Bill Carlisle

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This article is about the country music singer. For 'Wild Bill' Carlisle the train robber, see William L. Carlisle.

Bill Carlisle
King, Mercury, Hickory

William Toliver Carlisle (December 19, 1908 – March 17, 2003), better known as Bill Carlisle and Jumpin' Bill Carlisle, was an American

Country Music Hall of Fame
.

Biography

Carlisle was born in

ARC Records. That year he formed the Carlisle Brothers with Cliff, and in 1938 they signed with Decca Records and continued performing on Kentucky country radio programs. He created an alter ego for the WNOX's Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round and Tennessee Barn Dance shows called Hot Shot Elmer, a bumbling buffoon in costume who would "interrupt" Carlisle's own performances. His leaps on stage won him the moniker "Jumpin' Bill."[1]

Carlisle's guitar style was noted for its precision and speed, and he employed

King Records after World War II, and hit big with the Ernest Tubb cover, "A Rainbow at Midnight", in 1946. Carlisle had a solo hit in 1948 with "Tramp on the Street". Cliff retired from the business about 1950, and Bill put together a backing ensemble, The Carlisles, though none of them was related to him. Among its members were singer Martha Carson and songwriter Betty Amos.[2]

Carlisle signed with Mercury Records and continued to release novelty song hits in the 1950s, such as "Too Old to Cut the Mustard", a top ten country hit in 1951 later covered by artists including Rosemary Clooney and Marlene Dietrich. Other hits included the number one smash "No Help Wanted" (their biggest)[3] and the top ten "Taint Nice (To Talk Like That)", both 1953. That year the Carlisles were invited to join the Grand Ole Opry. In the mid-1950s, Carlisle was a regular performer on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee.[1][2]

He also wrote the gospel song "Gone Home," which has been recorded by

Flatt & Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band. Carlisle said he never recorded the song himself because he "just did so much better with the novelty stuff."[4]

Personal life

In 1953, Carlisle, his wife, and children, Bill Jr. (born 1942), and Sheila, moved to Minden in Webster Parish, Louisiana, to be near the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. At the time Tillman Franks of Shreveport was his manager.[5]

His children became members of The Carlisles group in the 1960s; his last hit was "What Kinda Deal Is This", released in 1965. After his fame receded, he continued as a regular at the Opry, appearing less than two weeks before his death on March 17, 2003, in Nashville, Tennessee.[1]

Legacy

Carlisle was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in September 2002.[2]

Chart singles

Year Single US Country
[6]
1946 "Rainbow at Midnight" (Carlisle Brothers) 5
1948 "Tramp on the Street" 14
1951 "Too Old to Cut the Mustard" (The Carlisles) 6
1953 "No Help Wanted" (The Carlisles) 1
"Knothole" (The Carlisles) 3
"Is Zat You, Myrtle" (The Carlisles) 2
"Tain't Nice (To Talk Like That)" (The Carlisles) 5
1954 "Shake-a-Leg" (The Carlisles) 15
"Honey Love" (The Carlisles) 12
1965 "What Kinda Deal Is This" 4

References

  1. ^ a b c Manheim, James. "Biography of Bill Carlisle". AllMusic. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  2. ^
    Country Music Hall of Fame. Archived from the original
    on December 14, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  3. ^ STARK, P., 2003. Obituaries: Bill Carlisle, 94. Billboard, 115(13), pp. 53.
  4. ^ "Gone Home". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Nationally Famous Folk Song Writer Moves to Minden", Minden Press, October 2, 1953, pp. 1, 16
  6. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2
    .

External links
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