Cass County Boys was a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

music group that was active from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s.

History

The Cass County Boys was formed in 1936 in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

when accordionist Fred Martin (1916–2010) and guitarist

Jerry Scoggins Jerry Scoggins (September 30, 1911 – December 7, 2004) was an American country/western singer, guitarist, and band leader. He performed on radio, in movies, and on television from the 1930s thru the 1980s. He was noted for his work with Gen ...

(1911–2004) were staff musicians on Dallas radio station WFAA. The pair were told to fill in airtime between programs and began performing together. They shortly invited bassist Bert Dodson (1915–1994) to join them. Dodson, at the time, was playing bass for the

Light Crust Doughboys The Light Crust Doughboys is an American Western swing band from Texas, United States, organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. ...

. Martin was from Cass County, Texas and an announcer began calling them the "Cass County Kids." They regularly performed on

Gene Autry's Melody Ranch ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch'' is a Western variety radio show in the United States. A 15-minute pilot show aired on December 31, 1939. The program ran from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943, and from September 23, 1945 to May 16, 1956.French, Jack ...

radio program and appeared in many Autry movies and ten of his TV shows during that period. Scoggins later went on to sing the theme song for the ''

Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'' television program. In 1996, the group was inducted to the

Western Music Association Hall of Fame The Western Music Association Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Western Music Association. Inductees are those individuals deemed important to the traditional and contemporary music of the American West and the American Cowboy. The organization i ...

Selected discography

Albums

* ''Round Up In The Sky'' (1951)

Singles

* "Great Grandad" / "Riding Down The Canyon," 1941 * Gene Autry With The Pinafores & The Cass County Boys, "Blue Canadian Rockies" / "Onteora (Great Land In The Sky)," 1951 * Bing Crosby With Cass County Boys, "Y'all Come" / "Changing Partners," 1954 * "Round Up In The Sky" / "The Cowboy's Heaven," Unknown * That's My Home" / "Silver Stars, Purple Sage, Eyes Of Blue," Unknown

References

{{Reflist Musical groups established in 1936