The Blue Sky Boys were an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

duo consisting of the brothers Earl Bolick (November 16, 1919 – April 19, 1998) and Bill Bolick (October 28, 1917 – March 13, 2008), whose careers spanned over forty years.

Biography

The brothers were born and raised in West

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city in western North Carolina primarily located in Catawba County, North Carolina, Catawba County. The List of municipalities in North Carolina, 25th most populous city in the state, it is located approximately northwest of Charlot ...

, as the fourth and fifth siblings in a family of six children.McNeil 2005, p. 41.Bogdanov, Woodstra, Erlewine 2003, p. 70. Their parents, who were deeply religious and belonged to the First Church of God,Wolfe 2001, p. 99. taught them to sing

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

. A neighbour taught Bill how to play

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

while Earl on the other hand learned to play

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and

. Eventually, they decided to switch instruments and Bill chose the mandolin while Earl concentrated on the guitar. They made their radio debut in 1935 at local radio station

WWNC WWNC (570 kHz) is a commercial radio station in Asheville, North Carolina. It broadcasts a talk format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios and transmitter site are on Summerlin Road in Asheville. WWNC's programming features ...

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

as part of the "Crazy Hickory Nuts".Wolff 2000, p. 9. Sponsored by the J. F. Goodson Coffee Company and together with Homer Sherrill of the "Crazy Hickory Nuts" they formed the "Good Coffee Boys" in the late 1935. Six months later, in June 1936, the Bolick brothers moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

to perform at radio station WGST.Erbsen 2003, p. 109. Because they were sponsored by the "Crazy Water Crystal", they had to perform using the name "(Crazy) Blue Ridge Hillbillies".Harkins 2005, p. 92. In Atlanta, the Bolick brothers went to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

for an audition. At first,

Eli Oberstein Elliott Everett "Eli" Oberstein (born Elias Oberstein; December 13, 1901 – June 12, 1960) was an American record producer and music business executive who established the influential Bluebird record label in the 1930s and owned a successio ...

, the A & R man, was reluctant to hear the brothers sing, believing them to be copying the Monroe Brothers. He changed his mind when he heard them sing and immediately signed them to a recording contract.Wolfe 2001, p. 97. A discussion arose concerning what they should call themselves. Since they couldn't use the previous name "the Blue Ridge Hillbillies" - it had been taken by Homer Sherrill when the brothers left WGST - they decided to use "Blue Sky Boys" as their name. Their choice of name came from the nickname of western

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

: "Land of the Blue Sky".Wolfe 2001, p. 98. They made their first recordings in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

on June 16, 1936. Their first record, "Sunny Side of Life" coupled with "Where the Soul Never Dies", became an instant success. It sold so fast the brothers were dubbed "The New Hillbilly Kings."Wolfe 2001, p. 99. Between 1937 and 1941 the group recorded about 100 songs for RCA to considerable success on the

hillbilly music ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, the term sp ...

circuit. Between 1941 and 1946 both brothers served in the military; after their discharges they returned to Atlanta and resumed recording with RCA. Some of their sides featured fiddle playing from Leslie Keith, Sam "Curly" Parker, Joe Tyson and Richard Hicks. They enjoyed a number of hits just after the war, but disliked the burgeoning

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

style and refused to record it. When RCA asked them to play with an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

, they refused and stopped recording until 1949. Due to personal issues, the Blue Sky Boys retired in 1951. Bill became a postal clerk in his birth state and Earl took a job at Lockheed Aircraft in Atlanta. When

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

released an LP of their radio recordings in 1962, they decided to reunite and record again. Two LPs of new material followed, one secular (''Together Again'') and one religious (''Precious Moments''). They occasionally played live at

folk festivals A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...

, and during a trip to California to perform at the UCLA Folk Festival, the brothers spent two days in the studio recording an album for Capitol Records. But by the end of the 1960s they had decided to call it quits again. Once more, in 1975, they were convinced to record again, this time for

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

, and another round of folk and bluegrass circuit touring ensued. Following this, Bill moved back to his birthplace and lived in Longview, North Carolina, while Earl retired to

Tucker, Georgia Tucker is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, located near Atlanta and was originally settled in the 1820s, and later developed as a railroad community in 1892. According to the 2016 United States Census Bureau annual estimat ...

. In the 1990s, Copper Creek Records issued a series of four albums with live radio transcriptions from the 1940s.

Discography

*''Together Again'', 1963 (Starday) *''Precious Moments'', 1964 (Starday) *''The Original and Great: Early Authentic Country Recordings'', 1964 (RCA Camden) *''Presenting the Blue Sky Boys'', 1966 (Capitol) *''Sunny Side of Life'', 1973 (Rounder) *''The Blue Sky Boys'', 1976 (Rounder) *''The Blue Sky Boys'' (2 record set), 1976 (Bluebird) *''In Concert 1964'', 1989 (Rounder) *''On Radio Vol. 1 - 4'' (4 volumes), 1993 ( Copper Creek) *''Farm & Fun Time Favorites Vol. 1 - 2'' (2 volumes), 1996 (Copper Creek) *''A Treasury of Rare Song Gems From The Past'' (Compilation CD), 2007 (Gusto) *''The Blue Sky Boys: The Very Best of Classic Country Remastered'' (5-CD box set, 2007 (JSP Records JSP7782).

Footnotes

References

* Bogdanov, Vladimir - Woodstra, Chris - Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2003) ''All Music Guide To Country'' * Erbsen, Wayne (2003) Laura Boosinger, ''Rural Roots of Bluegrass'' * Harkins, Anthony (2005) ''Hillbilly: A Cultural History of An American Icon'' * McNeil, W. K. (2005) ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'' * Wolfe, Charles K. (2001) ''Classic Country'' * Wolff, Kurt - Duane, Orlan (2000) ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'' * The Blue Sky Boysat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Sky Boys, The Musical groups from North Carolina Country music groups from North Carolina People from Hickory, North Carolina American bluegrass mandolinists Bluegrass musicians from North Carolina American bluegrass music groups Country musicians from North Carolina