ROOTS of Country Music

Index of Featured Comedy Acts and Humorists

1. Archie Campbell

2. Cousin Jody

3. Del Reeves

4. Homer & Jethro

5. Jerry Clower

6. Johnny Russell

7. Lonzo and Oscar

8. Junior Samples

9. Minnie Pearl

10. Speck Rhodes

11. A-Z Listing

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Archie Campbell 

Nov. 7, 1914 ~ Aug. 29, 1987)

Archie Campbell was a  writer and star of Hee Haw, a popular long-running country-flavored network television variety show. He was also a recording artist with several hits on the RCA label in the 1960s.

In 1969 Campbell joined Hee Haw on CBS-TV as a chief writer and on-air talent. His regular characterizations included the Barber, in which he performed his Spoonerism stories and his That's Bad/That's Good routines.

One of his most well-known segments was the Where Oh Where song in which he would perform a short verse of original comedy followed by a standard Where oh where are you tonight chorus which would lead he and a singing partner, often Gordie Tapp, into blowing a raspberry at one another or at the camera.

During his Hee Haw years Campbell also recorded several comedy-music albums such as Bull Session at Bull's Creek with Junior Samples and Archie Campbell (Elektra 1976). He frequently performed duets with singer Lorene Mann.

One of Campbell's signature routines was to tell stories in Spoonerism form, with the first letters of words in some phrases intentionally switched for comic effect. The best-known of these stories was RinderCella, his re-telling of the fairy tale Cinderella, about the girl who slopped her dripper (dropped her slipper). 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Cousin Jod

Tex "Cousiny 

(Dec. 11, 1919 ~ Aug. 18, 1975) 

C&W Vocals, Dobro, Steel Guitar, Comedy  

Cousin Jody was a country comedian from the Grand Ole Opry. He did a lot of the comedy routines with Lonzo & Oscar, another comedy Opry act, as well as his own. He was famous for wearing unusual clothes and playing a dobro guitar.

Legendary country music star Roy Acuff, in his book Roy Acuff's Nashville, described Cousin Jody as being "one mean Dobro Guitar player."  Cousin Jody was Roy Acuff''s dobro player back in the 1930's. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Del Reeves

Jul. 14, 1932 ~ Jan. 1, 2007)

Del Reeves was a veteran country singer and songwriter and star of the Grand Ole Opry, with a series of chart-topping hits in the 1960s. Reeves was was a gifted mimic of fellow singers as well as others such as Walter Brennen and Jon Wayne. He did some stand-up comedy and included impersonations in his concerts around the country. 

Reeves enjoyed a run of success on the country charts during the latter half of the '60s, often penning his own material. During his 40 years at the Opry, he was hailed as one of its best entertainers because of his comic timing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Homer & Jethro

Henry D. Haynes (1920–1971)

Kenneth C. Burns (1920–1989)

Awards

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame (2001)

Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry Haynes and Kenneth Burns, popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs. Known as the Thinking Man's Hillbillies, they received a Grammy in 1959 and are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Guitarist Homer “Junior” Haynes and mandolinist Kenneth “Dude” Burns met in 1932, when radio impresario Lowell Blanchard pulled the youngsters from two separate bands auditioning for his Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round on WNOX-Knoxville. As the String Dusters, Haynes and Burns handled country tunes, hoedowns and contemporary pop tunes with ease.

For comic relief, Junior and Dude satirized the deadly serious close-harmony duets of the era by wailing hillbilly versions of sophisticated pop standards. When Blanchard forgot their nicknames during a 1936 broadcast, he introduced the team as Homer & Jethro. The amused teenagers quickly adopted the names they would use for the rest of their careers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Jerry Clower 

(Sep. 28, 1926 ~ Aug. 24, 1998)

Liberty, Mississippi

Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower was a popular country comedian best known for his stories of the rural South. He was often nicknamed "The Mouth of the South," although this title has also been used for other individuals.

Jerry Clower authored of three bestsellers: Ain't God Good, Let the Hammer Down and Life Everlaughter. After Jerry's discharge from the Navy in 1946 he attended and graduated from MS State with a degree in agriculture. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry  from 1973 – 1998.

Mr. Clower played football for Mississippi State. He was the author of four books and 28 full recordings in his 27 years as a poplular country comedian with stores of the rural south.

Go here to hear Jerry

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Johnny Russell

(Jan. 23, 1940 ~ Jul. 3, 2001)

Johnny Russell was a superb singer and songwriter of such classic hits as Act Naturally, Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer and Let's fall to Pieces Together. He was also a comedian whose quick wit and rapid-fire humor delighted audiences throughout the United States and Europe.  

Born in Moorhead, Mississippi, he moved with his family at age 11 to Fresno, California, where he began writing songs and entering talent contests while still in high school, graduating in 1958.

Russell had his first song published that year, In a Mansion Stands My Love, which was recorded by Jim Reeves as the "B" side of his 1960 hit He'll Have to Go.

With this success, Russell moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he was signed to a RCA Records contract by Chet Atkins.

Johnny Russell first played comedy with Archie Campbell and when he had a show of his own, he made comedy an important part. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Lonzo & Oscar 

Lloyd Leslie George (1924-1991)

Rollin Lillian Sullivan (b. 1919)

Lonzo and Oscar were a country music duo originally consisting of Lloyd Leslie George and Rollin Lillian Sullivan, best known for being the first to perform the 1948 song I'm My Own Grandpa. Rollin Sullivan was the only Oscar… ever.

Lonzo was later portrayed by Johnny Sullivan from 1950-1967 and by David Hooten from 1967-1980s.

George continued performing under the stage name Ken Marvin.

Lonzo and Oscar with their Winston County Pea Pickers recorded 16 songs for RCA. Their best selling song was released in 1948. Written by Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe, I’m My Own Grandpa became their signature tune and was recorded by many others. It sold over four million copies. Originally, RCA Victor approached Eddy Arnold to sing and release this record, but Arnold thought that it would better suit Lonzo and Oscar. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Junior Samples

Alvin Samples Jr.

(Apr. 10, 1926 ~ Nov. 13, 1983) 

Much-loved country comedian Junior Samples was a long-running regular on the TV show Hee Haw, where he was best known for his shaggy-dog storytelling, nearly incomprehensible accent, and colorful misuse of the English language (not to mention his trademark overalls). 

Mr. Samples was born Alvin Samples Jr. in Cumming Georgia. He made his living as a farmer, sawmill worker, stock car driver and carpenter and did not enter show business until age 40. He was discovered after a story he told about catching a record-setting fish was recorded by a Game Commission investigator and played on the radio. The recording was developed into an album and became a best-seller. In 1969 he was asked to join the cast of the country variety show “Hee-Haw."

Junior Samples developed a character made famous by his bumbling delivery often forgetting lines and messing up jokes. His most famous role was a used car salesman inviting potential customers to call his phone number, “BR-549.” He released several other comedy albums and was twice nominated as “Comedian of the Year” by the Country Music Association. He remained a cast member on Hee Haw until his death on November 13, 1983

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. Minnie Pearl

(Oct. 25, 1912 ~ Mar. 4, 1996)

Minnie Pearl, was a country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry from 1940 to 1991 and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.

Minnie Pearl's comedy was gentle satire of rural Southern culture, often called hillbilly culture. Minnie Pearl always dressed in styleless "down home" dresses and wore a hat with a price tag hanging from it. Her catch phrase was How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E! I'm jes' so proud to be here! delivered in a loud yell. After she became an established star, her audiences usually shouted How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E! back.

Ms. Pearl's humor was often self-deprecating and involved her unsuccessful attempts at attracting the attention of "a feller" and, particularly in later years, her age. She also told monologues involving her comical 'ne'er-do-well' relatives, notably Uncle Nabob and Brother, who was simultaneously both slow-witted and wise. She usually closed her monologues with the exit line, I love you so much it hurts! She also sang comic novelty songs.

Minnie Pearl's comic material derived heavily from her hometown of Centerville, Tennessee (TN) which in her act she called Grinder's Switch. Grinder's Switch is a community just outside of Centerville, TN that consisted of little more than a railroad switch. Those who knew her recognized that the characters were largely based on real residents of Centerville. So much traffic resulted from fans and tourists looking for Grinder's Switch that the Hickman County Highway Department eventually changed the designation on the Grinder's Switch road sign to Hickman Springs Road.

Minnie Pearl was an important influence on younger female country music singers and rural humorists such as Jerry Clower, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Carl Hurley, David L Cook, Chonda Pierce, Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy.

In 1992, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2002 she was ranked as number 14 on CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music list.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10. Speck Rhodes

(Jul. 16, 1915 ~ Mar. 19, 2000)

Gilbert Ray 'Speck' Rhodes who was born in West Plains, Missouri, was a country music comedian and entertainer.

Mr. Rhodes was best known for his appearances on the Porter Wagoner television show. He came from a musical family and with his two brothers and sister, were known as Speck, Slim, Bea and Dusty.

In 1934 they were touring the RKO vaudeville circuit as the Log Cabin Mountaineers. Rhodes played banjo, bass fiddle and developed his comic character.

In 1960 Speck Rhodes auditioned for a new television show that Porter Wagoner was starting in Nashville, Tennessee USA. Having both come from West Plains, they had a natural chemistry and Rhodes began an association with Wagoner that would last over 20 years.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11. Comedy Acts and Humorists, A-Z Partial Listing

• Archie Campbell
• Bill Napier
• Bob Murphey
• Butch Medford
• Charlie Payne (Cousin Elmer)
• Chonda Pierce
• Clayton "Pappy" McMichen
• Cousin Jody
• Dapper and Dan Martin
• Doc McDonnell
• Floyd Raymond Rutledge
• Fred Smith*
• Gary Mule Deer
• Hamper McBee
• Harold Morrison
• Harry Mullins
• Homer & Jethro
• Homer "Slim" Miller
• Ivp Peterson
• Jerry Clower
• J. E. and Wade Mainer
• Johnny Russell
• Juan "Greasy" Medlin
• Junior Samples
• Larry McPeak
• Lonzo & Oscar
• Minnie Pearl
• Moron Brothers
• Oral "Curley" Rhodes
• Ray Rutherford
• Red and Fred (*#)
• Red Rector#
• Reno and Smiley
• Riders In the Sky
• Sarie and Sally
• Sparky Rucker
• Speck Rhodes
• The Presleys
• Tim O'Brien

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Apr. 2, 2011.