DJ Bennie Hess

 

 

Orville "Bennie" Hess was born in Chriesman, TX in 1914, It's is an unincorporated community in Burleson County. In the year 2000 the population was just 30 people. it's the definition of a small town. It's population peaked at about 200 in 1925. Inexplicably it does still have a post office today, it also has one restaurant, Front Street Burgers and one Methodist church. The whole neighborhood is mapped on Google Street view so you can see the locals surprised on their porches, and a dog chasing the Google car. All of this to say... Bennie had humble beginnings.

Jimmie Rodgers Guitar Sidebar:
Interestingly, his father, Vestral Hess worked on the railroad with Jimmie Rodgers who even stayed at their house on occasion. Purportedly Jimmie gave Bennie his first guitar lessons and even gave him a guitar. In one tale this is the first Martin guitar ever made though that is an obvious Texas Tall Tale. The first Martins were made in 1833. These were parlor guitars with gut strings. Even when he was born this would have been an 80+ year old guitar and completely inappropriate for a child. But Jimmie was the first country artist to endorse a guitar brand in 1928. But that was not a Martin, that was the Weymann “Jimmie Rodgers Special” Style 890 [LINK]. But he did also play Martins. That same year he was photographed playing a Martin Model 000-45; and he is known to have played a 00-18 as his Bristol sessions. Did he give a guitar to Bennie? Maybe?  The whole connection to Rodgers is based on Hess's hearsay which as you will learn... is not always a great source.

Back to Bennie: 
In 1940 Bennie Hess formed his first band, The Rhythm Wranglers in 1940 when he was 26 years old. That landed him a show on radio station 1310 KFYO-AM in Lubbock, TX. It's an odd station with tall tales of it's own. The station was founded by the Kirksey Bros. Battery and Electric Company and moved to 1310 kHz in 1932 having been on 1420 kHz since it's founding in Breckenridge, TX in 1927. In 1929 it increased power from 15 to 100 watts. 

But Breckenridge is about halfway between Abilene and Fort Worth... that's odd... In 1928 the station moved to Abilene now daytiming at 250 watts. Then in 1932 in a fit of boldness, Kirksey was approved to move KFYO to Lubbock on 1310 kHz. The full move was about 500 miles. That might be a record. Speaking of records, KFYO is typoed at KXYO in the book Sparks Out of the Plowed Ground by Bob Doll. Good book though. But AI has propagated that error onto various websites since then. They went on to make the first broadcast of a Texas Tech football game which was their patriotic duty in Lubbock. 

By 1944 Hess was performing on the Cornbread Matinee at KRLP in Dallas, TX. Other regulars on the program included host Hal Horton, Ruby Allmond, announcer Johnny Hicks, Georgia Slim Rutland, and Howard Howdy Forrester. This is not to be confused with the Cornbread Matinee that broadcast out of WKYW in the mid 1950s. That was hosted by Thorne Hall then Car Shook. The KRLP program was broadcast out of the Arcadia Theatre through at least 1948. But according to Hess, the show was carried on 43 different radio stations in Texas. But that's another tall tale. 

There is a gap in his career here where he recorded and performed with the Oklahoma Tornadoes 1946–1947 which he self-released on Opera. Multiple artists from the session appear on Gold Star and other Cajun recordings Pee Wee Lyons, Riley Clark, Floyd Leblanc in particular.  But his connection to Gold Star is tenuous.

Bennie was just kind of a grifter, all 6-foot-six of him. It permeated his whole recording career. Bennie cut his first record in 1945 for the Black And White Records. He could only be pleased by sharing a label with greats like T-Bone Walker. It is unknown how many records that sold, but purportedly it won him some appearances in western films as a singing cowboy. But Imdb lists nothing. But that might be him as the singing cowboy in the 1939 Wagon Train starring Tim Holt. More here

However Bennie used pseudonyms frequently in his career: Buddy Page, Benny Leaders, Georgia Harrison. He started his own record label Opera while still under contract to Black And White, which might be after his deal with Bill Quinn and Gulf records in Houston in 1944, but the latter might be another fib attempting to tie himself to the career of Harry Choates. But the book Cajun Breakdown by Ryan Brasseux ties him to Gold Star records, but only to leave without recording anything to found Opera records. 

Thought it was true that he signed to a major label, Mercury in 1948 and recorded a few sides. But Mercury fired him for bootlegging his own release via his bogus Opera label. In fairness Mercury hired Hess because he could mimic Ernest Tubb's style , the same way they signed Allen Flatt in 1954. Bennie Probably didn't see much of a future in that. So in 1953 he launched a new label OK'ed which aped the branding of the Okeh label. I've only seen one 78 rpm release with that imprint.

 

In November, 1955 he managed to get his own single "Queen of Sylvan Beach" reviewed in the C&W section. But it didn't become a hit. Billboard literally wrote "While he does a good job, the material is not strong enough for commercial prospects." That was the story of his whole career. Bennie had a good ear for finding talent. He could have been an A&R man for a major label. But his own recordings didn't have that certain something. He appeared in Billboard again just a month later, in a passing reference in a December 1955 issue of Billboard.

"Denny Denver, C&W deejay at WCMW, Canton OH, has Jimmy Dickens, Del Woods, the Louvin Brothers, Cousin Judy and Dusty Owens going into Memoruial auditorium there January 1 for two shows, same package plays Warren, OH, January 2 and Zanesville, OH January 3... Elsie Pierce Wilks composer of 'Turn Back the Clock to Davy Crockett' and others, has a new Christmas tune, 'Oh the Man in the Moon is Santa Claus,' which has been waxed for Jet Records by Bennie Hess..."

Bennie went on to perform on Louisiana Hayride on KWKH in Shreveport, LA with his new band The Nation Playboys. In January 1957 he's quoted in Cashbox magazine not about about his own hits, or shows, or tour dates but about the artists he's releasing on his new record label, Spade. Thus began a  trend, that Bennie's taste for rockabilly and boogie-woogie would endear him to legions of collectors in the future but never amount to personal fame and fortune.

"Bennie Hess, owner Spade Record Co., Houston believes he has something in these three recent Spade label releases: “It Hurts The One Who Loves Me”, Ray Doggett; “I End Up Crying”, Royce Porter; “Is There No Love For Me”, Johnny McAdams. Spade records are distributed locally by Gulf Record Co."

Some stories about Bennie were true. Bennie did also perform on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas on KRLD-AM and on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at WSM. George Jones really was in his band and and Billie Collie at KNUZ who discovered Elvis really did believe in Bennie. When listing off artists KNUZ pushed in a 1954 ad in Sponsor, Bennie was top of the list. Collie it seems did try to "break" Hess as an artist. Bennie even has a brief promotional stint as a DJ on KNUZ as described by Radio Daily in October of 1949

"What  is  probably  the  largest  regularly scheduled  western  disc  jockey show  has  made  another "first" for  KNUZ,  Houston  indie.  "Rhythm Ranch"  has  a  new approach  in  that it  will  consistently  use  more  live  recording talent  than  any previous Houston  program.  Each  recording artist  will  emcee  a  15-minute  period in  "Rhythm  Ranch,"  which  hits  the air  at  1:45  p.m.  each  Saturday,  with chatter and  news  about  their  recent releases  and  bands  while  spinning their  own  records  with  the  able  assistance of  KNUZ  staffers  Ken Grant  and  Buddy  Covington. Already signed  for  "Rhythm  Ranch" are  Bennie  Hess,  Tiny  Smith,  Leon  Payne,  Ben  Christian,  Benny  Leaders, Jimmy  Short,  Collie  Cornpatch, Little  Marge,  Pete  Hunter,  Floyd Tillman,  Hank  Lochlin,  Jerry  Jericho, Jerry  Irby,  and  Woody  and Smitty. "

In 1974 after open heart surgery Bennie finally slowed down a bit. Unable to become a big star on his own, Bennie worked hard to build a career for his son Troy Hess. Troy released his first single at the age of four (some sources say two). These early recordings, on Hess's labels are ... not great.  But Troy got to appear alongside huge stars such as Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Porter Waggoner, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Troy still performs today but he didn't get the recording bug like Bennie did. More here. 

Among Troy's own recordings was a single “Please Don’t Go Topless, Mother” which probably led to some awkward moments at the dinner table. Writer Dan Beck called his young music career "child abuse", and compared him to David Allen Coe. That sure did piss off Hess but it's hard to say which he took as the greater insult. Their letters are worth reading. [LINK] Bennie Hess died November 22, 1984 in Houston (Texas). More here. Troy still has the guitar Bennie said was from Jimmie Rodgers. Bennie Hess died November 22, 1984.

DJ Larry King Beats a Bad Rap

Most  people know Larry King for his long running program on CNN, Larry King Live, which aired from 1985 through 2010 — a 25 year run. His new program Politicking with Larry King on RT is not as well known but delivers his take on the news with much of the same personality and production. But Larry King is 81-years-old. His career dates back to an era when all the big media talent came from radio. So it comes as no surprise that Mr. King was a radio man.

That image to the upper left is from a 1980— 5 years before he debuted on CNN. The apocryphal story is that King started in radio as a teenager as a janitor at Miami Beach radio station 1490 WAHR-AM. Then in 1957 a disc jockey failed to show up for a shift King was permitted to fill-in. He did well enough he got the morning slot and some news shift work. It was there he changed his name from Zeiger to King to sound "less ethnic." [a less common practice today]

He started doing interviews on a mid-morning show for WIOD-AM live at Pumpernik's Restaurant also in Miami Beach. [SOURCE] Here he did man-on-the-street interviews which accidentally once included pop singer Bobby Darrin. By 1960 he was in Television reporting on WPST-TV Channel 10. Over time he interviewed more prominent people, which only increased his local fame. It was in 1970 he began moonlighting as a a color commentator for the Miami Dolphins which introduced his voice to another segment of Florida radio listeners. Then in 1971 things went all Christopher Walken.

In 1971 he was arrested after being accused of grand larceny by a former business partner. King was 38 at the time. But it wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. He hadn't stolen the money exactly... he was unable to pay back money a debt he owed to his boss, Louis Wolfson. There were rumors that King had been a courier cashing checks to launder Wolfson's cash before transferring it to Jim Garrison. Under this theory, King had pocketed some of the money. This was never proven. In the end he just pled no contest to one count of passing bad checks; the rest of the charges had already passed the statute of limitations. But the damage was done. King was fired by both WIOD-AM and television station WTVJ-TV, and lost his weekly column at the Miami Beach Sun newspaper.

King spent years rebuilding his career. He was a color announcer at KWKH from 1974–1975 on KWKH and eventually, he was rehired by WIOD in Miami a feat I find baffling on all fronts. He kept his head down and in 1978, King scored a syndicated gig with Mutual Broadcasting. He replaced "Long John" Nebel who had just died. His success on Mutual won him his gig with CNN in 1985, but he held onto that radio program until 1994— a radio man to the core.

The Voice Of Temperance

I first found an odd pamphlet named "Liquor Advertising On The radio. It was authored by the host of the obscure radio program "The Voice Of Temperance." I did a bit more research, and I found the testimony of its author, Rev. Sam Morris in his two appearances before congress. Morris testified in 1948 and again in 1950 and said almost the exact same thing each time. At first I thought it was a reprint, but Sam Morris was just repeating himself almost verbatim. He was consistent, you can give him that. Prohibition had been repealed over a decade earlier, only running from 1920 to 1933. In that time it had led to rashes of alcohol poisoning from methanol, and the brutal rise of organized crime. Morris wanted to go back to those halcyon days and so once a week on XERA-AM he made his case. Let me post both quotes side-by-side...

In 1948:

"I am Sam Morris, of San Antonio, Tex.,  radio speaker for I be National Temperance and Prohibition Council, field speaker for the Temperance League of America and associate editor of the National Voice, America's oldest prohibition newspaper. For the past 12 years I have conducted the Voice of Temperance broadcast, a nation-wide radio program urging total abstinence for the individual, and prohibition for the nation..."

...and in 1950:

"I am Sam Morris of San Antonio, Tex. I am field speaker for the Temperance League of America; I am associate editor of the National Voice, America's oldest prohibition newspaper. For the past 15 years I have conducted the Voice of Temperance broadcast with radio listeners in all parts of the nation... "

This was a part of his testimony on the subject of alcohol advertisements on the radio.Interestingly, there are some contemporary federal laws that do limit the presence of certain types of ads in certain circumstances. For example, the tobacco industry is forbidden to advertise on TV at all. But alcohol is allowed... technically. But there are limits: they can only be placed in media where 70% of the audience is over 21. The content also cant be targeted at the young, no cartoons characters etc. It also cannot advertise it's effects and cannot encourage irresponsible drinking. The limitations are such that you'd think there was very little alcohol advertising at all. Well the CDC would be happy to show you where they still do. In Q3 of 2006 VMS found 67,404 alcohol advertisements  in a sample of the top 104 markets, though they were very regional. More here. The Broadcast Law Blog covered the topic in great detail in 2007 here.

Sam Morris managed to get his puritanical message out on a number of border blasters back in the 1940s: XEPN-AM, XENT-AM, XEAW-AM, XERA-AM, XELO-AM, and XEG-AM. he also bought time on WHO-AM in Des Moines, KWBU-AM in Corpus Christi, KWKH-AM in Shreveport and WHAS-AM in Louisville. He also manged to get some syndicated time in 1944 on CBS and on NBC in 1947. A 1946 radio listener survey by Benson & Benson in Princeton, NJ, as the 15th most popular radio program in Louisville. It sounds good, but his damning proof is that the "beer broadcasts" have lower ratings than his own.  This is sort of like bragging that your program is more popular than the other program's advertisements.

In 1946, CBS actually produced and aired a 13-episide series called "Alcohol and You"  that was about alcoholism, and social problems.  In a didactic fit Morris wrote a letter to CBS complaining that the free evening airtime that networks gave to that series was too late in the day and had low listener ship. Ed Murrow even responded to his crazy letters politely. Morris sort of reminds me of Rick Santorum: just a looney puritanical zealot.

But even a puritanical zealot has his day. Following his appearance on NBC in January on '47 the trade magazine Beverage retailer Weekly called Morris "the most dangerous enemy the liquor industry has ever known."  It's a bit dramatic, but Morris was certainly troublesome. By the mid 1940s Morris was finding that certain broadcasters wouldn't even sell him air time because he was intent on chasing off their liquor advertisers. So in 1948 Morris published a pamphlet that listed off his works, and also named names as to who did and did not run what he calls  wine beer and liquor broadcasts. He names specifically: WEEI, WCBS, KMOX, WTOP, WCCO, KNX, WJR, WBT, WHAS, WLAC, KLRA, KTRH, WWL, WDOD, WKRC, WBBM, KRLD, KOMA, WNOX, KIRO, KWFT, KSL, KFAB, and KMBC... notably singling out all the big market powerhouses of the CBS network. He then drops some of these calls over maps of "dry" and "wet" counties. His logic is that a town voting out the sale of booze has also somehow by connection voted out advertisements for it ... as if somehow the radio waves could steer around temperance households...

I scanned his whole pamphlet, it's well worth the read and the fine details about radio airtime make it a fine piece of research material.

You can download all 56 pages 

HERE

Red Sovine

Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine was born in 1918, in Charleston, West Virginia and is known today as an early singer of country music. He sang about pick up trucks, barns and loyal dogs, the epitome of country music. His biggest single was his 1976 number one hit "Teddy Bear".

As a teenager he joined the WCHS-AM "Old farm Hour." It aired out of Charleston every Friday night. His first venture into music was with his childhood friend Johnnie Bailes, with whom he performed as "Smiley and Red, the Singing Sailors" in the country music revue Jim Pike's Carolina Tar Heels on WWVA-AM in Wheeling, WV. Johnnie Bailes left to perform as part of The Bailes Brothers. Sovine formed The Echo Valley Boys and went on the road. More here.

After a year of performing in West Virginia, Sovine moved to Louisiana. There he got a morning show on KWKH-AM in Shreveport. But he also guested on nationally famous "Louisiana Hayride". He met Hank Williams there, and it was Hank who pointed him at gig on WFSA-AM in Montgomery, Alabama. But he came back to KWKH later that year to replace Hank Williams as host. Williams had just moved over to host the Grand Ol' Oprey on WSM in Nashville.

In 1949 he signed a deal with MCA and cut the first of his 28 singles with that label forging his own national career. In 1954 he signed a deal with Decca. He recorded at least 50 sides with them during the 5-year deal. In the 1960s he started cutting cheesey songs about trucking and found a 3rd wind in his career. He died in 1980 of a heart attack while driving his own tour van. He was 62.

Hank Williams & Radio

If you do not yet own any Hank williams CDs I recomend one of the collections on Lost Highway records. Click here.

In 1937 a 14-year old Hank Williams, (legally still named Hiram) began playing shows on WSFA-AM in Montgomery as "the Singing kid." He'd won a talent show at the Empire theatre and a few others, and after spending the prize money on booze, he bought a new Gibson. His unpayed gigs on WSFA grew into a twice weekly gig with a house band. - star of hsi own show and not yet allowed to drive. He'd not written any songs either. He was still mostly covering Roy Acuff.

He used his show to promote his concerts, and tours. It was on one of those tours that he met Pappy Neal McCormick who had a show on WCOA-AM in Pensacola. Pappy was a band leader for a Hawaiian-syled band showcasing steel guitar. A huge influence on the later song writing of little Hank.

The WSFA gig grew into a daily gig Monday through Friday. hank formed hsi own band, the Drifting Cowboys and dropped the WSFA house band. But by 1942 he got fired for habitual drunkeness. Yes he was barely 19. Hank stayed drunk, but recorded a "Hank Williams Show" to shop around. Nobody bit. He was a known drunk and he took a gig ship building in WWII.

He took a job backing Pee Wee King the polka star and slowly returned to music. By 1945 he was back on WSFA daily, brodcasting from the Jefferson davis Hotel. He was punctual and soder enough at the time that when he asked for an exclusive deal ( no other country bands) he got it. He even realeased a song book of his lyrics. But the sobriety didn't last. Soon they were airing canned shows when Hank was too liquored to to show.

By the end of the decade hank was trying to move onto the Opry at WSM, it didn't happen for years yet, but his later in troduction to Fred Rose was a step, and Rose shopped hank around Nashville, even to WLAC-AM for a regular gigdown the street from that very barn dance. While thsi was going ton WSFA got tired of drunken absenteeism and fired Hank again. About then Hank started a new habit of getting arrested.. for public drunkeness.

In 1948 he scored a new gig at KWKH-AM in Shreveport. They ran a saturdaynight barn-dance type program just like the opry, the Louisiana hayride. they made him promise to stay sober for 6 whole months before they let him at a mic. the program ran 15 minutes every weekday morning just him and solo guitar. Johnny Fair Syrup was the sponsor. (They later sponsored Red Sovine)

The gig did well by hank, bigger gis came as did some hit singles. But Fred Rose still had to bribe two Opry managers to finally get him a gues spot in 1949. His guest appearance was so huge, the crowd so insanely responsive he ended up doing 6 encores. It was the beginning of his superstardom. When The opry relocated, the bosses at WSM-AM actually had a six-foot circle cut out of the stage where Mr. Williams stood, and took it with them.

WSFA became WHHY, and in 1999 dropped their longtime simulcast with WHHY-FM to go right wing talk as WLWI-AM. http://www.newsradio1440.com/