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 Gene Autry and Bing Crosby and especially for singing "

The Ballad of Jed Clampett "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" is the theme song for the television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and the later movie of that name, providing the introductory story for the series. The song was composed by Paul Henning, and recorded first by ...

", the theme song to the 1960s sitcom ''

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 f ...

''.

Biography

Scoggins was born in

Mount Pleasant, Texas Mount Pleasant is the county seat of and largest city in Titus County, Texas, Titus County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 16,047; it is situated in Northeast Texas. ...

in 1911. He sang and played guitar on

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

radio stations in the early 1930s and in 1936 formed his own group, the Cass County Kids, with John Dodson and Fred Martin. Ten years later in 1946, country musician and cowboy Gene Autry changed their name to the Cass County Boys when he hired them to work on his ''

Melody Ranch ''Melody Ranch'' is a 1940 Western musical film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Gene Autry, Jimmy Durante, and Ann Miller. Written by Jack Moffitt, F. Hugh Herbert, Bradford Ropes, and Betty Burbridge, the film is about a singing cowb ...

'' radio program. They appeared in 17 of his films and worked with him on radio and TV for 12 years while also appearing with Bing Crosby on early 1950s TV. In 1996 the Boys were inducted into Western Music Hall of Fame. They also received a Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and Television Fund. In 1962, Scoggins was working as a stockbroker and singing on weekends when he was asked to sing the theme song for a new sitcom, called ''

''. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs played guitar and banjo while he sang the lyrics. "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" was a smash hit on the charts, with Flatt singing on the single. In 1993, a retired Scoggins learned that

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

was making a film version of the series. He called their offices only to be told that they'd had no idea he was still alive. The studio preferred Johnny Cash or

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

to sing the theme song, but the director,

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled '' The Decline of ...

, insisted on Scoggins getting the job, which he did. He figured he'd probably sung the ballad over 1,000 times since the original recording. Scoggins appeared on-camera, singing the ballad, in the 1993 TV special, ''The Legend of The Beverly Hillbillies''. Scoggins died in 2004, from natural causes, in his

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

home.

References

External links

Beverly Hillbillies opening themeBeverly Hillbillies closing theme
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scoggins, Jerry American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Dallas 1911 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Westlake Village, California Burials at Valley Oaks Memorial Park Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from California