Milton Esco Estes (May 9, 1914 – August 23, 1963) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and Southern gospel singer and musician. Estes was a host and house performer at the Grand Ole Opry.

Early life

Milton Esco Estes was born on May 9, 1914, in

Arthur, Tennessee Arthur is an unincorporated community in Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. It is located along State Route 63 southwest of Harrogate, and a few miles south of the Cumberland Gap. Its zip code is 37707. History In 1870, land developer ...

Career

Estes moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, and in 1937, he debuted as a singer and MC at the Grand Ole Opry with Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys. With Pee Wee King, he performed with Tommy Sosebee,

Redd Stewart Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948. Biography He was born in Ashland Ci ...

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

and

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline a ...

. Estes sang bass. In 1941, Estes moved from Nashville to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. He left country music and began performing Southern gospel music. He became lead singer for Lone Star Quartet, a group originally from Texas. The group was popular in Raleigh and were regulars on

WPTF WPTF (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Raleigh, the station serves the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is owned by the Curtis Media Group, with studios located on Highwo ...

. In 1946, Estes moved back to Nashville and began performing in country music again, though he often wove gospel music into his country performances. He was a main performer for the Grand Ole Opry and bandleader of the Musical Millers. As Milton Estes and his Musical Millers, he recorded ten singles, and four solo, for Decca Records in 1947 and 1949, including a cover of ''

A House of Gold "House of Gold" is a hymn written by Hank Williams. It was released by MGM Records as the B-side to " How Can You Refuse Him Now?" in 1954. It was recorded as a demo when Williams worked the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport between August 1948 and ...

''. He also hosted the

Martha White Martha White is an American brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, and similar products. The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899. At that ti ...

sponsored segments as the "flour peddler". Estes also hosted morning and afternoon radio shows, including ''Noontime Neighbors'' with Owen Bradley, on WSM. On WSM, his guests included Lew Childre and Jimmie Selph. In the 1950s, Estes co-wrote "20/20 Vision and Walking Around Blind" with

Joe Allison Joseph Marion Allison (October 3, 1924 – August 2, 2002) was an American songwriter, radio and television personality, record producer, and country music business executive. Allison won five BMI performance awards for hit singles he wrote and ...

. The song was recorded by Gene Autry and Jimmy Martin. Estes was also a square dance caller. He called dances at the Opry and also performed on square dancing music records. Estes moved to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

in 1953, where he promoted Grand Ole Opry musicians and MC'd the Motor City Jamboree. In 1954, he recorded vocals on four Bill Monroe and the Blues Grass Boys singles, including recordings of '' I'm Working on a Building''. He relocated to

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, where he worked as a television announcer.

Later life

By the time of his death on August 23, 1963, Estes was living in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. He is buried at Drummonds Cemetery in

Tazewell, Tennessee Tazewell is a town in and the county seat of Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2000 census and 2,218 at the 2010 census, and 2,348 at the 2020 census. The town is named for Tazewell, Virginia, which itself ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estes, Milton 1914 births 1963 deaths People from Claiborne County, Tennessee American country bass guitarists American country guitarists American country mandolinists American country singer-songwriters Grand Ole Opry members Radio personalities from Nashville, Tennessee Singers from Nashville, Tennessee Southern gospel performers Masters of ceremonies Square dance Musicians from Raleigh, North Carolina Decca Records artists Musicians from Oklahoma City Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma