The Cash Box, Music Page 20 November 28, 1953 Grand Ole Opry Artists ROY ACUFF Annie Lou & Danny Roy Acuff, WSM Grand Ole Opry star from the hills of East Tennessee, doesn’t describe himself as a hillbilly. Tennessee-born Annie Lou and “I sing country style,” Roy says. Danny, are one of the most popular “I’m the old harp singing style . vocal and instrumental duets in the the breed that started singing before there were such things as micro- folk music field today. phones.” Danny began his musical career What Roy means is that when he started out with a medicine show, as several years ago as a single, singing a boy tenor, the medicine show didn’t and playing guitar over southern have a mike or public address system. radio stations. In 1944 his big break But he’s come a long way since those came in the person of the “The Duke early days in Union County and later in Knox County, Tennessee, in the of Paducah” who signed him up for Smoky Mountains. a year’s road work with his famous Roy, as a high-school boy was a troupe. It was during this period that pretty good athlete. He wanted to be Annie Lou joined forces with her a big-league baseball player, but a sunstroke put him on the sidelines. husband to make it the well-known He was being scouted for a New York team it is today. Yankee contract when he suffered the stroke. Annie Lou and Danny record for While recovering he learned how RCA Victor and keep busy with their to play a $12 fiddle. Since then he has regular WSM schedule plus several gained his great fame on the WSM weekly radio programs of their own, Grand Ole Opry, in the movies and through the sale of more than 25 television spots and personal appear- million records. ances. CHESTER ATKINS ROD BRASFIELD 10 YEARS ON GRAND OLE OPRY 1937 — 1947 1st To make a Western Movie "GOLDMINE IN THE SKY" with GENE AUTRY 1st To play GOVERNOR'S CAMPAIGN (Florida) 1st To go overseas to entertain servicemen with GRAND OLE OPRY CAMEL CARAVAN 1st NBC GRAND OLE OPRY Broadcast Turning back the pages of time and remembering such great artists and friends in Chester Atkins was born in Luttrell, the PEE WEE KING Unit: EDDY ARNOLD—ERNEST TUBB—MINNIE PEARL—ROY Tennessee 26 years ago, and though They call Rod Brasfield the “Teller ACUFF—MILTON ESTES—COWBOY COPAS—CINDY WALKER—RAY WHITLEY and he hasn’t come a great distance from of Tall Tales from Hohenwald, Ten- many more country favorites. Luttrell in mileage, he has come a nessee.” They also call him one of long way in the field of guitar playing. the cleverest comedians to hit the Chet Atkins acquired a knowledge network in recent years. Riding High on RCA Victor of music from his father who taught But what most people don’t know piano and voice lessons. is that lean, slack-jawed, simple ap- Station WRBL in Columbus had a pearing Rod Brasfield is a reformed religious program and Chet got his tragedy actor who became a comedian “CHANGING PARTNERS” first radio job singing and playing by the merest of accidents. b/w hymns on the show. In 1942 he moved Rod is a veteran of show business to Knoxville and joined KNOX as generally. His first job as a boy was staff guitarist. There he played with sweeping out chautauqua tents and “BIMBO” several hillbilly bands. The next stop laying the sawdust on the ground. for Chet was station WLW in Cin- Later on he played in everything from RCA Victor 20-5537 cinnati, Nashville & WSM with Red high class stock companies to burles- APPEARING Foley. que. In 1944, he came to WSM in NOW Chet appears with the Carter Sisters Nashville where he was given a spot TV RADIO on the GRAND OLD OPRY every on the 22 year old favorite, the Grand The Pee Wee King Show WAVE Louisville, Ky. Saturday night and also in personal Ole Opry. WEWS-TV Cleveland appearances. He goes to New York Reversing the adage. Rod’s last We d. 11-12 PM CST Sat. 8-8:30 PM CST (local) every three or four weeks to record love is the best—radio. And a full WAVE-TV Louisville, Ky. Sat. Radio NBC 9:30-10 PM CST and has recently made several solo bag of fan mail every week is evidence Thurs. 7:30-8 PM CST Coast to Coast appearances on WSM television and that his coast-to-coast audience radio. agrees. Congratulations WSM and Grand Ole Opry www.americanradiohistory.com.