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 ...

. 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 "hoedow ...

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 div ...

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 the ...

'' 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, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is ...

from 1948Hefley 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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, 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, Di ...

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. 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 Decca's president. ...

in May 1954, and had their first hit record the same year, backing

, 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 " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. 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 Ma ...

,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 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 ...

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 ...

. 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