A History of 

(It's all about music!)

The Glenn Smith Story (1927-1992)

Glenn's life story is both sad and happy.  He loved his family, and was very proud of all of his children. Music was one of his greatest joys.  He loved to listen, play, share, teach, arrange, and talk about music.  His appreciation for the talents of Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Charlie Byrd, Paul Desmond, Dizzy Gillespie, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Les Brown, Lionell Hampton, Maynard Furgeson, Guy Lombardo, Quincy Jones, Doc Severenson, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and countless others was a love and respect for musicians rarely found today. This biography is a story about some of Glenn's musical career.

    I met Glenn for the first time in about 1960 and was immediately taken by his manner.  He struck me as a very easy going fellow with a great deal of consideration for others. And he was cool! I was still 16 years old so I didn't appreciate his musical talents for what they were at the time because  I didn't really understand jazz and the big band sound.  Glenn was definitely not a rock 'n roller but over the years he became proficient in all types of popular music and exceptional in jazz.  He was writer, arranger, performer and functional musician extraordinaire.  I was in a rock band called The Wildcats at the time with Sidney Amburgey, Fred Adkins, and Donnie Mullins.  Kenneth Duncan had been playing tenor sax with us and needed to be off occasionally.  Glenn and Kenneth were old friends.  They had gone to school together at Norton High School and had played music together for a long time.  Ken recommended Glenn to us as his replacement when he was unavailable.  The first gig with him was a UMWA Fish Fry at the Breaks of the Mountain Interstate Park.  I rode with Glenn in his car. We played on the back of a flatbed truck that day and had a great time.   Everything worked out fine since he was easily familiar with the standard tunes that we had been playing to take up the slack in our early rock 'n roll repertoire.  Plus, he began the teaching process immediately.  Glenn, in his manner, however, would always say that he learned more from us. My grandmother always remembered Glenn's compliments to her cooking when we stopped at her home in Burdine, KY on the way back.  We only saw Glenn occasionally in those days but everyone knew and respected him well.  

Glenn Smith occasionally played a gig with the Wildcats in the early'60s.  Seen here at the Holly Ball in the Jefferson Lounge at C.V.C (now UVA-Wise) in 1962, are L to R: Coy Boggs (Bass), Glenn Smith (Sax), Ron Swindall (Lead Guitar), Fred Adkins (Guitar and Vocals), Sidney Amburgey (Piano and Vocals), and Donnie Mullins (Drums and Vocals).  Other gigs with the Wildcats included CLUB SCOTTY and the Cumberland Ky VFW.

    But Glenn's musical career began long before I knew him.  He was born in Norton, VA in September, 1927 and grew up on 11th Street. He attended elementary school and high school in Norton where he was an excellent student, athlete, and musician.  Glenn was asked one time to tell about his earliest recollections of music in his life.  As is many times the case, his fascination with music began at home and in church.  He remembered listening intently to his father sing in the choir at the First Baptist Church in Norton, and he was particularly drawn to the big sound of the pipe organ.  Later, it was the radio, as he listened to the sounds of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glen Miller and others of that era.
    

Glenn actually began learning to play at age eleven, on a $30 second-hand saxophone.  By the age of fourteen, he had his own band which was playing on WNVA every week, as well as traveling to Jenkins, Pikeville and Bristol to perform.  He often talked about some of those early musicians that he played with... C.B. Porter, Jack Barton, Neil Barton, Marilyn Barton Browning, Paris Barton, Lee Shelton, Joe Cooch, his brother Herman Smith (who he nicknamed 'Pete') and his good friend Kenny Duncan who was one of the last musicians with whom he played.  His bands at that time used some stock arrangements for their music, but even then Glenn was re-writing intros and endings and arranging whole tunes for the band.  In the '90s Shannon's Restaurant in Wise, VA boasted a rather large collection of pictures of local musicians, starting with the big band era and continuing through the years until recently.  At one time you could find a couple of pictures there of his first efforts as a professional musician, playing either sax or piano.

        When he was fifteen, Glenn went to New York City to visit his brother, Bruce, who was in the service at that time.  He had the opportunity to hear Doris Day singing at the Hotel Pennsylvania with the Les Brown Band.  He spoke with Doris that night and got her autograph.  While on this trip Glenn also saw and heard Duke Ellington, Don Byas, and Ben Webster.  This is where Glenn began to have an insight into the expression of jazz, and to see the possibility of conversation between musicians, not in words, but through music.  At this moment, he realized that he someday wanted to try to be right in the middle of all of the happenings in the "big apple".  I remember one of Glenn's expressions on the set while playing with others when someone was taking a ride... "Yeah man, talk to me now. Mmmmhmmm, I hear you."

        Glenn was elected "King" at his high school senior prom.  His band was hired to play for the prom, so the only dance he had that evening was the one which was dedicated to him and the young lady who was selected as "Queen".

He enlisted in the army when he was nineteen.  He played drums in an army marching band and sax in a smaller combo.

    
       Then in Germany after the war, he was placed in charge of the dance band, a job which he dearly loved.  In addition to other places, they played in Frankfurt, and on Hitler's captured yacht as it sailed the Rhineland.

He returned to Norton after he was discharged and worked in the post office until 1949.  At this time he took advantage of the GI Bill and was accepted into the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.  His dream was to become an arranger and composer for movies and TV.  He studied under Pete Mondello one of the veteran members of the Woody Herman Band.  Glenn respected Pete a great deal and gave him credit for "straightening out" his horn playing and having an influence on his style.  The Woody Herman Band was one of Glenn's favorites.  I remember with great fondness playing Glenn's lively arrangement of "The Preacher" when I played with him in the Virginians during the 60's and 70's.

    While in New York he got an 802 card which gave him membership in the very selective New York Federation of Musicians, and he played in a band led by Joe Barone from the Conservatory.  He told about playing all over Long Island, in resorts in the Poconos and all the way to Oklahoma.

    Glenn's father became ill in 1951 and family responsibilities brought Glenn back home to Norton where he again worked at the Post Office.  He never complained but his dreams faded as he was obligated to care for his family in Norton, but he continued to love music and tried to perform wherever he could.

    A few years later, he was called by Charles Goodwin with the news that the Glen Miller band was touring the South and that they needed a sax player.  He went and played with one of the bands of his dreams but was unable to stay on the road because of personal health problems.  The rigorous schedule was too much for his diabetes.  Glenn said jokingly of some of Glen Miller's hand written arrangements that it looked like "chicken scratching across the page".

    Glenn was my music teacher and good friend.  To all who knew him, he was a quietly intelligent, patient, kind, gentle and considerate gentleman, and one of the finest musicians to hail from Southwest Virginia.  He did not play the music of the mountains, but of the world and the stage, so he was not well know among many of the folks in our area, which is unfortunate.  Even though we should be very proud of our mountain heritage and music, we should not let it blind us to the multiple talents found in other styles!  Glenn Smith was a wonderful talent, he had an immense love for music, sought no fame for himself, and had a passion for sharing what he knew with others.

    When I started my teaching career in 1965 at Appalachia High School, Joe Flanary had formed a new variety band of local musicians called The Virginians, and he asked me to join, to try to help expand the band's variety to include rock 'n roll.  Glenn was playing occasionally with this group, and sharing his time with the Hal Salmon Band. He gave Hal his notice and began playing full time with  The Virginians in the spring of 1966.  I once again had the luck of being associated with Glenn Smith!  In this band, he mostly played alto sax, which was definitely his best instrument, but he also contributed greatly with his own style on tenor sax, clarinet and piano.  This band survived longer than most such groups ever stay together.  The Virginians functioned as a professional band well into the '70's.  The success was due, in large part, to Glenn's teaching and arrangements, and to the hard work of Joe Flanary as he both played trombone and managed the bookings for the group.  That, in itself, is another story.  The band played everything from bluegrass to country and western,  rock and blues, jazz and big band tunes, show tunes, a polka or a college fight song.

The road trips were another story and it would take a book to tell them all.  Being a diabetic meant that Glenn needed to stop for food and coffee (which he loved with a drop of saccharin).  Sometimes it meant a 3:00AM stop at Bolling's truck stop or Peggy's restaurant in Kingsport after a gig at the Moose Club, Elk's Club, Eastman Cabin, Ridgefield Country Club, ETSU, Kingsport Fine Arts Center, or one of the other gig spots in Tennessee, Virginia or Kentucky.  Occasionally we would stop at Bertha's ("greasy spoon") in Appalachia. The camaraderie was wonderful and has become nostalgic to all of the originals that are left... Ron Flanary, Buddy Stewart, Mark Wooten, J.D. Collier and me (Ron Swindall).  

One of Glenn's favorite things to do was to listen to late night radio, especially the jazz on WRVA from Richmond.  I can picture him now as he hummed along with the tunes and played "brushes" with his hands on the dashboard of the car.  He marveled at the great musicians and complimented their styles and abilities as he explained rhythms and chord changes to me.

Glenn loved a small drink of alcohol occasionally.  His ideal drink was "two fingers" of gin, as he held up his index and middle finger side by side to illustrate what he wanted.  He was NOT a "womanizer" but he would occasionally make a remark when we saw a particularly attractive young lady, "Man, if I was only 15 years younger...". 
    

Glenn's priceless contributions to The Virginians were his beautiful friendship, his untiring music instruction to us all, his wonderful musical performance, and his never ending flow of unique written scores and arrangements for everything from "Moonlight Serenade" to "Take The A Train".  The versatility of the group made the band a choice of country clubs throughout the area, but due to the shortage of night spots in Southwest Virginia, The Virginians traveled into Kentucky and Tennessee for most gigs.  Glenn's comment about the group was that "we were not as schooled as some of the big city bands, but we were an all around good band".

After The Virginians finally split and we went our separate ways, Glenn continued to play music and help others learn the joy of playing.  In the 80's he traveled and played with a group called Southwinds  which was comprised of several excellent musicians and was led by trumpet player, Jim Hurt and another - Jazz Virginia, seen here.

The last group that Glenn had the opportunity to play with was The Jerome Street Ramblers, another long lasting local group that had been going strong since 1990.   Band leader Dave Tipton told me that Glenn reluctantly joined the group in 1991, telling him that they didn't really need him.  He didn't care for the style of the newly formed group.  But Glenn's interest began to peak when he noticed that Dave and the others were interested in expanding their horizons to include some big band arrangements and more jazz tunes.  This band was another that became relatively popular because of the variety of music that they play.

    One of Glenn's goals was to help youngsters realize their potential in music.  He always said that when he retired at the post office he wanted to work with the band kids.  He said that with the benefit of private instruction, there was no reason why a large number of local kids shouldn't be all-state,  and he helped to make that happen.

Glenn reported to his last music practice session with the Ramblers in Ted Thompson's basement on Dec. 17, 1992, responsible and dedicated as usual, even though he was feeling poorly and reported to the members of the band that he was probably coming down with something.  On that evening, Ted's little two year old granddaughter, Rachael, crawled into Glenn's lap and sat for two hours as he played piano for the last time.  She was the last person to be mesmerized and captured by the magic of watching and listening to him play.  Bill Duckworth drove Glenn to his home on Spruce Avenue after practice.  Glenn passed away on that night, leaving a music legacy behind of which we all are very proud to have been a part.

Back in 1980, Mark Wooten and I had a vision that the wonderful solo improvisations of Glenn Smith should become a small piece of history.  Our first recordings were done on a four channel machine and included Glenn, Mark, Jimmy Stallard, Terry Collier, Greg Edwards and me.  More recordings were done in the next few years and included Kenny Duncan and Tuck Robinson.  In 1986, Glenn, Mark and I, along with Sutton Rigg and Richard Kennedy decided to get even more serious about the Glenn Smith recordings.  We recorded 6 more songs on 16 track analog, featuring Glenn's solos.  The only other musician who helped us was Jimmy Baird, who laid down the bass for us on "Green Dolphin Street".  All recordings were later converted to digital and mixed down on DAT, then sent to National Tape and CD Corp. in Nashville for commercial duplication.  All of the musicians who played on these recordings with Glenn consider themselves fortunate to have been a part of one of the most significant jazz documentations to come from Southwest Virginia.  The Glenn Smith album, called "The Genius of Glenn Smith - The Man Who Talked With His Horn", was published and released after his death.  It is the only high quality documentation of Glenn's outstanding solos on alto saxophone.  It is a one-of-a-kind keepsake.  The album was engineered and produced by Ron Swindall, licensed through Harry Fox of New York, and is a copyright product of Fallen Stars Records, all tracks were recorded at Homestead Recording Studio before the studio moved from Norton to Powell Valley, near Big Stone Gap, VA in 1989. 

Various correspondence and other information about the life of Glenn Smith from people who knew him:

Dear Ron:

Dear Doug and Judy Turpin:
Thank you for your interest and support of Glenn Smith's legacy in
music. It is my goal to collect as much information and recorded
music as possible and keep it all alive as long as possible. I am
so thankful that we recorded several tracks in the 80s.
It seems that we may have met, or I may have heard Glenn mention
your name. I would like to know about your connection with Glenn
as friends, colleagues, musicians, schoolmates, neighbors, or
whatever. (IF you are open to sharing it with me). So, if you
don't mind, tell me some about yourselves. I'm always open to
expanding the biography of Glenn that I have written to include the
names and details of folks he knew.
I did receive your order today (Saturday). I will try to send your
CD on Monday, and I hope you enjoy the music and the liners in the
booklet.
Thank you.
Ron

Ron
You are right we probably do know each other.
I was the band director in Norton in the mid-1960 for two years. I
followed Bob Welch and Mr. Tate.
I met Mr. Smith on several occasions and heard him play 'Take Five'
in the band room at Norton High School. I was struck with his sound
and his musicality. Unfortunately for me, I never found the time to
really get to know him.
Throughout my travels in music and education I have always told the
story of one of the great musicians that I met in a small town in
Virginia, who was in fact the mailman. For more than forty years I
have remembered this man and his music and wondered if it was my
imagination or real. After hearing your recording, I know now that I
had the privilege of meeting one of the greats. I will treasure your
CD and thank you for the recording, which I think is excellent.
By the way, I rented some land and had a garden in Big Stone Gap when
I was in Norton. I wonder if Bud Absher and his wife are still
living? Recently I spoke with Linvelle Reed and he said that Buddy
Stewart is the Norton Band Director. I remember Buddy as an excellent
student and a fine musician. Some others that I recall are Triplett
and Joe Flannery.
Thanks again.
Douglas L. Turpin, professor emeritus
University of Missouri-St. Louis

Glenn's one and only album was recorded at Homestead during the eighties and released by Fallen Stars Records in 1996.

The album (available on CD or cassette tape) features Glenn on alto sax.  This is local jazz at its best from a man that loved music with all of his heart.  Engineered and produced by Ron Swindall, support musicians on the album include Mark Wooten and Jimmy Baird on bass, Richard Kennedy on piano, drummers Sutton Rigg, "Tuck" Robinson, & Greg Edwards.  Lead and rhythm guitarists were Ron Swindall, Terry Collier and Jimmy Stallard.  Additional Tenor sax was played by Kenny Duncan on "September Song".

This album is available on cassette tape or CD

RON SWINDALL and OTHERS

(Photos are all thumbnails...click on them for a larger picture)

Ron's very first guitar was a little three-quarter size Stella that his dad bought for him from Bill Blevins, a fellow mine worker,  when Ron was 10 years old and living on Indian Creek in Pound, VA.  Ron was very interested in the beautiful tones of the strings and the sounds his dad could get when he chorded the little guitar, but Ron's fingers were too small to really start playing.  The strings were also very high off the frets.  But he showed a lot of interest, kept trying hard, and eventually learned to strum the simple chords that his dad taught him. One of the songs he knew and taught him was "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?".   For his efforts, Ron  was rewarded with a brand new f-hole Kay  hollow body guitar purchased from Sears & Roebuck for Christmas two years later! (see picture) The very first complete tune he learned to pick was, as he realized later, a tribute to A.P. Carter and Maybelle Carter (A.P's sister-in-law). It was A.P.'s idea for Maybelle to use the guitar to pick out breaks on her guitar since they had no traditional fiddle. She was the first in history to do this, strumming and picking at the same time, and now Ron could do it, too... with their 'Wildwood Flower'.   Soon he joined the Pound High School Band as a snare drummer when he was in the 5th grade...  The picture on the left was taken in 1956 on the stage of PHS during the band's spring concert - William (Bill) Duckworth, director. The photo to the right was taken as the newly formed PHS band marched onto the football field in Pound for one of the first times.  The first band had no uniforms, but performed instead in white Wildcat sweatshirts, and white "bucks".  A few of the band members were: Donnie Mullins, Kennith Ellison, Curt Ellison, Helen Dotson, Margaret Hollyfield, Anna Lou Mullins, Don Hurt, Gustava Hollyfield, Roger Flemming, Ronald Vanover, Eva Mae Jackson, Sidney Buskel, Roger Boggs, Janice Vanover, Ronald Vanover, Ina Fae Dotson, Zelma Meade, Ginger Roberts, Peggy Bolling, Barbara Baker, Palmer Mullins, Mickey Deel, May Ann Hollyfield, Rose Ann Swindall, J.B. Davis, Freddy Osborne, Lynn Flemming,

Note the 45RPM record player and the old radio (that I used to listen to the Grand Ole Opry, Amos and Andy, My Little Margie, etc.)

Ron says, "William Duckworth arrived in Pound VA in 1955 and started the first high school band.  I was in the fifth grade when I joined the Wildcat band and played drums along with my classmate Sidney Buskell and high school students Ina Dotson, Don Hurt, Mickey Deel and Anna Lou Mullins.  Some of the other band members turned out to be future members of our first rock 'n roll group in Pound, called the Shadows.  They were Kennith Ellison, Aaron Ellison and Donnie Mullins.  William Duckworth was a great woodwind player - a nice fellow and wonderful musician that we did not really appreciate until many years later. He left Pound and taught music in Abingdon until he retired.  Duckworth moved back to Pound and lived with his mother-in-law after his wife passed away. After he moved back to Pound he played with Dave Tipton, Ted Thompson, Glenn Smith, Joe Flanary and others in the Jerome Street Ramblers, a great little jazz/dixie group formed by Tipton after he retired."

Early on, Ron's favorite musician buddy was his first cousin, Janice (Vanover) Johnson. Their greatest compatibility was  music.  They made an effort to spend as much time together as possible, pickin' and singin'.  Janice was a very good vocalist and Ron learned much from her in his efforts to try to keep up and play guitar behind her while singing either unison or harmony.  Her brothers and sisters had purchased a really nice jumbo Gibson for her and the sound was so wonderful. They played and sang together for hours on end whenever they could.  They loved to listen to The Grand Ole Opry and learned many of the songs played by Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Martha Carson, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, the Carter Family, and others. Then suddenly it was the beginning of the 'Rockabilly' era, when Elvis was just beginning to break in to the music business. It was a great time to be playing music! Finally, when Ron was about 13 years old, his recording "debut" was with Janice as they watched with fascination as Alec Tompkins used his equipment to literally cut the records. His first on-radio experience was in 1956 with Janice on WTCW, Whitesburg KY, one of the first radio stations in the area.  When Janice was married, she moved away, leaving Ron to either go it alone or find someone else to pick with.

Ron and Janice, about 1957                                      Janice, 2007

"While growing up in the fifties, I tried to become a musician of sorts as I learned many of the popular songs of the day.  During high school, some friends and I started singing together and soon formed a little rock group - maybe the first of its kind in Southwest Va.  We called ourselves The Shadows, a name given to two of us by our high school principal (O.M. Morris) because we hung out a lot together.  We spent most of our time together pickin' and singin'."

(Kennith, Donnie, Ronnie, 1958)

The original Shadows group consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Kenneth Ellison, his brother Aaron on piano, Donnie Mullins on drums, a Pound High Band sax player,  and  Ron Swindall played lead guitar and did some backup singing.

(Ron, 1959) "The guitar seen here is a Higgins, purchased along with an Epiphone amplifier (see in later full picture of Wildcats below) from Whitaker Music in East Jenkins, KY 1n 1958 when I was 15. Our music in 1958-59 was copied from Buddy Holly, Ace Cannon, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Knox, The Coasters, Percy Faith, Glen Miller, the Champs and many others."

They practiced a lot and played at local nightclubs like The Clubhouse (A Teen night spot in Wise), The Indian Head (Pound), Mae's Night Club (Pound), The Copper Kettle (Norton), teenage dances, street dances, movie theatres in Pound and Norton, the VFW Club (Whitesburg), American Legion (Jenkins), and College fraternity and sorority dances at Clinch Valley College and Lincoln Memorial University.  The clientele called from eastern Kentucky, east TN and Southwest Virginia.  During this time they were joined and led by "Doc" (Lavelle) Williams from Whitesburg, KY who was about 10 years older.  Doc played piano.  They did not have a bass. The group played live on WNKY, Fleming-Neon KY, where they became acquainted with Bobby Jo Pass and Hence Eversoe.  Bobby got the band a gig at Fleming high school, fronting for a concert for the Casual Teens and Carl Perkins. Bobby Jo now lives in Indiana and after years of traveling and service is once more a DJ on BOUNCE radio, AND still a good friend!

"We were quite young to be playing in night clubs but the folks liked us because we were a rarity, and I suppose the music was fairly good.  We were all 15-16 years old."

        Ron's first fascination with recording came because the Ellisons owned a mono tape recorder.  They recorded some of the Shadow's  music occasionally (unfortunately, none of it is still available today), and even though they all knew that it basically sounded somewhat distorted, Ron especially loved the idea of being able to do it.

These pictures were taken in December, 1959.  These were the Shadows, the first Rock 'n Roll band in the entire area. The picture was taken the morning after playing for the HOLLY BALL at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate Tennessee in December 1959.  photo 1: From left to right are: Lavell (Doc) Williams, Ron Swindall, Kenneth Ellison.  photo 2: Ronnie, Donnie, Doc, Kennith, Aaron.  3rd photo: Ronnie.  4th photo in 1960: Aaron and Ronnie

    In 1960, the band changed in name and personnel... A little more background is necessary.  Sidney Amburgey actually started The Wildcats.  Sidney was a rockabilly piano player who had learned some honky tonk and WW II songs while playing with his brothers Adolph and Jack.  He recognized the talent in The Shadows and wanted to become the leader of this successful group of youngsters.  The band had also been using a high school band sax player at the time, but they decided that he was no longer needed due to the fact that he was unable to keep up and play most of the tunes they were trying at the time, so they re-formed without him.   "Doc" Williams had split some time before this, so they formed The Wildcats, named for the hometown athletic team, the Pound Wildcats.     Also, the Ellison's house in Pound had burned and the family soon moved to Lanham, Maryland, leaving the band without a "frontman".

Fred Adkins had been away to University of Maryland and returned in 1961 to join The Wildcats as a new lead singer.  Fred was popular with the girls because they all thought he looked like Ricky Nelson.

The Wildcat  members were  Ron Swindall on lead guitar, Sid Amburgey on piano, Donnie Mullins on drums and Fred Adkins as front, rhythm guitar and singer.  The four of them booked all over Southwest Va, Eastern Kentucky and a few spots in East Tennessee. Fred started in the group with a blond Jazz Gretsch guitar.  He soon traded for a Fender Stratocaster and finally talked Ron into trading the Higgins for a Strat.  Ron borrowed money  and purchased it new at Cumberland Valley Music in Harlan, KY for about $120. Today, the guitar is worth multiple thousands, but nobody knows exactly where it is...

In the spring of 1961, the Wildcats decided to add another member, a very good saxophone player named Kenneth Duncan.  He was an older experienced jazz player and fine musician from the big band era and he loved what the band was  doing and enjoyed playing with them.   Kenny could do it all - rock, jazz, country!  They soon went to McKinney's Recording studio in Johnson City, TN and recorded two songs... Harlem Nocturne, featuring Kenny on Sax, and Fanny Mae, featuring Sid on harmonica.  New recording techniques and effects were coming on the scene for small recording setups.  They had never heard a reverberation unit and it sounded heavenly on Kenny's sax!  The band and others loved the recordings!  Fred and Kenny took the master and went to Nashville to try and open doors for the band.  They met "John R".  They called back and told the guys to be sure to listen as the recordings were played on WLAC in Nashville, TN... the country's premiere blues radio station.  They  were all so excited and thought they were on the way to the big time!  It was not to be.  There were too many factors holding them in the mountains, but...these two songs are available on CD today from the studio.

"We continued to play, as we booked into the Cumberland KY  VFW,  the CVC Jefferson Lounge, numerous high school proms, UMWA Fish Fries, and lots of other events.  We were "hot" during this time period, playing every chance we got.  My first appearance on TV with the Wildcats was on WKPT TV in Kingsport TN. We had lots of hometown "fans" and others that wrote in to the show and complimented us. We did this show several times. In this photo, taken at CVC, Stewart Judkins* is substituting on drums for Donnie, who needed the night off."   *Stewart Judkins became a really good friend.  He had played music with Joe F. Smiddy (now Dr. Smiddy) in the late 50s, and played often with the WILDCATS as he either substituted on drums for Donnie, or on piano for Sidney, in their absence.  He played with the CATS at the Clubhouse in Wise for teenage dances, at the Copper Kettle, at Club Scotty, and other venues.

 

"It was sometime during this short period that I first met Glenn C. Smith, the finest person, best sax player, all around musician and music teacher that I have ever known.  He was always helpful and always a friend... Glenn filled in for Kenny a few times that year, and started a lifetime teacher- friend-fellow musician relationship with all of us that can never be forgotten. Kenny, however, is the sax player seen here in this photo."

Burchette Photo

 

The "WILDCAT" band at the Holly Ball in the Jefferson Lounge during the holidays in 1961. From Left to Right: Coy Boggs (bass), Glenn Smith (alto sax), Ron Swindall (lead guitar), Fred Adkins (guitar and vocals), Donnie Mullins (drums), Sid Amburgey (piano and vocals)

It was college time for Ron and some of the other musicians.  The Wildcats stayed together in one form or another as they continued to play into the fall of 1961...Fred Adkins formed a partnership with Dan Vasvary as they bought and furnished what was to become one of the premier night spots in Southwest Va at that time, Club Scotty. The club was named for two people... Jack Scott, who worked extremely hard at the club during remodeling of the old skating rink and continued to work as a manager/maintenance person until he left to work at Cohens in Norton and later at Witt Motor Company.  Jack, the jokester, became a good friend with all of the band members. The other namesake was a good friend of Vasvary's, during his service days. The bottom picture at the right was taken  in 1982, after the club had been shut down for several years. The front smaller building was the dining room and Wagonwheel Lounge. A large old-time wagonwheel with lanterns attached hung from the center of the room. The entrance to the hall can be seen to the left of the dining room.  A narrow hall here led to the "Ballroom" which originally was a skating rink.  Inside, the bandstand and stage was to the right and middle, with the dance floor right in front in the middle.  There was a juke box just on the other side of the stage.  The kitchen could be entered stage left and through the end wall. There was a bedroom upstairs with two half beds.

 Since Fred was to be running the nightclub, The Wildcats all had a permanent job every Friday and Saturday night.  This helped pay Ron's and Donnie's way through college at East Tennessee State as they traveled back each weekend to play.  The downside was that it made the band somewhat complacent due to playing all the time in one place, and that caused them to lose steam.
    Musicians came and went between the years of 1961-1965 as Sid served a stint in the army and Fred went back to college to study law  at the University of Tennessee.  Donnie and Ron continued college at East Tennessee State University and continued to play for a period of time.  Donnie eventually stopped completely, and settled in Glouschester, VA  By this time they were both married.

Inside Club Scotty, 1962

"Tracy Boggs joined us for a time on organ before leaving for the army.      Stewart Judkins played piano and drums with us for a few months, then left town.  Jim Dockery, also a fine guitar player and musician, came and played bass for us for a short time.  Coy Boggs joined us after Jim left and picked up the bass again for several months before leaving for Defiance, Ohio to join Jim and form The Singing Cousins. Coy has now married Brenda Buchanan and lives in Morristown, TN.  He still plays music and is a fine musician and entertainer."

     Things  were slowly starting to go sour for the Wildcats.  Ron was the last original member  to leave in the fall of 1965.  He was bored with Club Scotty, and even though he enjoyed playing with Gary Freeman, Larry Bolling, Leland Maggard, Mickey Mullins, Jim Dockery and  others, it wasn't like old times. About Larry Bolling though, Ron had this to say, "I called him Labo.  He was a fine bass player and so much fun! We really became good friends during that time and we still are today..."

A NEW BAND...A NEW ERA

"I started a teaching job in science and biology at Appalachia High School in the fall of 1965 where I met the band director, Joe Flanary. who became my good friend and mentor.  Before long, he knew of my guitar playing ability and, in an effort to expand the horizons of his variety group, he invited me to join them and become an important part of the rock'n roll branch of the band, so I left The Wildcats and Club Scotty  and began to expand my own horizons. Thus, that winter I joined  a brand new and different band, The Virginians.  I returned to good ole Pound High School that fall and  played with some friends in a "pick up" band for the spring Pound High Prom in the gymnasium.  Marvin Barker had become the principal when O.M. Morris retired.

The very first edition of the Virginians

    The Virginians band was a variety group, and was notably, and without a doubt, the most important and significant of all musical experiences for all members of the group! The band, organized by Joe Flanary in 1966, played at a host of area concerts, parties, events and proms for a generation of folks who literally loved live music, and loved to hear great vocals as well. The Virginians did not cull any type of music, and became popular for that reason.  Even though the core of their music was the big band sound, when the clients hired them for a gig, they knew that the band could meet their requests for not only Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey type tunes, but  could also provide quality productions of modern jazz tunes as well as blues, rock, pop, country-western, bluegrass, polka, latin and other styles.  The first Virginians crew consisted of Joe Flanary - trombone, Merle Dockery - bass, Danny Collier - drums, Glenn Smith - alto saxophone, Ron Flanary - trumpet and vocals, William (Buddy) Stewart - trumpet, and Ron Swindall on guitar.  Glenn wrote most of the arrangements and in the early days they featured Ronnie and Buddy on trumpets as they played many of the Herb Alpert Tijuana Brass tunes.  The T.B. tunes became the band's trademark during 1965-1967.  The Virginians played all over East Tennessee, Southwest Va and Eastern Kentucky in the country clubs, Moose Clubs, Elks Clubs, hi school proms, night clubs, etc.  The pay was good and they enjoyed themselves.  During the coming years, the face of the band changed many times as school, the army and  work carried members away, but Swindall stayed with the group for nine years, as did Joe and Glenn.  

King Photo

"This picture includes everyone that was mentioned above except Merle, who was replaced by Carl Hoag on bass the next year. Carl was from Kentucky and was in Norton as a DJ for WNVA radio. He left the group to become "Jack Lasalle" on a Bristol radio station in 1970. By this time, I had been through a couple more guitars. I traded the Strat for a Tennessean model Gretsch at Joe Morrell's in Bristol (mistake!...considering the Strat is now worth thousands as a vintage pre-CBS Fender). Later I traded again for another Gretsch Chet Atkins model."

     Through the years, temporary substitutes and permanent replacements brought many new faces and talents to the Virginians.  With all of this, the basic styles did not change and the sound was still very "identifiable".  In the middle years, the band found themselves traveling further distances more often.  They entertained several times at the Fine Arts Center in Kingsport TN where they met Bill Gamble, another great musician, a clarinet playing lawyer that had a fine group for several years called After Six.  Later, Bud Stewart played in Bill's band for several years.  Bill made the recordings of the Virginians at the Fine Arts Center during these concerts.  They also met Charles Goodwin, a very notable and wonderful jazz piano player who  formed a big band called The Charles Goodwin Orchestra.  Buddy plays with him occasionally today, as he fills in and performs in many places around the area.  Buddy is band director at Norton High School in Virginia.  The pictures below are of some of the other musicians that worked with The Virginians between the years of 1966 and 1974.  

<<Aaron Ellison (from the 50's Shadows group). Aaron appeared again with The Virginians in 1974.  Aaron lives in Homestead Florida and is still a performing musician.                                  Greg Still was a fine drummer for the Virginians in the early 70s.   Greg is now an MD in the Roanoke area.     >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

<<<Dave Tipton played trumpet with the Virginians many times as a sub for either Buddy Stewart or Ron Flanary.  His last musical venture was The Jerome Street Ramblers , a fine little dixie/jazz group in Big Stone Gap, VA.   Dave, Joe Flanary and Glenn Smith  leave us all with many fond memories of their friendship, musical guidance and talent.  They are all heavily missed by the people they touched during their lives.                                     Mark Wooten and Ron carried the rhythm section and the rock 'n roll section for the Virginians.

          

<<<<Ron Flanary, front man and lead singer for the Virginians  poses for a picture beside the "Green Onion", our "Roadie" vehicle that carried the equipment in the late 60s.

          

<<<<<   Ron Flanary and Buddy Stewart take a break from instrumentals on trumpets to sing 'Salty Dog' at Middlesboro KY Country Club.

It's break time for the Virginians during a gig at Middlesboro, KY.    Glenn and Danny horse around while Joe looks on.                                                                                                                                     >>>>>>>>> The comraderie in this group was unparalled, and everyone remains close today.  The remaining VIRGINIANS (Ron Flanary, Buddy Stewart, J.D. Collier, Ron Swindall, Dave Tipton and Mark Wooten) reunited in May, 2006 for a concert in Appalachia.  After Dave passed, they added Richie Kennedy and performed again at the MECC Goodlow Center in 2007.  Current tentative plans include a CD and other possible concerts.

< < < <  Joe D. Flanary, founder of the Virginians, and J.D. Collier on drums. Joe was the finest trombone player in the region.  Collier now plays banjo and has become a quite good bluegrass player.  He has one CD, called Appalachia Grass, recorded and produced by Ron at Homestead.

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