Red Foley

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For the sportswriter, see Red Foley (sportswriter).

Red Foley
Background information
Birth nameClyde Julian Foley
Also known asMr. Country Music
Born(1910-06-17)June 17, 1910
OriginBlue Lick, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedSeptember 19, 1968(1968-09-19) (aged 58)
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
  • radio and TV host
  • actor
Instrument(s)
Years active1930–1968
Labels
Formerly of
WebsiteOfficial website (archived)

Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968)[1] was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II.

For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the genre, selling more than 25 million records. His 1951 hit, "Peace in the Valley", was among the first million-selling gospel records. A Grand Ole Opry veteran until his death, Foley also hosted the first popular country music series on network television, Ozark Jubilee, from 1955 to 1960.

He is a member of the

Country Music Hall of Fame
, which called him "one of the most versatile and moving performers of all time" and "a giant influence during the formative years of contemporary Country music."

Biography

Foley was born on a 24-acre (9.7 ha) farm in Blue Lick, Kentucky,[1] and grew up nearby Berea. He gained the nickname Red for his hair color. He was born into a musical family, and by the time he was nine was giving impromptu concerts at his father's general store, playing French harp, piano, banjo, trombone, harmonica and guitar. At 17, he won first prize in a statewide talent show. He graduated from Berea High School, and later worked as a $2-a-show usher and singer at a theater in Covington, Kentucky. Foley was of Irish ancestry[2]

Early radio and recording career

In 1930, as a freshman at

NBC's Avalon Time (co-hosted by Red Skelton
), and he performed extensively at theaters, clubs and fairs. He then returned for another seven-year stint with National Barn Dance.

In 1941, the same year he made his first of only two

Smoke on the Water", topped the folk records chart for 13 consecutive weeks, and on January 17, 1945, Foley was the first country performer to record in Nashville, Tennessee. During the session at WSM-AM's Studio B, he recorded "Tennessee Saturday Night", "Blues in My Heart" and "Tennessee Border". He soon became known for such songs as "The Death of Floyd Collins" and "The Sinking of the Titanic".[4]
He moved to Nashville in 1946 and was briefly a member of the Brown's Ferry Four, recording "Jesus Hold My Hand" and "I'll Meet You in the Morning".

Mr. Country Music

In April 1946, Foley signed on to emcee and perform on The Prince Albert Show, the segment of the

NBC Radio. During the next eight years he established himself as one of the most respected and versatile performers in country music. He acted as master of ceremonies, the straight man for Opry comedians Rod Brasfield and Minnie Pearl, and proved himself a vocalist who could handle all types of material.[3] His popularity was credited with establishing the Opry as America's top country music radio show. In 1949, Foley was part of the Opry's first European tour, visiting U.S. military bases in England, West Germany and the Azores, with Brasfield, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Little Jimmy Dickens, Hank Williams and others.[5]

Foley began recording with his backing group, the Cumberland Valley Boys, in 1947. He recorded seven top five hits with the group between 1947 and 1949, including a No. 1 single, "

Billboard's country chart
for 13 weeks and hit the pop chart as well.

In April 1951, Foley was pleased when the popular

It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" and "He Bought My Soul at Calvary".[7]

In 1951, Foley's second wife, Judy Martin, took her own life. To devote more time to his family in Nashville, he cut back on performing but continued to release hits in a variety of styles, including rockabilly and rhythm and blues. His 1951 hit, "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (for Me)" backed by the Sunshine Boys quartet, was one of the first gospel music records to sell one million copies. He also released his first LP that year, Souvenir Album (Decca DL-5303).

Foley's manager was Jim McConnell and "Dub" Albritton was his personal appearances manager. Starting in 1951, he hosted The Red Foley Show on Saturday afternoons on

Dow Chemical. On November 21, 1953, he was one of the first eight singers named to Billboard magazine's Honor Roll of Country and Western artists, "named by the disk jockeys of America as an all-time great of country & western music."[8]

Foley never lost his love for country music and, unlike

Rosetta Tharpe, Evelyn Knight and the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. Known by then as Mr. Country Music and America's Favorite Country Gentleman, critics dubbed him the "barnyard Bing Crosby".[9]

Television career

radio. The deal was made over a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey at the Andrew Jackson Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.[10] Foley struggled with alcohol,[11] which according to Maxine Brown, "was a well-kept secret among all the entertainers because we loved him so much."[12]

In 1955, an official act of the

evasion charges pending against him in 1960. His first trial that fall ended with a hung jury, but on April 23, 1961, he was quickly acquitted.[15]

From 1954 to 1955, Foley recorded a number of

transcriptions for RadiOzark Enterprises in Springfield with his band of Tommy Jackson on fiddle, Grady Martin on guitar, steel guitarist Bud Isaacs, guitarist Jimmie Selph, Bob Moore
on bass and Billy Burke on accordion.

On April 25, 1956, he appeared on ABC's

Strike it Rich.[16] He appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, a 1957–1960 program hosted by his son-in-law Pat Boone. On February 22, 1960, he appeared on Tonight Starring Jack Paar.[17] In the summer of 1961, Foley appeared twice on NBC-TV's Five Star Jubilee and made 58 appearances at 22 state fairs with Boob Brasfield.[18] He moved to Los Angeles, and from 1962 to 1963 played Fess Parker's Uncle Cooter on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, an ABC-TV sitcom. In 1963, he returned to Nashville and performed and toured with the Grand Ole Opry. He appeared in the 1966 film musical, Sing a Song, for Heaven's Sake, and was a guest on The Joey Bishop Show
on August 24, 1967.

Foley was elected to the

Country Music Hall of Fame
in 1967 (the first Kentuckian and one of only six then-living inductees), which honored him as "one of the most versatile and moving performers of all time" and "a giant influence during the formative years of contemporary Country music and today a timeless legend."

Death

On September 19, 1968, Foley appeared in two Opry performances in

Luke the Drifter, Jr.) "I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away").[1] According to the song, which charted that November, his last words were, "I'm awful tired now, Hank. I've got to go to bed."[1] Foley had sung "Peace in the Valley" at Hank Sr.'s funeral. Foley was interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park
in Nashville.

Family

Foley had an older brother, Clarence "Cotton" Foley (1903–1988), who in 1939, along with brother Red, John Lair, and Whitey Ford, co-founded the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.

Foley's first wife was Axie Pauline Cox, who died giving birth to their daughter Betty. Betty (1933–1990) married Bentley Cummins in 1948 and had three children. On August 9, 1933, Foley married his second wife, Eva Alaine Overstake. Known during her solo career as Judy Martin, she was one of the Three Little Maids on National Barn Dance and a sister of country music songwriter Jenny Lou Carson. Red and Eva had three daughters.

On November 17, 1951, Eva Foley died by suicide.[21]

On December 17, 1952, Foley announced in Nashville that he had secretly married his third wife, radio and TV entertainer Sally Sweet, on October 28 in Iuka, Mississippi.[22] Earlier that year, he had settled out of court with Sweet's former husband, Nashville music publisher Frank B. Kelton, who had sued him in April for $100,000 for alienation of affection.[23]

Shirley Lee Foley married actor-singer Pat Boone in 1953. Their daughters include Cherry Boone and Debby Boone.

Legacy

Foley was an inspiration to rock 'n' roll, in particular Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, who both covered many of his songs. His country boogie material was a clear precursor of the style.

Foley has two stars on the

historical marker
(No. 2114) was placed at Foley's boyhood home in Berea.

In 2002, he was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, where his corncob pipe is on display. In

2006, his 1951 version of "Peace in the Valley" was entered into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.[24]

In 1970, Berea College established the Red Foley Memorial Music Award. Initiated by his long-time friend and colleague Si Siman, the annual award is presented to talented Berea College students in recognition of their musical contributions to the campus community. It is intended to promote the music associated with Foley's career, such as folk, country, bluegrass, gospel and popular music.

A dance to Foley's recording of "Papa" John Gordy's song, The Salty Dog Rag, has been traditional at Dartmouth College since 1972, where it is taught to freshmen during orientation.[25][26]

The Rooks Van Dellen Residence Hall at

Calvin College has an annual celebration of Red Foley Day in mid-November. The celebration began in 1968 when a few students from the hall heard a radio announcer say, "Red Foley was a great country music singer, too bad no one will ever remember him." The day has been celebrated (with a few lapses) to remember Foley ever since.[27][28]

Foley Middle School, located in Berea near Foley's boyhood home, opened in 1978 and educates students in southern Madison County in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The school retains a large collection of personal items once owned by Foley on display in the library. The collection was donated by members of his family.

Red Foley Court is among several streets in Nixa, Missouri, named for performers on Ozark Jubilee, and Red Foley Road is in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, north of Renfro Valley.[29]

In 2009, singer/songwriter James Power released a song based on Foley's second wife, Eva Overstake (aka Judy Martin), entitled "A Cowgirl's Suicide" on

YouTube.[30]
The song was featured in the independent film Laid Off by director John Launchi. His grandson Clyde Foley Cummins is in the music industry as well. He plays numerous instruments and has played in several benefits over the years.

Discography

Main article: Red Foley discography

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-726-6
    .
  2. ^ "Roots: The Foley Family". Irishamerica.com. January 26, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Red Foley Fans Tribute". Myspace.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  4. ^ The Associated Press (September 21, 1968) "Red Foley Dead; Country Singer", The New York Times, p. 33
  5. ^ "History of the Opry". Grand Ole Opry. Gaylord Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  6. ISBN 0-214-20512-6
    .
  7. ^ Sforza, John: "Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story;" University Press of Kentucky, 2000; 289 pages
  8. ^ "Honor Roll of C&W Artists" (December 5, 1953) The Billboard, p. 48
  9. ^ Dessauer, Phil "Springfield, Mo.-Radio City of Country Music" (April 1957), Coronet, p. 154
  10. ^ Sylvester, Ron "100 Ozarkers: 'Si' Siman Impacted Country Music" (October 10, 1999), "Progress," Springfield News-Leader, p. 8H
  11. ISBN 0-9638648-0-7
    ., p. 13
  12. ISBN 1-55728-790-2
    .
  13. ^ Sachs, Bill (May 21, 1955) The Billboard, p. 37
  14. ^ Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (September 22, 1956) The Billboard, p. 71.
  15. ^ "Foley Acquitted of Tax Evasion" (April 23, 1961), Springfield Leader & Press, p. A1
  16. ^ Sachs, Bill "Folk Talent & Tunes" (April 28, 1956) The Billboard, p. 58.
  17. ^ "Talent on the Road" (February 22, 1960), The Billboard, p. 53.
  18. ^ "Red Foley Set on 58 Fair Dates" (July 3, 1961), Billboard, p. 9
  19. ^ "Red Foley, a Country Great, is Found Dead" September 1968 Billboard
  20. ^ "In Memory of Billy Walker". The estate of Billy Walker. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
  21. ISBN 0-9628452-4-8
    .
  22. ^ AP Wirephoto pc406124tsn caption "Secretly Married", (December 17, 1952)
  23. ^ "'Red' Foley Weds" (December 17, 1952) Danville, Va. Bee, p. B9
  24. ^ "About This Program | National Recording Preservation Board | Programs at the Library of Congress". Loc.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  25. ^ "Traditions". Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  26. ^ "Dartmouth–The Salty Dog Rag". YouTube. October 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  27. ^ "Rooks-Van Dellen Hall". Calvin.edu. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  28. ^ "Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  29. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  30. YouTube
    dedicated to Red Foley's wife Eva Overstake.

References

External links
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