The Wilburn Brothers were 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, ...
duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982)
and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931
–2003).
Biography
The brothers were born in
Hardy, Arkansas
Hardy is the 2nd oldest city in Sharp and Fulton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 765 in 2020.
Geography
Hardy is located at (36.320553, -91.480645).
The Spring River, which begins in Mammoth Spring, flows through H ...
.
They first attracted attention as child performers, beginning in 1937, in an act called The Wilburn Children;
[Diekman 2007, p. 17.] Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
discovered them and brought them to the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
in 1940. Due to federal
child labor laws
Child labour laws are statutes placing restrictions and regulations on the work of minors.
Child labour increased during the Industrial Revolution due to the children's abilities to access smaller spaces and the ability to pay children less wage ...
, the Wilburns were forced to leave the Opry after six months.
After growing up, they continued to travel and were regulars on the similar ''
Louisiana Hayride
''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of th ...
'' program in
Shreveport
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...
from 1948
[Hefley 1992, p. 177.] until 1951. After the family act disbanded, and the brothers served stints in the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, they continued in 1953 as The Wilburn Brothers touring with
Faron Young
Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...
and
Webb Pierce
Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the ...
.
[Carlin 2003, p. 429.] They signed with
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
in May 1954, and had their first hit record the same year, backing
Webb Pierce
Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the ...
, on "Sparkling Brown Eyes."
Other notable hits include "Go Away With Me" (1956), "Which One Is To Blame" (1959), "Trouble's Back In Town" (1962), "It's Another World" (1965), and "Hurt Her Once For Me" (1967).
In 1956, the Wilburns were offered the chance to record "
Heartbreak Hotel
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being ...
" before
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
.
After hearing the song they decided against recording it, describing it as "strange and almost morbid".
In addition to being successful artists, the Wilburns formed the Sure-Fire Music Publishing Company (with
Don Helms
Donald "Don" Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was a steel guitarist best known as the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984).
Biography
Helms was ...
) in 1957,
[Bush, Mitchell 2007, p. 91.] as well as the Wil-Helm Talent Agency in the early 1960s.
They were instrumental in launching the careers of many country musicians, most notably
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as " You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My M ...
,
[Ellison 1995, p. 175.] whom they signed to their music publishing company. Lynn was the "girl singer" of the Wilburns' touring show between 1960 and 1968,
[Hoffman, Ferstler 2004, p. 637.] and she made weekly appearances on their syndicated television show from 1963 to 1971.
They also helped develop the career of
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...
between 1973 and 1975, by having her tour with them on weekends and during school breaks.
The Wilburn Brothers had a
syndicated television program, ''The Wilburn Brothers Show'',
that ran from 1963 to 1974, with 354 half-hour episodes produced. Reruns can still be seen on the cable network
RFD-TV
RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United Sta ...
and in the UK on
Rural TV
Rural TV was a rural lifestyle and culture television channel, broadcast internationally. It was launched on March 2, 2009, replacing Pulse +45mins. It merged with FamilyNet in 2013.
Background
Rural TV, known as "The World's Rural Channel", w ...
. They were Opry members from 1953 until the time of Doyle's death from lung cancer on October 16, 1982 (at age 52).
Teddy continued with the Opry as a solo artist,
until his death on November 24, 2003, of congestive heart failure, just six days before his 72nd birthday.
They are both buried in the
Nashville National Cemetery
Nashville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Madison, a suburb of Nashville, in Davidson County, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of the end of ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
.
The brothers long awaited biography, Two For The Show, will hit bookstores in 2022.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Footnotes
References
* Bush, Johnny – Mitchell, Rick (2007), ''Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk'', University of Texas Press
* Carlin, Richard (2003), ''Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary'', Taylor & Francis
* Diekman, Diane (2007), ''Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story'', University of Illinois Press
* Ellison, Curtis W. (1995), ''Country Music Culture: From Hard Times To Heaven'', University Press of Mississippi
* Hefley, James C. (1992), ''Country Music Comin' Home'', Hannibal Books
* Hoffman, Frank W. - Ferstler, Howard (2004), ''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Volume 1'', CRC Press
External links
*
Allmusic entry.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilburn Brothers, The
American country music groups
Country music duos
Grand Ole Opry members
Four Star Records artists
Decca Records artists
People from Sharp County, Arkansas
Musical groups established in 1954
Burials in Tennessee
Sibling musical duos