Ernest E "Jimmy" Walker

Ernest E "Jimmy" Walker

Although relatively little has been written about Jimmy Walker, he ranks as an important figure in the development of country music. Not only did he record the first version of the country standard "Detour" in 1945, but to date he is the only man who ever replaced Roy Acuff on the Grand Ole Opry. He also recorded numerous other outstanding western swing-honky tonk numbers, appeared as a regular on Midwestern Hayride, Wheeling Jamboree and Louisiana Hayride, and appeared in several motion pictures.

Born Ernest E. Walker in Mason County, West Virginia on December 18, 1915, "Jimmy" did not opt for a regular musical career until the mid-forties. By this time, he had relocated to the West Coast which then was a booming region for coutry dance music. At his first record session he waxed the hit song "Detour." The song's author, Paul Westmoreland, played steel guitar on the recording. A year later, Grand Ole Opry officials hired him to replace Roy Acuff who took an extended leave. At the time, they were much impressed not only with "Detour" but also "Sioux City Sue" and a fine heart song entitled "Oh Why." Unfortunately for Jimmy, Roy Acuff chose to return to the Opry after a year. His recordings during that period (1945-47), all made in Los Angeles, featured such name musicians as Noel Boggs on steel guitar, Tex Atchison on fiddle, Cliffie Stone on bass, and Merle Travis on lead guitar.

Meanwhile Jimmy Walker moved on to serve stints of roughly a year and a half each on WLW Cincinnati's Midwestern Hayride and WWVA Wheeling's "World's Original Jamboree." In 1949, he returned to California and made some more recordings for another independent label. These sessions again featured Atchison and also Joe Maphis on lead guitar and Speedy West on steel. Other musicians who appeared on Walker sessions included Pedro DePaul and George Bamby on accordions (both veterans of the Spade Cooley band), and guitarist Charlie Morgan, the brother of pop vocal star Jaye P. Morgan. By 1951, he had done some twenty-eight sides. Later in the decade he had sessions for two major labels and another independent studio visit in 1965. All are fine examples of the mainstream honky-tonk sound that dominated the coutry field prior to the rise of the Nashville sound. Meanwhile, Walker returned to the Wheeling Jamboree in 1953 remaining for more that a decade. During this time one of his songs "Unkind Words" recorded by Jamobree vocalist Kathy Dee made the "Billboard Top 20" in 1964, but as is often the case, the royalties never reached him.

In the mid-sixties Jimmy Walker returned to California working as a country singer and motion picture actor. One of the better known films in which he played a character role was the Lee Marvin - Clint Eastwood picture, "Paint Your Wagon." Retiring in the late 1970's, Walker came back to his boyhood home in Mason County, West Virginia, but has continued to play many clubs and other showdates and kept up contacts with old show biz pals like the late Tex Atchison and Merle Travis.

In a sense, Jimmy Walker seems to parallel the saying about the lady who was "always a bridesmaid and never a bride." When one of his recordings would begin to take off, Columbia or Victor would rush a "cover" onto the market by a Spade Cooley or an Eddy Arnold respectively and overshadow his own efforts. Hired as a feature act on the Opry, he found himself back on the outside when superstar Roy Acuff chose to exercise his option to return. When Capitol Records sought Walker as a replacement for a dying Jack Guthrie in 1947, he could not get out of his contract with a smaller firm. When he finally got on a major label in 1953, his company pushed its one superstar and neglected the other fine country acts on their talent roster. Yet in another sense, all of the above mentioned facts attest to Walker's importance, even if they worked to his disadvantage. This album is a modest effort to display the talent of one of the finest country singers of his era. While researching my history of West Virginia country music, old acquaintaces of Walker such as Lee Moore, Slim Clere, and Doc Williams all told me that data on Jimmy Walker must certainly be included. I had barely heard of the man and somewhat surprisingly found that he lived less than fifty miles from my home and less than twenty miles from my work place. I looked him up and I'm glad that I did. He proved to be a fine gentleman with a head full of knowledge. When the modern country sounds first began to appear in the decade from 1945, Ernest E. Walker was not only a witness to much of the action, he was indeed a part of the action!This article was printed on the back album cover of Jimmy Walker's "High Geared Daddy". It is written by Dr. Ivan M. Tribe of Rio Grande College.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Walker (Familienname) — Walker ist ein Familienname. Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Walker (surname) — Walker is a surname of English origin. In English, the name comes from the medieval profession of a ‘walker’, a person who trod on woollen cloth in a bath of Fuller s earth, and sometimes urine, in order to thicken the fibres and ready the cloth… …   Wikipedia

  • Ernest Ball — Infobox Person name=Ernest Ball dead=dead birth date=birth date|1878|7|22|mf=y birth place=Cleveland, Ohio death date=death date and age|1927|5|3|1878|7|22|mf=y death place=Santa Ana, CaliforniaErnest R. Ball (July 22 1878 May 3 1927) was a… …   Wikipedia

  • Jimmy Buffett — performing, January 2008 Background information Birth name James William Buffett Born De …   Wikipedia

  • Walker, Texas Ranger — Titre original Walker, Texas Ranger Genre Action, policier Créateur(s) Christopher Canaan, Leslie Greif, Paul Haggis, Albert S. Ruddy Production Paramount pictures Pays d’origine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Walker, Texas Ranger — The Walker, Texas Ranger title card (from 2000) features star Chuck Norris. Format Crime drama/Action Created by …   Wikipedia

  • Jimmy Swan — (* 18. November 1912 in Sand Mountain, Alabama; † 29. Oktober 1994; eigentlich James Edgar Schwann) war ein US amerikanischer Country Musiker. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Kindheit und Jugend 1.2 Karriere …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jimmy Lee — James Walton „Jimmy Lee“ Fautheree (* 11. April 1934 in Smackover, Arkansas; † 29. Juni 2004 in Dallas, Texas) war ein US amerikanischer Country und Rockabilly Sänger. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Kindheit und Jugend …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jimmy Lee Fautheree — James Walton „Jimmy Lee“ Fautheree (* 11. April 1934 in Smackover, Arkansas; † 29. Juni 2004 in Dallas, Texas) war ein US amerikanischer Country und Rockabilly Sänger. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 1.1 Kindheit und Jugend …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Michael Walker (knifemaker) — Michael Leon Walker Born Oregon, USA Occupation Knifemaker, bladesmith, sculptor Spouse Patricia Walker Michael Leon Walker is an American custom knife maker and sculptor based in Taos, New Mexico. Walker is the inventor of over 20 different… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”