Tag: Wheeling Jamboree

June 26, 1914: Musician Doc Williams Born in Cleveland

Musician Doc Williams was born in Cleveland on June 26, 1914. Williams and his Border Riders band came to Wheeling radio station WWVA in 1937. With only slight interruption, he was associated with the Wheeling Jamboree radio program for the rest of his career.

The Border Riders at times included Doc’s fiddle-playing brother Cy, blind accordionist Marion Martin, wife Chickie Williams, and such comedians as Froggie Cortez, “Hiram Hayseed,” and Smoky Pleacher. Doc and Chickie’s daughters, Barbara, Madeline, and Karen, periodically joined in with the band.

Here’s a clip of Doc singing “Memory Lane”:

Over more than 70 years, Doc kept alive the traditional style of country music. From the 1970s to 1998, he operated his Doc Williams Country Store across Main Street from Capitol Music Hall.

Doc and Chickie Williams were inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Doc Williams died at his home in Wheeling in 2011 at age 96.

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December 13, 1926: Wheeling Radio Station WWVA Goes On The Air

Wheeling radio station WWVA went on the air on December 13, 1926. The 50-watt station broadcast from the basement of John Stroebel, a physics teacher and wireless pioneer. By November of the next year, WWVA had established studios in a Wheeling office building and boosted its power to 500 watts, which, on some nights, could transmit its signal halfway around the world. Early programming on the station included contemporary recorded music, informal announcements, music by local amateurs, and children’s shows.

  

In 1933, WWVA launched a program that would become a mainstay. The Wheeling Jamboree was broadcast to 17 other states and six Canadian provinces. The show soon moved to Wheeling’s Capitol Music Hall, where it was performed before a live audience of more than 3,000. The Jamboree is still on the air but no longer on WWVA. It’s the nation’s second-oldest radio program, behind the Grand Ole Opry.

WWVA also pioneered other live music shows, such as It’s Wheeling Steel, with songs and routines performed mostly by employees of the Wheeling Steel Corporation. Today, WWVA features mostly news, talk, and religious programming.

March 5, 1963: Country Music Star Hawkshaw Hawkins Killed in Plane Crash

  On March 5, 1963, country music star Hawkshaw Hawkins was killed in a plane crash in Tennessee. Born in Huntington in 1921, Hawkins got his start in music after trading five trapped rabbits for his first guitar. In the late 1930s, Hawkins performed on radio stations WSAZ in Huntington and WCHS in Charleston before joining the Army. During World War II, he fought in the Battle of Bulge and earned four battle stars in 15 months of combat.

After returning to the states, he performed on the Wheeling Jamboree and had five top-ten records, including “Pan American” and “Dog House Boogie.” In 1954, he moved on to the Grand Ole Opry and achieved more notoriety. His biggest hit, “Lonesome 7-7203,” was released only three days before his death. On March 3, 1963, he performed a benefit concert in Kansas City along with country music legend Patsy Cline and “Cowboy” Copas. Two days later, Hawkins, Cline, and Copas were flying back to Nashville when their private plane crashed into a forest, killing all the passengers.

Hawkshaw Hawkins was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

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