Bob Ferguson (musician)
Bob Ferguson | |
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RCA Victor |
Robert Bruce Ferguson (December 30, 1927 – July 22, 2001) was an American
The country song "Carroll County Accident", recorded by Porter Wagoner, made No. 2 on the Billboard country singles chart (No. 92 pop) and No. 1 on the Cash Box country singles chart. The tune was also recorded by Wagoner's longtime duet partner Dolly Parton. Ferguson married twice, first to Harvie June Van (1950s/60s) then to Martha Jean Lewis (1970 to 2001).
Biography
Early life and education
Ferguson was born in Willow Springs, Missouri, the third son of John Carl and Mary Willie Boles Ferguson. His brothers were John Carl, Alan Claude, and Paul Eugene. John Carl attended the United States Naval Academy and graduated in 1944. Alan Claude became a renowned forest ranger. Paul Eugene, as an enlisted sailor, witnessed many Pacific Proving Grounds atomic tests while aboard the USS Estes. The Fergusons have a rich legacy including ancestors whom participated in the American Revolution.
While in high school, Ferguson was a typesetter at the local newspaper, a fire tower lookout for the U.S. Forest Service, and a member of the Missouri State Guard during World War II. After graduating from high school in 1945, he entered the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant and served as a radioman for two winters in Alaska. He tested military equipment under Arctic conditions. He went on to study at Southwest Missouri State University.
After discharge from the Army, Ferguson went out West and worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a fire tower lookout and trail crew boss. He also worked as a laborer in the wheat fields and a typesetter for the newspaper in
Ferguson then entered
While in college, Ferguson joined a Marine Forces Reserve unit. He was called to duty during the Korean War (1950–1952). Ferguson served as a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego and producer of Marine training motion pictures.
Tennessee Game and Fish Commission
From about 1955-1961, Ferguson worked at the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission, headquartered in Nashville, where he produced films for the agency.
While working there, Ferguson also started in the music business. In 1958 he wrote his first multi-million seller song "On the Wings of a Dove". It was recorded by
Performing with Husky, Ferguson played a character called Eli Possumtrout in The Good Old Days, a motion picture produced by the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission.
Nashville record producer
After graduation from college, Ferguson moved to Nashville, Tennessee, as manager for Ferlin Husky.
"Tex Ritter once explained that ... It would be impossible to point to just one example of good fortune, or good timing, and say 'Right there was my big break.'"
Burt & Ferguson- So You Want To Be In Music!, 1970[4]
The success of his song "On the Wings of a Dove"
Ferguson developed a comedy role as "Grandpappy Eli Possumtrot", a name which he took from a crossroad community near his childhood home in
Ferguson wrote several other songs, including the million seller, "Carroll County Accident",[5] first recorded by Porter Wagoner. In 1969 it received a Country Music Award for the "Song of the Year". In the 1960s Ferguson also wrote "Natividad", a Christmas song, and "Choctaw Saturday Night", a tribute to Choctaw Native Americans.
The country song "Carroll County Accident" was written when Ferguson passed through Carroll County when driving from Nashville to a concert for the Choctaw Indians in Philadelphia, Miss., according to an interview Ferguson granted with Steve Eng for the Wagoner biography A Satisfied Mind. He recounted that he passed a sign for Carroll County in Tennessee, which inspired the song's title, and when he saw a sign for Carroll County in Mississippi the song was a finished work. Wagoner took the song to No. 2 on the Billboard country singles chart (No. 92 pop) and No. 1 on the
Writer
With Jesse Burt as co-author, Ferguson wrote two books: So You Want to be in Music and Southeastern Indians: Then and Now.
So You Want to be in Music is a book about the music industry for aspiring songwriting and recording professionals. Southeastern Indians: Then and Now is a general-interest book about
tribes.Anthropology
While working at RCA, Ferguson earned a Master's Degree in
Final years and death
"In the rich tapestry of American life, ... the southeastern Indian and his brothers everywhere see their own special and beautiful heritage. They are Americans who happen to be Indians and are proud of it.'"
Burt & Ferguson- Indians of the Southeast: Then and Now, 1973[8]
After his retirement from RCA, Ferguson moved his family to live near the reservation of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Philadelphia, Mississippi. He had worked in various capacities with the tribe since the 1950s. There he served as editor of the Choctaw Times, and historian and audio- visual producer for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. In that role, he helped establish the Museum of the Southern Indian (Choctaw Museum) in 1981. He also worked part-time as promotional director of the Chucalissa Prehistoric Indian Village in Memphis, Tennessee.[9] In 1983, he created the foundation for Choctaw Video Productions and created numerous tribal productions.
In 1987, Ferguson established WHTV as local cable service for Pearl River/Philadelphia, Mississippi. He retired from that position in 1998, when he was also named Tribal Historian Emeritus. He established the tribe's organic gardening program in 1978.
Ferguson died of
Legacy and honors
"Jim Ed and I actually met in Studio B at RCA Records where we recorded many of our hits that followed the initial, “I Don't Want To Have To Marry You.” He had been an RCA artist for years and I had just been signed to the label, both of us were produced by Bob Ferguson ... Bob Ferguson played some of my demo tape recordings for Jim Ed, but he did not like my voice. Thank goodness Bob convinced him that we would blend, and that the song became a hit. It was the #1 song in the nation three months after we had met in the studio."
Country Stars Central- Helen Cornelius Interview, 2010[10]
Ferguson was the recipient of many awards and recognitions during his multiple careers. He was also a member of Mensa, a society of people with high I.Q.s.
- 1960, the North American Wildlife Conservation Association named his production The World Outdoors the "Best Motion Picture of the Year."
- 1969, "Carroll County Accident", Country Music Award for the "Song of the Year".
- 1987, "Wings of a Dove" received BMI's "One million airplays" Award.
- 1987, receives the Iron Eyes Cody Peace Medal. Only 48 medals were made and awarded.
- 2012, honored with a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker
Selection of singles/albums
Ferguson worked for nearly 30 years at RCA's Studio B producing hundreds of albums for artists such as Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner.
- Just Between You And Me- Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton
- When You Are Here - Harvie June Van, Produced by Chet Atkins
- Jolene (album) - Dolly Parton
- The Open Mind of John D. Loudermilk - John D. Loudermilk
- Connie Smith- Connie Smith
- My Favorite Songwriter: Porter Wagoner- Dolly Parton
- Coast Country - George Hamilton IV
- Jerry Reed Explores Guitar Country - Jerry Reed
References
- ^ Morris, Edward. ""Wings of a Dove" Writer, Bob Ferguson, Dies at 73 in Mississippi". Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "Bob Ferguson", Clarionledger, 23 Jul 2001, accessed 16 Mar 2009
- ^ Billboard. 19 October 1959.
- ^
Ferguson, Bob; Jesse Burt (1970). "The "Big Break" Fallacy". So You Want To Be In Music. Abingdon Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-687-39000-1.
- ^ a b c d
Leverett-Crew, Libby (2003). "In The Circle of Family and Friends". Saturday Nights With Daddy At The Opry. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 123. ISBN 1-4016-0114-6.
- Nashville Tennessean. p. 7.
- ^ Guilday, John E. (July 1977). "Sabertooth Cat, Smilodon Floridanus (Leidy), and Associated Fauna From a Tennessee Cave (40DV40), the First American Bank Site". Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science. 52 (3): 84–94.
- ^
Ferguson, Bob; Jesse Burt (1973). "It's Happening with Southeastern Indian Youth". Indians of the Southeast: Then and Now. Abingdon Press. p. 271. ISBN 0-687-18793-1.
- ^ "Bob Ferguson" Archived May 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Mississippi History Newsletter, Sept. 2001, accessed 16 Mar 2009
- ^ Country Stars Central. "Helen Cornelius Interview". Retrieved 2011-05-14.
External links
- CMT's webpage on Bob Ferguson
- CMA's database entry on the Carroll County Accident
- Essay on "The Carroll County Accident"
- "Wings of a Dove" lyrics
- About the song Coat of Many Colors produced by Bob Ferguson
- Postings about Bob Ferguson
- Press Release about Bob Ferguson's Passing at the Wayback Machine (archived October 7, 2007)