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Chanteur
Country US né en 1912 à Mount Pleasant (Texas). Riley Crabtree a contracté une
polio à l'âge de deux ans et était paralysé. Il fut un chanteur régulier Big D
Jamboree (KRLD, Dallas, Texas) en 1956. Il est décédé en 2006.
Riley was
born on his parents’ farm in Mount Pleasant, Texas, in 1912 as the youngest of
eight brothers and sisters. At age two, he contracted infantile paralysis (polyo),
so he depended on crutches for the rest of his life. Perhaps this handicap
forced him to make a career in country music. His bluesy voice is genuine and
comes from the heart. The life he lived is reflected in his songs, as he had a
lot in common with his idol Hank Williams.
In 1938 he won first prize at a singer’s convention which was an own show at
radio KPLT in the neighbouring small community of Paris. A year later he toured
with other acts. This tent show had a regular band. More of this kind of shows
were executed during World War II.
It was about the end of 1945 when Riley returned to Mount Pleasant where he
established his own band, the Hillbilly Ramblers. This band consisted of Smokey
Cal Burton Harris (later label owner of Security Records), Ray Key and the very
young Country Johnny Mathis. Soon they
could be heard on radio KIMP in Mount Pleasant. Their popularity grew and also
the demand for buying their music on phonograph records.
In 1949, Crabtree eventually signed a contract with Louise and Jesse Erickson,
owners of the Talent (later Star Talent) label, located in Dallas, Texas.
Another idol of Riley was Jimmie Rodgers,
so he picked just Rodgers songs for his
first two sessions. All these items were cut at Jim Beck’s studio in Dallas,
where also many of the Columbia recordings were recorded, not only by Riley
Crabtree. Producer Don Law wanted it that way. It was his idea the future had to
belong to the honky-tonk sound with fiddles, steel guitar, piano and such as
later performed by Lefty Frizzell,
Ray Price,
Billy Walker and numerous others. Don
Law believed in Crabtree’s talents – not only because of his big local success
“Shackles and Chains” – and signed him on the Columbia label on November 13,
1950. Three days later, a remake of “Shackles and chains” was recorded with “Get
away from it all” on the flipside. The contract was for 4 songs and lasted one
year but with the option to prolong the contract from year to year for always
another year.
Even the re-make of “Shackes and chains” was a success. It didn’t reach the
charts but Riley received an offer from Nashville then to join the Grand Ole
Opry as a regular act. However he decided to stay closer to home and joined
KRLD’s famed Big “D” Jamboree, as a regular member.
Johnny Hicks was the emcee back then. Regional stars he shared the stage with
were Gene O’Quin,
Hank Locklin, Sunshine Ruby,
Charline Arthur,
Sonny James and many more. The Jamboree
band were the Light Crust Doughboys. The
main reason why Crabtree stayed in the Dallas, Texas area was the fact that in
spite of his success through his phonograph records contract, he – as his band
members – couldn’t make a living out of it. He also had a wife and two children
to take care of. His main income was from his daily job as a car mechanic.
Due to fading success on Riley Crabtree’s recordings, Don Law decided not to
prolong the contract for another year. Last session therefore was November 15,
1953. After a two year interruption, Crabtree signed up with the West coast Ekko
label. Until the last single was released in 1965, Riley was on a variety of
independent labels such as Country Picnic (1957), Security (1958), C and W
(1959/60), Van-Dan (1962 or 1963), York (ca. 1963), Country Hit (1963 to 1965)
and Cheatham (1965).
Towards the end of the sixties, Crabtree suffered a stroke and was from then on
confined to a wheel-chair. A tragic accident caused by a defective electric
blanket took the life of Riley and two friends on April 1, 1984. Only Riley’s
second wife could escape the fire.
From the notes to both Riley Crabtree CDs: “Riley Crabtree – 28 original tracks”
(Ger. Cattle 312) and “The rare Riley Crabtree radio sessions” (Ger. Bronco
Buster 9061) (early 2000s). Pictures of 45′s, as usual, from Terry Gordon’s site
Rockin’ Country Style. Big « D » Jamboree pictures from Steve Bonner. Picture of
Star Talent 78 from Big Al Turner’s Hillbilly Researcher site.Since the notes
above were constantly poor on life’s facts and litterally mute on the music
itself, I have to admit that I like very much Crabtree’s music, actually since
ca. 1984-86 I received a batch of cassettes from Californian collector Tom Sims.
Within one of these I heard “Tattle Tattle Tale” (Country Picnic, 1957), which
had me wanting for more. “Tale” is a great fast Bopper in its own right: Riley’s
is in good and firm voice, a nice piano has a solo just after the lead guitar,
the steel guitar player is just adding fine licks to the lot, and a loping bass
support them all. It took me a mere twenty years to find more. The two German
CDs were interesting for various reasons; first, they contained the “1949
Jimmie Rodgers sessions” (Talent, just
Crabtree and his guitar), very sincere and well done; second, they had tunes
from radio transcriptions (1956-onwards), which included fine renditions of
country standards (“Hey, Good Lookin’”) , and an attempt to cut Rockabilly music
(“Go,Cat, Go”), fact is Riley had well adapted to new trends. It appears that
Crabtree was a fine songwriter on his own: songs like “That’s What I Like” or
“Pack Up Your Clothes And Come On Down” were good country songs for the time
being. Then Dragon Street Records out of Dallas, in 2007, issued the “Big D
Jamboree” tapes: 4 more Crabtree tracks, 2 from radio shows. Then I picked from
various sources the two versions of “She Loves Me Better”, the first cut for
Security (1958), with Burton Harris on lead; the second on Country Hit, with
drums and fine steel (1963), again Crabtree’s compositions. All the Columbia
sides eluded my researches, even on 78s.
Riley had a good voice for ballads, as in “Don’t Turn Away From Me” but could
also romp a Hillbilly Bop: The majority of his output however does consist of
medium paced Boppers, such as “Meet Me At Joe’s” (with a very young Eddie
Cochran on lead guitar) or “Something Tells me” (nice “Texas piano”). He seem to
have had the same lead guitar player, Burton Harris (owner of Security Records),
for 10 years. Alas, Burton, who provided the tapes of “Absolute Security Radio
Shows”, died in 2006.
Talents : Vocals, Guitar
Style musical : Traditional Country
WAITING FOR A TRAIN (1949)
MEET
ME AT JOE'S (1955)
TATTLE TATTLE TALE (1957)
SOMETHING TELLS ME (1957)
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Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 |
DISCOGRAPHY
78 t. & Singles
| 1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 715 (US) |
Blue Yodel # 5 /
Waiting For A Train
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| 1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 716 (US) | Blue Yodel # 1 / In The Jailhouse Now |
| 1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 717 (US) | Mule Skinner's Blues / Away Out On The Mountain |
| 1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 718 (US) | T For Texas / T. B. Blues |
| 04/1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 719 (US) | Shackles And Chains / You Had To Stray |
| 04/1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 720 (US) | If I Could Buy Your Love / A Lifetime to Regret |
| 05/1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 724 (US) | Lonely World / Flowers On My Mother's Grave |
| 09/1949 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 756 (US) | Ozark Waltz / If My Tears Were Gold |
| 1950 | 78 t. TALENT / STAR TALENT 761 (US) | Free From Shackles And Chains / Broken Heart - Falling Tears |
| 01/1951 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20778 (US) | Get Away From It All / Shackles And Chains |
| 04/1951 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20803 (US) | I Always Play A Losing Hand / You're Wasting Your Time |
| 04/1951 | SP COLUMBIA 4-20803 (US) | I Always Play A Losing Hand / You're Wasting Your Time |
| 06/1951 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20831 (US) | You're Breaking My Heart, Dear / Handful Of Nickels |
| 06/1951 | SP COLUMBIA 4-20831 (US) | You're Breaking My Heart, Dear / Handful Of Nickels |
| 10/1951 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20873 (US) | Always Together / It's You Or Maybe It's Me |
| 10/1951 | SP COLUMBIA 4-20873 (US) | Always Together / It's You Or Maybe It's Me |
| 02/1952 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20901 (US) | Information Please / Between The Pages Of The Bible |
| 02/1952 | SP COLUMBIA 4-20901 (US) | Information Please / Between The Pages Of The Bible |
| 07/1952 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 20970 (US) | I Love With Memories / I Stood And Watched Your Love Grow Cold |
| 07/1952 | SP COLUMBIA 4-20970 (US) | I Love With Memories / I Stood And Watched Your Love Grow Cold |
| 11/1952 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 21030 (US) | If I Had Someone To Call My Very Own / Love Song Of The Hills |
| 11/1952 | SP COLUMBIA 4-21030 (US) | If I Had Someone To Call My Very Own / Love Song Of The Hills |
| 02/1953 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 21073 (US) | An Orchid In My Bouquet / Tonight |
| 02/1953 | SP COLUMBIA 4-21073 (US) | An Orchid In My Bouquet / Tonight |
| 02/1954 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 21218 (US) | When Hank Williams Met Jimmie Rodgers / I'll Make You Want Me |
| 02/1954 | SP COLUMBIA 4-21218 (US) | When Hank Williams Met Jimmie Rodgers / I'll Make You Want Me |
| 06/1954 | 78 t. COLUMBIA 21268 (US) | Let Me Walk Through The Valley / When This World Changes Hands |
| 06/1954 | SP COLUMBIA 4-21268 (US) | Let Me Walk Through The Valley / When This World Changes Hands |
| 10/1955 | SP EKKO 1019 (US) |
Meet Me At Joe's
/ Don't Turn Away From Me |
| 1957 | SP COUNTRY PICNIC 602X45 (US) |
Tattle TattleTale
/
Something Tells Me
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| 1959 | SP SECURITY 45-111 (US) | She Loves Me Better / Have Patient Heart |
| 1960 | SP C & W 201 (US) | Gun Fightin' Marshall / Why, Darling, Why |
| 1960 | SP C & W 201 (US) | Gun Fightin' Marshall / Careless Chance |
| 1960 | SP C & W 202 (US) | Shackles And Chains / Try Me |
| 1962 | SP VANDAN 609V-2904 (US) | Someone Reminds Me Of You / Watching The Clock |
| 1963 ? | SP VANDAN 609V-5111 (US) | Shackles And Chains / Poison Mind |
| 05/1963 | SP YORK BROTHERS 101 (US) | Shackles And Chains / Poison Mind |
| 1963 | SP YORK BROTHERS 102 (US) | Big Man / I Wouldn't Exchange My Heartache |
| 1963 | SP COUNTRY HIT CH-230 (US) | When This World Changes Hands / Let Me Walk Through The Valley |
| 03/1964 | SP COUNTRY HIT CH-231 (US) | Tired Old Singer / The Rio Grande Waltz |
| 1964 | SP COUNTRY HIT CH-232 (US) | I Live In A Crazy World / Can Sweet Lips Lie? |
| 1964 | SP COUNTRY HIT CH-237 (US) | She Loves Me Better / Have Patience Heart |
| 1965 | SP CHEATHAM C-117 (US) | Doorway To My Heart / Memories Tied Down |
| 1966 | SP CHEATHAM C-126 (US) | Road To Nowhere / Cajun Queen |
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Live Performances
| 19?? | Live recording - (Dragon Street CD 70102 (#7)) | Go Cat Go |
| 19?? | Live recording - (Dragon Street CD 70102 (#6)) | She Loves Me Better |
| 19?? | Live recording - (Dragon Street CD 70102 (#8)) | Some One Reminds Me Of You |
| 19?? | Live recording - (Dragon Street CD 70102 (#5)) | Something Tells Me |
Albums
| 1994 | LP 12" COWGIRLBOY LP-5116 (GER) |
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LOVE SONGS OF THE HILLS - A Handful Of Nickels / Always Together (Never Apart) / Gun Fightin' Marshal / I Always Play A Losing Hand / I Live With Memories (That Bless And Burn) / I Stood And Watched Your Love Grow Cold / If I Had Someone To Call My Very Own / Let Me Walk Through The Valley / Love Song Of The Hills / Maybe It's You Or Maybe It's Me / Shackles And Chains / When This World Changes Hands / Why, Darling, Why / You Had To Stray / You're Breaking My Heart Dear / You're Wastin' Your Time |
| 2006 | CD CATTLE COMPACT CCD-317 (GER) |
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WHEN HANK WILLIAMS MET JIMMIE RODGERS - A Lifetime To Regret / An Orchid In My Bouquet / Away Out On The Mountain / Between The Pages Of The Bible / Blue Yodel No. 5 / Blue Yodel No.1 / Broken Heart - Falling Tears / Don't Turn Away From Me / Flowers On My Mother's Grave / Free From Shackles And Chains / Get Away From It All / I'll Make You Want Me / If I Could Buy Your Love / If My Tears Were Gold / In The Jailhouse Now / Information Please / Lonely World / Meet Me At Joe's / Muleskinner Blues (A Blue Yodel) / Ozark Waltz / Shackles And Chains / Shackles And Chains (2nd version) / T For Texas / T. B. Blues / Tonight / Waiting For A Train / When Hank Williams Met Jimmie Rodgers / You Had To Stray |
| 2007 | CD BRONCO BUSTER CD-9061 (GER) |
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THE RARE RILEY CRABTREE RADIO SESSIONS - If You Don't
Believe I Love You, Just Try Me / Don't Cry Old Pal / Once A Day And Twice
On Sunday / Till The End Of The World / So Doggone Lonesome / Hey Good
Lookin' / Trust And Obey / Whisperin'
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| 2008 | CD HILLBILLY RESEARCHER HBR-42 (UK) |
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TALENT / STAR TALENT RECORDINGS - Waiting For A Train / Blue Yodel # 5 / In The Jailhouse Now / Out Away On The Mountain / T. B. Blues / Mule Skinner's Blues - A Blue Yodel / T For Texas - A Blue Yodel / Blue Yodel # 1 / If I Could Buy Your Love / A Lifetime To Regret / You Had To Stray / Shackles And Chains / Lonely World / Flowers On My Mother's Grave / Ozark Waltz / If My Tears Were Gold / Free From Shackles And Chains / Broken Heart - Falling Tears |
© Rocky Productions 18/10/2012
