ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of the Wilburn Brothers

Virgil Doyle Wilburn (Jul. 7, 1930 ~ Oct. 16, 1982)

Teddy Wilburn ( (Nov. 30, 1931 ~ Nov. 24, 2003)

Career Highlights

Barn Dance Affiliate

• Louisiana Hayride (1948-1951)

Grand Ole Opry Member -1953

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Billy Bob's Texas, 2
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Jimmy Dean Show, 4
• The Johnny Cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Statler Brothers Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4 

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 0
• Top-10 Singles:14
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 31
• Chart Years Active: 1954-1972

Career Label

• Decca Records 1954-1972

Billboard Top-10 Singles 

1. Sparkling Brown Eyes, 1 -1954
2. I'm So in Love with You -1956
3. Go Away With Me
4. Mister Love, 2 -1957
5. Hey, Mr. Bluebird, 2 -1958
6. Which Obne Is to Blame -1959
7. Somebody's Back in Town
8. A Womans Intuition
9. Trouble's Back in Town -1962
10. Roll Muddy River -1963
11. Tell Her So
12. It's Another World -1965
13. Someone Before Me -1966
14. Hurt Her Once for Me*

*-Biggest Chart Single

1With Webb Pierce

2-With Ernest Tubb

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey Mr. Bluebird: The Wilburn Brothers Story

The last of country music's great sibling duos, brothers Doyle and Teddy Wilburn were as formidable in the spotlight as they were behind the scenes, lending their superb close harmonies to 31 Billboard chart hits.

Virgil Doyle Wilburn was born in Hardy, Arkansas (AR), in 1930 with Thurman Theodore Wilburn following in 1931. Their father, a disabled World War I veteran, purchased from the Sears, Roebuck catalog, a guitar, mandolin and fiddle in the hopes that the children might aid the family's dire finances by performing in public and with older brothers Lester and Leslie and sister Geraldine, Doyle and Teddy began their professional music career as the Wilburn Family on a street corner in Thayer, Missouri in 1937.

Soon the children were spending six months of each year in Hardy's one-room schoolhouse and the other six touring radio stations, school auditoriums and churches throughout the South.

During a 1940 stop in Birmingham, Alabama, the Wilburn Family caught the attention of singer Roy Acuff and on his recommendation they were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry that spring. Their stay lasted only six months as pressure from child labor organizations forced the Grand Ole Opry to terminate their contract.

The Wilburn family returned to Hardy, AR and continued touring, although their schedule was curtailed by the United States' entry into World War II. After the war, Geraldine married and retired from the road, although the four brothers continued performing and in 1948 were named to the cast of the famed Louisiana Hayride radio show, where they befriended a then-unknown Webb Pierce.

In 1951 both Doyle and Teddy Wilburn were drafted to serve in the Korean conflict. Upon returning from duty they resumed touring, but with Lester and Leslie since retired from performing, they continued on alone as the Wilburn Brothers. By now Webb Pierce was himself a Grand Ole Opry star and was instrumental in the siblings rejoining the show. They also backed Mr. Pierce on tour and subsequently signed to his label, Decca Records.

The Wilburn Brothers scored their first major hit with Sparkling Brown Eyes, a collaboration with Mr. Pierce that spent 18 weeks on the charts, peaking at number four in mid-1954. They were also uncredited backing vocalists on Pierce's biggest hit, In the Jailhouse Now.

The Wilburn Brothers appeared on television's The Arthur Godfrey Talent Show and American Bandstand.

During the late '50s, the Wilburn Brothers teamed with steel guitarist Don Helms to found the Wil-Helm Talent Agency; Doyle and Teddy also convinced Lester and Leslie out of retirement to run Sure-Fire, a music publishing house. The two business concerns helped launch the professional careers of talents including Sonny James, Jean Shepherd, the Osborne Brothers and in particular Loretta Lynn, who toured with the Wilburn Brothers road show and later landed a recording contract with Decca Records under their managerial wing.

In 1963 the Wilburn Brothers were awarded their own weekly syndicated TV variety series; one of the first country music programs broadcast in color. The Wilburn Brothers Show ran through 1974, providing early exposure to acts including the Oak Ridge Boys, Tammy Wynette and Barbara Mandrell.

In 1967 the Wilburn Brothers were named Duet of the Year in the Music City News Awards and were nominated for Vocal Group of the Year honors by the Country Music Association in 1972.

On October 16, 1982, Doyle Wilburn's life was claimed by cancer. Teddy Wilburn then mounted a solo career and remained a member of the Grand Ole Opry until his death from congestive heart failure in 2003.

------------------------------------------------------------The Wilburn Brothers Show

• Teddy Wilburn
• Doyle Wilburn
• Loretta Lynn
• Harold Morrison 

Band: Curly Charker, Don Helms, Hal Rugg (Steel Guitar), Leslie Wilburn (Rhythm Guitar), Lester Wilburn (Bass, Fiddler), Buddy Spicher, Shorty Lavendar (Fiddle), Buddy Rodgers (Drums), Jimmy Capps (Electric Guitar).

The Wilburn Brothers Show premiered in May 1963 in 14 markets. At the height of the show's popularity it played in 110 markets. It was the first syndicated country television show to be filmed in color. In its 11 year run, there were 354 shows filmed. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music, Jan. 22, 2012

The Wilburn Brothers

Doyle, Harold Morrison, Teddy