Jim West - The Phoenix Sound: A History of Twang & Rockabilly Music in Arizona

Praise for The Phoenix Sound

In the mid-50s, country music met rock-and-roll, and it was called rockabilly. Jim West brings that unique time in Arizona to life in The Phoenix Sound. West gives the reader personal portraits of Marty Robbins, Sanford Clark, Duane Eddy, Jimmy Dell, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, producer Lee Hazlewood, Donnie Owens, Al Casey, Ted Newman and Jimmy Spellman, who found themselves playing the national stage, many of them given birth by honky-tonker Buddy Long and his Sunset Riders, who toured the Phoenix clubs to dirt roads and two-lane blacktop with an appropriate sign that read, Come dance and fight to the music of Buddy Long. They are all alive and well and unforgettable in Jims The Phoenix Sound: A History of Twang & Rockabilly Music in Arizona.

Jeb Rosebrook, author of Purgatory Road; screenwriter, Junior Bonner

In 1956, a partner and I put the first allcountry music radio station on the air in Phoenix, Arizona. It was called KHEP, and it was an immediate success. In addition, we were also promoting Grand Ole Opry package shows at the local Madison Square Garden nightclub in Phoenix, where we developed a huge following and packed the place to the rafters each week.

When people like Lee Hazlewood introduced me to talents like Duane Eddy and Jimmy Dell, it was my pleasure to put them on our Saturday night shows with the Sunset Riders Band, where they received more and more exposure locally, which eventually led to recording contracts and nationwide appearances. We promoted other local, talented musicians and singers such as Al Casey, Jimmy Spellman, Buddy Long, Sanford Clark and Marty Robbins.

The Phoenix Sound was a very influential period in music history. It certainly helped put the dusty desert town of Phoenix on the musical map. With its great mix of country and rockabilly, I was proud to help promote its creative sound and popularity.

Ray Odom, Arizona media mogul and concert promoter

Jim West is a longtime top radio personality whom I have known for over thirty years. His knowledge of the music business and the people in it is second to none! He is a personal friend of many of the top people in the business and has the trust and admiration of all of them. Jims book is a terrific read and greatly adds to the history of the music that came out of the great Southwest!

Johnny Western, actor, singer and songwriter in Mesa, Arizona

[In] January 1971, Buck Owens hired me to program his Phoenix radio stations KTUF and KNIX. KTUF AM was a daytimer located in Tempe, Arizona, in a small building down a dirt road, off Scottsdale Road and across from JDs Nightclub.

KTUF/KNIX contributed greatly to the Phoenix Sound with connections to local nightclubs and the many artists who would stop by the station to promote their records. Among those artists was a young teenager, Tanya Tucker, who had her first hit, Delta Dawn, at the age of thirteen. Other artists who would frequent the station were Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens (not only because he owned the station, but [also he] was still recording and touring) and just about every artist who was in town and appearing at one of the venues. They would stop by the radio station for an interview, promote their appearances and have their records played.

Another way KTUF/KNIX was involved with the Phoenix Sound was establishing KTUF/KNIX Nights at the local venues. This was a fun night for the listeners, winning prizes from the station and many times meeting an artist. This was not only fun for the listeners, but [also] helped to promote the nightclubs and the station as well.

It was a memorable time in the radio and music industry, and for me personally, Im grateful to have a small part in the Phoenix Sound. Thanks, Jim, for your work in sharing this wonderful bit of history, and the best of luck with your book my friend.

Larry Daniels, former program and operations manager,
KTUF-KNIX, Phoenix

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2015 by Jim West

All rights reserved

First published 2015

e-book edition 2015

ISBN 978.1.62585.643.2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015952223

print edition ISBN 978.1.46711.898.9

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

I dedicate this book to my children, Cody, Matt and Holly. Ive always been very proud of your talents and accomplishments. Continue to aim high! I love you.

Dad

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

The mid-1950s was a great time to be coming of age in Phoenix. I turned sixteen in 1955, a milestone coinciding with the birth of the Phoenix Sound. That was about the time music tastes of teenagers switched from Patti Page and Tony Bennett to Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Pat Boone.

I caught most of the country music shows that performed at the old Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue, including Grand Ole Opry stars like Webb Pierce, Mel Tillis and Patsy Cline. We danced to the music of country stars like Johnny Cash, Buck Owens and Marty Robbins at Sciots, an open-air pavilion on Central, just south of Indian School Road. Two other great spots for dancing and meeting girls were on Central Avenue down by the Salt River at Sargs Cowtown and at the Riverside Ballroom.

I have the distinction of bearing witness to a fight at the Riverside before I was even born. It was the fall of 1938; my mother was about seven months pregnant when she and Dad decided to go dancing. A fight broke out, and Dad pushed Mom under a table. Naturally, I dont remember the details.

Legend has it that those Russian farm boys from nearby Glendale used to tape their hands in the parking lot like professional boxers before they went dancing at places like the Cowtown and Riverside. There was a curious irony that the band leaders last name at the Riverside was Fite.

There were a number of home-grown, up-and-coming stars performing on local television during those years, including Al Casey, Jimmy Spellman, Duane Eddy, Sanford Clark, Ted Newman, Jimmy Dell, Donnie Owens and more.

Sargs Cowtown club featuring Donnie Owens & the Jacks. A popular watering hole in the 1960s, it could be a rough place where the farm boys from Glendale and local cowboys would have weekly parking lot fights. Courtesy of True West magazine and John P. Dixon.

The folk music scene was also heating up and lively in Scottsdale, with performers like Dolan Ellis, Ian MacPhersen, Loy Clingman and Henry Thome. John Denver performed at the Lumber Mill club. Waylon Jennings came in on Mondays open mic night before they both hit the big time.

Jack Miller and Lee Hazlewood were doing incredibly creative things at the Ramseys Recording Studio on Seventh Street.

All were music pioneers who would bring national recognition to the desert community that, in 1950, was the ninety-fifth-largest city in the United States. Boy, was that all about to change!