Port Arthur for burial. More here.

Gordon Baxter, a DJ who'd been at KPAC since 1945 thought this was a travesty. He held a live fund-raiser and raised enough money to bring his remains back to Port Arthur. Choate was buried at Greenlawn Cemetery. KPAC was then the voice of Port Arthur College, today it's a Public Radio affiliate. The charitable gesture went well for Bax, he was Assistant manager of the station by 1954. Baxter died in 2005 at the age of 81. He was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2007. Why did Baxter do it? It might be partially that Choate was so popular. It might have been that Bax was a fan. Or maybe Baxter was just one of the good guys. More here..

Cactus Pryor

He signs off with the phrase "Thermostrocka mortimer." My spelling is an educated guess based on a couple clips. It's meaning is unknown, but Cactus once said, "The phrase is in the Bible; if you don't find it, keep reading." Of course, it could be a snipe hunt. He is Texan, they'll do that to Yankees.

In Texas he is a broadcasting legend. But Texas has it's own history separate from the rest of the South, from America and in some cases, even reality. But Cactus Pryor... he was real and he didn't require exaggerating.

Today he's mellowed into a Paul Harvey-type of character, with his “Cactus Comments,” narrating two minute sentimental tales of Texas past. For the last few years he's also played the part of "Nopalito", the radio spokesman for the Austin, Texas restaurant chain Serranos.

Pryor started out in Texas broadcasting back in 1944. His nickname comes from the Cactus Theater on Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, which was run by his father, Skinny Pryor. In Austin, Like the rest of texas, a nickname is mandatory, and will preceede all personal claims to fame and infamy. He is the former Program Manager of KLBJ-AM Radio and KTBC-TV. He's been on air at KLBJ for 60 years. He's also a columnist for Texas Monthly.

He was born in 1923 in Austin. His local success in radio led to two movie roles: Hellfighters and The Green Berets with John Wayne. For a Texan that's like managing to visit Valhalla. Two years ago he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Pryor has pressed on, and at the are of 84 he remains in radio. More

here.

KTBC and Lady Bird

I read this fluffy article in Newsweek about Lady Bird the wife of President Lyndon Johnson. It briefly mentioned her ownership of KTBC-AM. I immediately knew there was more to it. The first family can't own a media outlet without at least a little sheisty behavior. The Johnson's purchased Austin radio station KTBC with Lady Bird's inheritance, added a TV station, and were soon quite wealthy. More here.In 1943, the FCC was on the verge of banning broadcast license transfers. Senator Lyndon Johnson flexed his political power to prevent that. It wasnt' the only thing that Washington did to ensure that Lady Bird Johnson could purchased KTBC. That friend is a long list. As a senator Lyndon shook down the FCC to make things happen for the missus.

The station was a daytimer that was boxed in on the dial with poor reception outside Austin. Lady Bird beat out the other bidders and suddenly was granted permission to broadcast 24 hours a day and move to the spacious new frequency of 590 AM. It's coverage wildly improved. Two years later in 1945, the FCC granted permission to quintuple its power. More here.

Johnson pressured advertisers to buy spots and the Johnson's earned thousands of dollars in revenue. Today Emmis own that stick and commemorates the auspicious graft and political clout of the past with the call letters KLBJ-AM as it has since July 15th of 1973. They run a talk format with a number of decent local hosts. http://www.590klbj.com/ The local fox affiliate carries the old KBTC calls and the local classic rocker has an attachment to the good old days as KLBJ-FM to commemorate when Texans knew they were actually liberals.