Talk:Born to Lose (Ted Daffan song)
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1943 notes for editors - only if you are interested (Most not used)
[edit]mention May 22 Entered chart August 28 peaked #1 Oct 30, 1943 August 28, 1943 - January 8, 1944 Retail 16 weeks in top 10 No. 10 for year 1943
JB chart July 31, 1943 Al Dexter version July 31 - Oct 30 1943 14 wks both versions Nov 6 - Feb 5 1944 total 28 wks
Pistol Packin' Mama entered Billboard's Jukebox list on July 31, 1943, where it remained for 28 weeks. The Al Dexter version was by itself for the first 14 weeks, until joined by the Bing Crosby - Andrews Sisters version on November 6.
Hillbilly May 15, 1943 top ten July 17 No. 1 July 31 - Nov 27 1943 final listing April 1, 1944 47 weeks
July 31, 1943 page 94 1943 was dominated by the Musician's Strike, which since August 1942, had prevented the recording of commercial music by the record companies. As the strike dragged on, the labels began releasing material from their artists' back catalogues, until by mid-1943, that ran out too. Fortunately for Okeh records, they released Al Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama" (PPM), backed by "Rosalita", in April. It caught fire quickly, thanks to reports in Billboard magazine, and the nation's jukeboxes, which had run out of fresh material to play. Although Billboard did not publish it's first Folk-Hillbilly chart until January 8, 1944, PPM became the first "Hillbilly" record to reach no. 1 on the National Best Selling Retail Records chart, on October 30, 1943,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Billboard October 30, 1943 pg 12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwwEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistol_Packin%27_Mama
Pistol Packin’ Mama” sold over 3 million copies Al Dexter made one of the most significant contributions of all time to the advancement of Country Music by composing and recording one of the biggest selling crossover hits ever (his “Pistol Packin’ Mama” sold over 3 million copies). The historical significance of that crossover success was that it forever opened the eyes of popular music fans everywhere to the merits of country music, expressly indicated by the fact that “Pistol Packin’ Mama” successfully reached the #1 spot on the Popular Hit Parade (the first country recording to ever accomplish this feat). Additionally, Al Dexter has been recognized by countless historians and music researchers for his role in introducing what appears to have been the first use of the term “honky tonk” in Country Music with the recording of his first hit song in 1936, “Honky Tonk Blues”. Each of these significant impacts remain in the forefront of Country Music history to this very day … some 65+ years after those milestone events first occurred.
"Pistol Packin' Mama" is a 1943 song with the words written by Al Dexter, who adapted the melody from "Boil Them Cabbage Down."[1]
Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters[2] recorded the song on September 27, 1943 for Decca Records[3] and it is notable that it was the first number one on the Juke Box Folk records charts. Patty Andrews recalled that she and her sisters were quite amused and had to restrain their laughter when Crosby ad libbed "lay that thing down before it goes off and hurts somebody."[2]
The song followed to the number one spot by the original version (recorded March 18, 1942) performed by Al Dexter and His Troopers[4] released on Okeh 6708.[1] The Bing Crosby recording of "Pistol Packin' Mama" peaked at #3 on the Harlem Hit Parade chart.[5]
The B-side of the Al Dexter version of "Pistol Packin' Mama," a song entitled "Rosalita," hit number one on the same chart later in the year. As with the Bing Crosby recording, the Al Dexter version charted on the Harlem Hit Parade chart, peaking at #5.[6]
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633217/m1/#track/4
Sunday, Monday, Or Always (Frank Sinatra); American Federation of Musicians strike and industry adaptation; Pistol-Packin' Mama (Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters, Vic Schoen and his Orchestra); People Will Say We're in Love (Bing Crosby); commentary by Jimmy Van Heusen, George T. Simon, Freddy Martin, Harry James, Patty Andrews, Bing Crosby | Duration: 0:11:32 (about 1,300 words) Would you tell me where? We. So. On the. And yours is. I mean, I just. Son. My name, Baldwin. To tell me now what makes. Well, at this side of you, my heart begins to pound. So. One. Oh, and he used to record everything that I wrote for being just everything, the battle that right for being Frank would record because he like being Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke had written Sunday, Monday are always for the Crosby film Dixie. That was a story about a songwriter called Dan Emmett, even though he's a guy called Dixie. And whatever we wrote, we wrote in an old fashioned way. Who won't you tell me? Well, we will meet again on that song or all the way. You're satisfied? Oh, interest, son, that's all I wanted you to tell me. Now, what makes the world go round? I my heart begins to pound. Oh, oh. What am I going to do with you? Sunday, Monday, Monday, more of. There was a musicians union strike and there were no musicians allowed to be in the recording studio, so it was done, had to record one by Frank Sinatra with a choir, no musicians. And you start off with a pitch by, you know, you wouldn't even hit the wouldn't even have a note on the piano pitch by to be on the level with the cello. And there was a record to size. There were two songs in the picture, if you please, and Sonny Money. You're always with Frank Sinatra did with actual start on the chorus and Bing did back to back same two songs. And with just those that exposure without the musicians, it was just an epidemic. Sulimani always the other side kind of got buried a little bit by it, but that was the hard way without orchestras. If you're satisfied, I'll be at your side Sunday one day. You're listening to the recorded sounds of the big bands and the small ones, too, from August 1942 to September 43. You see, there were none, unfortunately, for several years from 42 to 44. We had that recording strike ban for George T. Simon and bandleader Freddy Martin, and they did not do any good for the band whatsoever because we went for several years without recording and know and then started taking a real spill. And because they couldn't get on records. The singers started taking over. From then on, it was basically downhill, although there were certain spreads like the great Woody Herman band of 44 or 45 and Stan Kenton also, thank God. The preceding medley of recorded big band Sounds, August 42 to September 43 was brought to you by the American Federation of Musicians James Cesar Petrillo, president. The cello is a very, very dear friend of mine. In fact, I think he's a genius for any musician ever had Harry James in. Well, he took the musicians, the main guys, and made two dollars a night. And people would frown on, you know, if you said my daughter has a date with a musician, he'd say, get out of the house, you know, and it was too Petrilla that he elevated the standard of the players and they're in their position in life, really. He did. He was a great man. According to Petrillo himself, the strike cost the members of his union over seven million dollars in fees. In 1943 alone, the Decca company was the first to reach agreement with the musicians. That was in September of 43, 13 months before Victor and Columbia would sign and just in time to bring in a band for a record date with Bing in the Andrews Sisters. The immediate result a rather large hit that pistol down. They lay that pistol down, a pistol packing mama lay that pistol down for drinking beer in a cabaret. Was I having fun until one night she caught me. Right now I'm on the run. Still down by that pistol down pistol packing my pistol down. Everynight, bring it to you every day. I'll be your regular. And I put that gun away on that pistol down, they lay that pistol down, pistol packing, mama later throwing down before it goes off. And her son. Oh, she kicked up my windshield and she hit me over the head. She just cried and said I lied and she wished that I was dead. I got pistol down Beyblade, that pistol down, pistol Pachamama, that pistol down with the tough gal from deep down Texas way. We got no power. They don't like the way we pay. I believe that what you're seeing is just out. She's my grandmother right now. Japan is what we pilade pistol down. They that pistol down pistol back. In my mind, that is about. The song was by a hillbilly al Dexter with the dog, he always had his phone, but we we've come late. He got into his home in days. I'd the plane that flew down, they lay that flew down to Pachamama. Lay that down. Singing songs in a cabaret, well, I have to tell, one night I get pistol, bang, bang, pistol down pistol back in my life like this guy. The fact of my life that this guy. Patty Andrews, remember that part, there were basically that thing down before it goes off and hurt, heard somebody, he just do that thing in. And when he did it, you know, we had a great, great feeling for each other, you know, and we loved working with each other and being would be on one side of the mike and the three of us would be on the other side and he'd do things like that to make the three of us like, well, when he did that, we literally fell on the floor and it was you know, he didn't he didn't drop a beat, you know, and out of his mouth always comes these fantastic gems of being, I love you. Oh, I love my job too much. He was wearing long. Dornsife. And gaze at me on your side also like mine, your mushroom glow like mine. People say when I don't start collecting things. Oh come on, give me my rose. And I love. We are suspecting that he was wearing LA. Another Cappello hit from 1943, being with Trudy Irwin and Glee Club, also putting dismal efforts there, all they had, all they could do, but they weren't very good in the internation, sometimes was a little stale. What about that new fellow Sinatra in the Downbeat magazine Musicians' poll of 1943? Frank was voted the number one singer. Did Bing, who placed second feel threatened. Oh, now just another another singer in a good one. And he had a tremendous following. And I guess that was what you call the Bobby Socks era. Everyone that screamers or the screamers and the shakers. And I'd never had that kind of reaction to any of my singing. But he generated a new kind of enthusiasm among fans. We hung. They're suspecting they. People will say, well. O o o o o o. You're listening to The Pop Chronicles presenting the 40s.
In 1943 alone, the Decca company was the first to reach agreement with the musicians. That was in September of 43, 13 months before Victor and Columbia would sign and just in time to bring in a band for a record date with Bing in the Andrews Sisters. The immediate result a rather large hit that pistol down. They lay that pistol down, a pistol packing mama lay that pistol down for drinking beer in a cabaret. Was I having fun until one night she caught me. Right now I'm on the run. Still down by that pistol down pistol packing my pistol down. Everynight, bring it to you every day. I'll be your regular. And I put that gun away on that pistol down, they lay that pistol down, pistol packing, mama later throwing down before it goes off. And her son. Oh, she kicked up my windshield and she hit me over the head. She just cried and said I lied and she wished that I was dead. I got pistol down Beyblade, that pistol down, pistol Pachamama, that pistol down with the tough gal from deep down Texas way. We got no power. They don't like the way we pay. I believe that what you're seeing is just out. She's my grandmother right now. Japan is what we pilade pistol down. They that pistol down pistol back. In my mind, that is about. The song was by a hillbilly al Dexter with the dog, he always had his phone, but we we've come late. He got into his home in days. I'd the plane that flew down, they lay that flew down to Pachamama. Lay that down. Singing songs in a cabaret, well, I have to tell, one night I get pistol, bang, bang, pistol down pistol back in my life like this guy. The fact of my life that this guy.
List of Most Played Juke Box Folk Records number ones of 1944 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search A fair-haired man wearing a light-coloured suit, standing at a microphone A man wearing a white cowboy hat and dark jacket, smiling broadly and holding a guitar Bing Crosby (left) and Al Dexter were among the artists whose versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" were listed in the number one spot. In 1944, Billboard magazine published its first chart ranking the top-performing country music songs in the United States, under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The term "country music" would not come into standard usage until the late 1940s and "folk music" was one of a number of terms used for the genre in earlier years;[1] the subtitle on the first chart indicated that it covered "Hillbillies, Spirituals, Cowboy Songs, etc".[2] The Juke Box Folk listing was compiled based on reports from "Billboard representatives" detailing the most-played songs of the genre in jukeboxes from "all the country's leading operating centers", which were averaged to give an overall chart.[2][3] The first chart listed six songs, but the number of entries was not consistent from week to week. The juke box chart was published under a number of different titles until 1957 and is considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.[4]
The first number-one song listed was "Pistol Packin' Mama", which remained in the top spot for the first seven weeks. The song, originally recorded by Al Dexter in 1942, had remained hugely popular ever since, and been recorded by many different singers.[5] Up to four different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" were bracketed together as a single entry in the number one position during the seven-week run, although noted chart historian Joel Whitburn regards only the first-named artist each week as having achieved the number one hit, and does not record some of the credited artists as having charted at all.[6] Subsequently, different recordings of a song were not bracketed together in this way: in later issues of Billboard, different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" appeared listed separately.[7][8] The chart methodology also allowed for the possibility of records tying for a position, and on several occasions during 1944 two or more different songs tied for the number-one spot.
Counting all seven weeks in which his version of "Pistol Packin' Mama" was bracketed with other artists' recordings of the same song and counting each of his two songs which tied for the top spot in the issue of Billboard dated April 15 as having one week at number one, Al Dexter spent the highest number of weeks at the top of the chart in 1944, with 24. If the first five weeks of the chart, for which Whitburn does not give Dexter credit as having achieved a number one, are discounted, he nonetheless still had the most weeks in the top spot. Dexter was also the artist with the most different songs at number one in 1944, topping the chart with "Pistol Packin' Mama", "Rosalita", "Too Late to Worry" and "So Long Pal".[9][10] Louis Jordan was the only other artist to top the chart with more than one song during the year. Red Foley had the longest unbroken run at number one, spending thirteen consecutive weeks in the top spot in the fall with the patriotic wartime song "Smoke on the Water". Al Dexter's "So Long Pal" spent the same number of weeks at number one, but split across seven different spells at the top. The final number one of the year was "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" by Tex Ritter, who is one of three acts to top the chart in 1944 who are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame,[11] the others being Ernest Tubb[11] and Re
Billboard Jan 8, 1944 https://books.google.com/books?id=jwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT17#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/3580/originals#nav-entity
Another song, “Honky Tonk Blues,” brought the term ‘honky tonk’ into the country music vernacular for the first time. Dexter himself didn’t know honky tonk from hop¬scotch until his songwriting pal, James Paris, clued him in.
https://www.wronghighway.com/2020/05/04/pistol-packin-mama-made-al-dexter-a-honky-tonk-pioneer/
Pistol Packin’ Mama” made Al Dexter, who both wrote the song and sang the original recording, a household name in the 1940s. A bouncy little number about a gal who barges into a tavern looking to gun down her cheating man, it sold a million well before the year was out and also became the first country song to top the pop-music charts. It boiled out of nearly every jukebox in the nation for far too long and was covered by some of the biggest pop singers of the day, including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
His “Mama” wasn’t kidding around when she “filled him full of lead,” but Dexter sure sounded like he was having a jolly good time recording “Pistol Packin’ Mama.” Despite the bitterness and violence that burns through the song’s lyrics (“she kicked out my windshield and hit me over the head”), Dexter delivered them with a smile on his face. Then again, this was the era that produced the Three Stooges, who showed us just how funny a smack in the face could be.
Novelty tunes with a gnarlier subtext, “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” “You’ve Been Cheating Baby”— perhaps a better example of his pei-sonal philosophy (“I’m not the kind to get a gun, I’ll go out and have some fun”) – and other Dexter ditties were the middle ground between vaudeville and the grittier honky tonk that was emerging at the time. Setting “Pistol Packin’ Mama” in a tavern (Dexter called it a “cabaret”) and talking openly of (gasp) beer – drinking even caused a minor uproar. It wasn’t long, however, before such lascivious references became as commonplace as the uberpatriotism of Elton Britt’s “There’s A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere” and the squeaky-clean morals of Jimmie Davis’ “You Are My Sunshine.” Like it or not, “Pistol Packm’ Mama” was a milestone.
Jan 28, 1941Decca releases Bing Crosby's pop version of the Bob Wills-penned "New San Antonio Rose" backed by a remake of Floyd Tillman's "It Makes No Difference Now" Feb 20, 1943Okeh releases Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today" Aug 19, 1943Decca releases Floyd Tillman's "They Took The Stars Out Of Heaven" Oct 21, 1943Decca releases Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters' version of "Pistol Packin' Mama," which becomes a hit in both pop and country music Nov 25, 1943Decca releases Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five's double-sided hit: "Ration Blues" backed with "Deacon Jones." Both titles appear on the Billboard folk list, a predecessor to the country charts
June 19, 1943
October 30, 1943 pg 12 https://books.google.com/books?id=vwwEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Recorded by Al Dexter & His Troopers on March 20, 1942. Hollywood, CA, US Rosalita recorded 18 March 1942 in Hollywood, CA, US
Dick Roberts American banjo and guitar player Fred Whiting - bass autry player Frank Marvin - guitar on Rosalita Guitar [Uncredited] – Dick Reinhart - PPM, Johnny Bond on Rosalita
Not released until April 10, 1943, eight months into the Musicians Strike of 1942-43. After catching on in Jukeboxes, became a national sensation in the last half of 1943, dominating all reports.
Decca records was the first label to settle with the Musicians Union, and a popular music version was recorded by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters on September 27, 1943. However, Dexter's version hit no. 1 on the Billboard chart on Oct 30.
PPM becomes Hillbilly sensation, far surpassing any no. 1 pop hit sold 22 months the disc sold over 3,000,000 copies!!
Craddock Al Dexter and a ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’ By Van Craddock
In 1943, during World War II, Dexter teamed with Gene Autry’s band in a California studio to record a song he called “Pistol-Packin’ Mama.” The tune had been inspired by rough-and-tumble characters Dexter knew from the oil field clubs.
sold a million copies in six months.
A 1943 newspaper interview noted the “lanky youth from the piney woods of East Texas” was the author of “the nation’s top-flight corny tune. The song has zoomed high on America’s hit list. Doughboys on the battle fronts are singing it.”
Dexter was inducted into Nashville’s Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. The former house painter who influenced decades of country singers continued to receive royalties for “Pistol-Packin’ Mama” until his death in 1984 at the age of 81.
When Bing Crosby recorded his version of “Pistol-Packin’ Mama,” the NBC radio network banned it because of the line “drinking beer in a cabaret.” The lyrics had to be changed to “singing songs in a cabaret” before it could air.
http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=3540
He began his recording career in 1936, scoring a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues." The song is said to be the first one in country music to use the term "honky tonk."
But follow-up hits were not forthcoming. Columbia executive Art Satherley was urged to drop Dexter from his label's roster. He declined, saying that he believed that the artist would one day record a blockbuster.
Satherley's faith was rewarded when Dexter wrote and recorded "Pistol Packin' Mama." The disc became the sensation of 1943 and '44, selling a reported three million copies, becoming a #1 country hit and topping the pop hit parade for eight consecutive weeks. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters teamed up to record a competing version, and it too became a major hit. The song was so ubiquitous it prompted an article in Time magazine. It also inspired a movie that used its title.
https://www.countrythangdaily.com/al-dexter-pistol-packin-mama/
JANUARY 28
Who Could Seize Al Dexter’s 1944 Honky-Tonk,”Pistol Packin’ Mama”
A Career to Remember ARC Records gave Clarence his first recording contract on November 28, 1936. Al Dexter was said to be the first recorded artist to use the term “honky-tonk” in the title of the country song when he recorded, “Honky Tonk Blues.”
Al Dexter‘s biggest break came when his famous hit “Pistol Packin’ Mama” was used by the New York Yankees. “Pistol Packin’ Mama” also became one of the most well-known songs during World War II. It was then converted to a movie in 1943 that gave Dexter about $250,00 due to royalties. Also during the ‘40s, Al Dexter released his hit “Guitar Polka.” This was then recognized by the Billboard’ list as the “Most Played Juke Box Folk Record” for 16 straight weeks in 1946.
- Tillywilly17 (talk · contribs) added 2 infoboxes and 3 paragraphs to this "stub" class article. I have many references and more content to add. After weeks of research, I believe this was important to music in the year 1943. Pistol Packin' Mama
https://web.archive.org/web/20100708155133/http://aldexter.com/?page_id=2 https://web.archive.org/web/20100708155144/http://aldexter.com/?page_id=24
Al Dexter earned a spot in the popular music canon when he wrote “Pistol Packin’ Mama” in 1942. Recorded by him a year later, the single sold three million copies — not counting sheet music — in less than two years and was ranked the third most popular song of the war years.
All told, Dexter received 12 gold records for million-sellers in the five-year period from 1943 to 1948.
He was voted the Leading Artist of 1946 by the Jukebox Operators Association.
In the late ’40s, Dexter opened his own club in Dallas; he performed there until his retirement.
Dexter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971.
Pistol Packin’ Mama” sold over 3 million copies Al Dexter made one of the most significant contributions of all time to the advancement of Country Music by composing and recording one of the biggest selling crossover hits ever (his “Pistol Packin’ Mama” sold over 3 million copies). The historical significance of that crossover success was that it forever opened the eyes of popular music fans everywhere to the merits of country music, expressly indicated by the fact that “Pistol Packin’ Mama” successfully reached the #1 spot on the Popular Hit Parade (the first country recording to ever accomplish this feat). Additionally, Al Dexter has been recognized by countless historians and music researchers for his role in introducing what appears to have been the first use of the term “honky tonk” in Country Music with the recording of his first hit song in 1936, “Honky Tonk Blues”. Each of these significant impacts remain in the forefront of Country Music history to this very day … some 65+ years after those milestone events first occurred.
https://www.discogs.com/artist/727876-Al-Dexter
Dexter owned a bar in the 1930s and helped popularize the style of country music known as honky tonk. He made his recording debut on November 28, 1936 for ARC Records. and he was probably the first artist to use the term "honky tonk" in a country song when he recorded "Honky Tonk Blues" at his first session. His tremendous hit "Pistol Packin' Mama" became the 1943 marching chorus of the New York Yankees. The 1943 movie of the same name, made by the Republic Pictures, gave Dexter close to $250,000 in royalties. Another hit from the 1940s was "Guitar Polka", which entered Billboard's list as the "Most Played Juke Box Folk Record" for 16 weeks running in 1946. Still other hits include "So Long Pal", "Triflin' Gal", "I'm Losing My Mind Over You" and "Too Late to Worry."
https://www.jacksonvilletx.org/510/Al-Dexter Vanishing Texana MuseumAl Dexter
Al was born in Jacksonville on May 4, 1902 and attended Jacksonville public schools. When World War II broke out, Al was already too old to serve, but his music really struck home with those in the service as well as at home. In 1943 he recorded and released “Rosalita” and on the B side, “Pistol Packing Mama.” Although both songs went to number one on the Billboard charts, “Pistol Packing Mama” was his enduring legend. His inspiration for the song came from an incident that happened at his tavern. A gun toting woman chased her husband’s girlfriend (one of Al’s waitresses) out of the bar, across a pasture, and through a barbed wire fence. Al was taken entirely by surprise and so later wondered, “How would you talk to a woman with a gun?” His answer was to become lyrics in the song – “Lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down.”
In January, 1944, Lieutenant Commander George Cook of the PT boat “USS Holder” wrote to Al that he and his crew had nicknamed their boat the “Pistol Packin Mama.” The insignia on each side of the ship had a Texas steer, a scantily attired cowgirl packing a pistol, and underneath it said, “Pistol Packin Mama.”
The song was so popular that later in 1944 Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters both recorded and released the song. It was listed as one of the top three songs of World War II and became the marching chorus of the New York Yankees. Endless parodies were sung in USO and camp shows. Al was in demand and his price for an appearance at a vaudeville show was $3,500.00 per night.
http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=3540
Al Dexter INDUCTION YEAR: 1971 Al Dexter is considered to be one of the forefathers of the honky-tonk music style. But rather than specializing in forlorn heartache laments, he emphasized the rollicking, good-time, barrelhouse side of this country barroom genre.
Dexter evidently began his career in the 1920s by entertaining at Texas square dances. He was proficient on guitar, banjo, harmonica, organ and mandolin.
Satherley's faith was rewarded when Dexter wrote and recorded "Pistol Packin' Mama." The disc became the sensation of 1943 and '44, selling a reported three million copies, becoming a #1 country hit and topping the pop hit parade for eight consecutive weeks. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters teamed up to record a competing version, and it too became a major hit. The song was so ubiquitous it prompted an article in Time magazine. It also inspired a movie that used its title.
Dexter is credited with introducing the term and the style of honky tonk to the country music genre. He also became one of the first country artists with a crossover hit on mainstream music charts. The first accomplishment resulted from his 1937 hit "Honky Tonk Blues," and the second from the popularity of his biggest hit, the 1943 chart-topper "Pistol Packin’ Mama." A later version of the edgy (for its day) song was recorded by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters. The songwriter who found fame in the recording studio said the idea for the lyrics came from his thoughts on how to calm a woman with a gun while chasing away her husband’s newly discovered girlfriend.
Dexter recorded 16 singles from 1943 to 1948, none of them ranking lower than Number 14 on the charts. His style influences country greats like Lefty Frizzell and Merle Hagga
https://www.wronghighway.com/2020/05/04/pistol-packin-mama-made-al-dexter-a-honky-tonk-pioneer/
Pistol Packin’ Mama” made Al Dexter, who both wrote the song and sang the original recording, a household name in the 1940s. A bouncy little number about a gal who barges into a tavern looking to gun down her cheating man, it sold a million well before the year was out and also became the first country song to top the pop-music charts. It boiled out of nearly every jukebox in the nation for far too long and was covered by some of the biggest pop singers of the day, including Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
Pistol Packin' Mama recorded March 20, 1943 released April 10, 1943 Okeh 6708
report May 22 1943 in column for Pop records
In the 1940s, record success was measured by Retail sales, jukebox and radio play Mudicians strike June 25, 1942 - 1943 (Decca 1943-09-30) by 1943, labels had resorted to un-released material in artists' catalog
The Billboard 1943 Music Year Book pg 81
JB and DJ were dependent on stream of fresh material Jukebox operators began running out of new material 1943
The Billboard May 22, 1943 pg. 64 Tallent and Tunes On Music Machines by Elliott Grennard
The Billboard May 22, 1943 pg. 64 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 2, Possibilities pg 66 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama
The Billboard June 12, 1943 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 2, Possibilities pg 66 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama Ted Daffan - No Letter Today Al Dexter - Rosalita
The Billboard June 19, 1943 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 1, Coming Up pg 65 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama
RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 2, Possibilities pg 66 Ted Daffan - No Letter Today Al Dexter - Rosalita
The Billboard July 3, 1943 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 1, Coming Up pg 65 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama
The Billboard July 17, 1943 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 1, Coming Up pg 65 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama Ted Daffan - No Letter Today
First time 2 Hillbilly tunes in BB's Coming Up at once Jukebox industry economic pic improving BB resumes 'American Folk Tunes and Tunesters' column
July 29 Midwest No 8
National Aug 19
No. 1 National Oct 30, 1943
Pistol Packin' Mama 1 1 26 Okeh 6708 Al Dexter 1942/03/20 1943/04/10 1943/07/10 1943/10/30 RETAIL 1943_011 1
The Billboard Sept 4, 1943 pg 64 American Folk Tunes and Tunesters
No. 1 Aug 14, 1943
Pistol Packin' Mama 1 17 25 Okeh 6708 Al Dexter 1942/03/20 1943/04/10 1943/06/19 1943/08/14
Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters Pistol Packin' Mama 1 5 11 Decca 23277 Al Dexter 1943/09/27 1944/01/08 1944/01/08 JB 1943_014 2
The Billboard 1943 Music Year Book pg 104 Best Selling Records Comppiled From The Billboard's Music Popularity Chart September 5, 1942 to September 11, 1943 70 recordings listed
Pistol Packin Mama
After December 7, 1941, "the day that would live in infamy", the neutral and pacificist United States of America was rudely awakened by the Empire of Japan, and without delay, mobilized it's industrial might, scientific and natural resources, and millions of un-trained, spirited young men and women, for a 3 1/2 year fight for it's existence. The two most popular records, in the short history of our recording industry, would see us through to 1945. Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", recorded by Bing Crosby in July 1942, sold 600,000 copies by the end of that year, and another two million by the end of the war, and is still reveered in the 21st Century. The other is not as well-remembered, but also sold 2 1/2 million, and perhaps played a greater cultural role in steering our young Country to victory and beyond.
"Pistol Packin' Mama" was composed by Clarence Albert Poindexter of Jacksonville, Texas in February 1942. Unlike Berlin and Crosby, he was virtually-unknown, outside of musicians and fans of Hillbilly, folk, western swing, which would all come to be known as "Country music" in later years. But for now, it was generally dismissed by professional musicians as "corn", except for Bing Crosby.
Clarence, had recorded and performed under the name Al Dexter and the Troopers since 1936, with little commericial successs.
On March 18, 20 and 21, 1942
recorded March 20, 1942 released April 10, 1943
ARC Records gave Clarence his first recording contract on November 28, 1936.
http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=3540
He began his recording career in 1936, scoring a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues." The song is said to be the first one in country music to use the term "honky tonk."
But follow-up hits were not forthcoming. Columbia executive Art Satherley was urged to drop Dexter from his label's roster. He declined, saying that he believed that the artist would one day record a blockbuster.
Satherley's faith was rewarded when Dexter wrote and recorded "Pistol Packin' Mama." The disc became the sensation of 1943 and '44, selling a reported three million copies, becoming a #1 country hit and topping the pop hit parade for eight consecutive weeks. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters teamed up to record a competing version, and it too became a major hit. The song was so ubiquitous it prompted an article in Time magazine. It also inspired a movie that used its title.
http://nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/Site/inductee?entry_id=3540
Inductees | Al Dexter Al Dexter INDUCTION YEAR: 1971
Birth Name: Clarence Albert Poindexter Birth Date: 05-04-1905 Place of Birth: Jacksonville, Texas
Dexter evidently began his career in the 1920s by entertaining at Texas square dances. He was proficient on guitar, banjo, harmonica, organ and mandolin. He began his recording career in 1936, scoring a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues." The song is said to be the first one in country music to use the term "honky tonk." But follow-up hits were not forthcoming. Columbia executive Art Satherley was urged to drop Dexter from his label's roster. He declined, saying that he believed that the artist would one day record a blockbuster.
Throughout the 1930s, Dexter experimented with a variety of backing bands, at one point fronting an African-American ensemble. He formed his Troopers band in 1939. Satherley's faith was rewarded when Dexter wrote and recorded "Pistol Packin' Mama." The disc became the sensation of 1943 and '44, selling a reported three million copies, becoming a #1 country hit and topping the pop hit parade for eight consecutive weeks. Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters teamed up to record a competing version, and it too became a major hit. The song was so ubiquitous it prompted an article in Time magazine. It also inspired a movie that used its title.
During the remainder of the 1940s, Dexter recorded a dozen more Top 10 country hits, including the self-penned, chart-topping successes "Rosalita," "So Long, Pal," "I'm Losing My Mind Over You," "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" and "Wine, Women and Song." In 1946, "Guitar Polka" ruled the country charts by spending 16 weeks at # 1. In addition to "Guitar Polka" and "P
https://www.jacksonvilletx.org/510/Al-Dexter Vanishing Texana MuseumAl Dexter
Al was born in Jacksonville on May 4, 1902 and attended Jacksonville public schools. When World War II broke out, Al was already too old to serve, but his music really struck home with those in the service as well as at home. In 1943 he recorded and released “Rosalita” and on the B side, “Pistol Packing Mama.” Although both songs went to number one on the Billboard charts, “Pistol Packing Mama” was his enduring legend. His inspiration for the song came from an incident that happened at his tavern. A gun toting woman chased her husband’s girlfriend (one of Al’s waitresses) out of the bar, across a pasture, and through a barbed wire fence. Al was taken entirely by surprise and so later wondered, “How would you talk to a woman with a gun?” His answer was to become lyrics in the song – “Lay that pistol down, babe, lay that pistol down.”
In January, 1944, Lieutenant Commander George Cook of the PT boat “USS Holder” wrote to Al that he and his crew had nicknamed their boat the “Pistol Packin Mama.” The insignia on each side of the ship had a Texas steer, a scantily attired cowgirl packing a pistol, and underneath it said, “Pistol Packin Mama.”
The song was so popular that later in 1944 Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters both recorded and released the song. It was listed as one of the top three songs of World War II and became the marching chorus of the New York Yankees. Endless parodies were sung in USO and camp shows. Al was in demand and his price for an appearance at a vaudeville show was $3,500.00 per night.
.
June 19, 1943
October 30, 1943 pg 12 https://books.google.com/books?id=vwwEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Recorded by Al Dexter & His Troopers on March 20, 1942. Hollywood, CA, US Rosalita recorded 18 March 1942 in Hollywood, CA, US
Dick Roberts American banjo and guitar player Fred Whiting - bass autry player Frank Marvin - guitar on Rosalita Guitar [Uncredited] – Dick Reinhart - PPM, Johnny Bond on Rosalita
Not released until April 10, 1943, eight months into the Musicians Strike of 1942-43. After catching on in Jukeboxes, became a national sensation in the last half of 1943, dominating all reports.
Decca records was the first label to settle with the Musicians Union, and a popular music version was recorded by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters on September 27, 1943. However, Dexter's version hit no. 1 on the Billboard chart on Oct 30.
PPM becomes Hillbilly sensation, far surpassing any no. 1 pop hit sold 22 months the disc sold over 3,000,000 copies!!
1942-1943 marked a dark age for American History. World War II was at its peak and the outcome could go either way. Fathers, brothers, loved ones and friends have left home to serve during the war without an assurance of coming back alive. Millions have died and it may take 2-3 years more before everything would end.
With all of this chaos happening around the world people of all ages from grandparents, fathers, mothers, and their kids would find refuge in music. The biggest hits that time would feature a guy named Al Dexter.
Craddock Al Dexter and a ‘Pistol Packin’ Mama’ By Van Craddock
In 1943, during World War II, Dexter teamed with Gene Autry’s band in a California studio to record a song he called “Pistol-Packin’ Mama.” The tune had been inspired by rough-and-tumble characters Dexter knew from the oil field clubs.
sold a million copies in six months.
A 1943 newspaper interview noted the “lanky youth from the piney woods of East Texas” was the author of “the nation’s top-flight corny tune. The song has zoomed high on America’s hit list. Doughboys on the battle fronts are singing it.”
Dexter was inducted into Nashville’s Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. The former house painter who influenced decades of country singers continued to receive royalties for “Pistol-Packin’ Mama” until his death in 1984 at the age of 81.
When Bing Crosby recorded his version of “Pistol-Packin’ Mama,” the NBC radio network banned it because of the line “drinking beer in a cabaret.” The lyrics had to be changed to “singing songs in a cabaret” before it could air.
The Billboard May 22, 1943 pg. 64 -July 10, 1943 Tallent and Tunes On Music Machines by Elliott Grennard
The Billboard June 12, 1943 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 2, Possibilities pg 66 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama Ted Daffan - No Letter Today Al Dexter - Rosalita
The Billboard July 17, 1943 - sept 11 RECORD BUYING GUIDE Part 1, Coming Up pg 65 Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama Ted Daffan - No Letter Today
bhttps://www.countrythangdaily.com/al-dexter-pistol-packin-mama/
JANUARY 28
Who Could Seize Al Dexter’s 1944 Honky-Tonk,”Pistol Packin’ Mama” The song’s legacy wasn’t just covered by several country artists but was also used in different mediums in different industries. During the ‘70s a UK television advertising campaign that was made for Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles used the chorus of the song to advertise their product. Bing Crosby’s rendition of the song was also featured in several radio stations in video games that included: L.A. Noire and Fallout 4. It was also named to B17-G flying fortress that was sent out for a mission to Leipzig.
The rollicking lyrics lifted the war-torn spirits of America. It topped the Billboard charts for two months and sold a million copies in six months.
A 1943 newspaper interview noted the “lanky youth from the piney woods of East Texas” was the author of “the nation’s top-flight corny tune. The song has zoomed high on America’s hit list. Doughboys on the battle fronts are singing it.”
“Pistol-Packin’ Mama” made a major recording star of Dexter, who followed with other hits such as “Rosalita,” “So Long Pal,” “I’m Losing My Mind Over You” and “Guitar Polka.”
During a five-year period, Dexter earned 12 gold records for million-sellers. He toured nationally and after the war opened a club in Dallas. Then he got involved in real estate and other business interests.
Dexter was inducted into Nashville’s Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. The former house painter who influenced decades of country singers continued to receive royalties for “Pistol-Packin’ Mama” until his death in 1984 at the age of 81.
In 2010, Al Dexter was posthumously inducted into Carthage’s Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.
Baptist and Reflector Nashville, Tennessee 09 Dec 1943, Thu • Page 5
Respectfully submitted Richard N. Owen R. B. Jones H. H. Stembridge Jr.
“Pistol-Packin’ Mama”
RAGING HIT SONG in America is called "Pistol-Packin’ Mama" "
The phenomenom of "Pistol Packin' Mama" penetrated the daily lives of the American public at home, as well as Armed forces fighting overseas in Europe and the Pacific. One December 1943 newspaper reported "Everywhere it is being sung, whistled, played on radio records," and it was described as the "most popular and thrilling song that can be born out of the crisis of war." In a December 16th news report on the battle for Tarawa in the Pacific, wounded U.S. Marines recovering at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland were "still reliving the horrors of...the bloodiest battle of the corp's history". But as their spirits rose, they called in unison for "Cold American beer," "Pistol Packin' Mama," and a good look at a lady Marine.
A1 Dexter, who wrote it, is from Texas, and he is set to collect $250,000 as a result of having struck the appetite of the nation just right with this syncopathic abortion. "It’s just a case", he says, "of a fellow dreaming for fourteen years and nothing happens. Then one night he has a nightmare and it makes him a fortune.”
the music that has swept all America and the royalties collected by the author In just a short few weeks amounted to $250,000!
There is no doubt about that Unclean spirits inspire such songs as the above title. They prepare the soil in the minds the emotions the nerves and the flesh and even the muscles of people such as to make them capable or susceptible of being swept wild by such songs as "Pistol-Packin’ Mama!’
A part of the same satanical program of the seduction of unclean spirits is the great flood of sexitized "Detective Magazines” sweeping the country, for now almost a full generation. Did you ever read one of them? Well, don’t do it! It is dangerous. It is like taking morphine.
Baptist and Reflector Nashville, Tennessee 09 Dec 1943, Thu • Page 5
Respectfully submitted Richard N. Owen R. B. Jones H. H. Stembridge Jr.
“Pistol-Packin’ Mama”
RAGING HIT SONG in America is called "Pistol-Packin’ Mama" "
Everywhere it is being sung, whistled, played on radio records, and especially by the jazz bands which revel in coarse salacious stuff of this low mixture.
The author of "Pistol-Packin’ Mama” hardly understands his luck. A1 Dexter, who wrote it, is from Texas, and he is set to collect $250,000 as a result of having struck the appetite of the nation just right with this syncopathic abortion.
"It’s just a case", he says, "of a fellow dreaming for fourteen years and nothing happens. Then one night he has a nightmare and it makes him a fortune.” He at least and obviously has good sense. Appropriate comment to make, as to its wild reception by the tastes of America is that if this is the most popular and thrilling song that can be born out of the crisis of war, one may well wonder if we have a country that is worth saving, or a civilization of culture that is worth defending, with the blood and lives of millions of the best
Thursday, December 9, 1943 suggestions!
And that is the song that is the music that has swept all America and the royalties collected by the author In just a short few weeks amounted to $250,000! The Scriptures tell us that Satan w’ill send seducing spirits in the last days My Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary says: "Seduce’’ from Latin re-aside Ducere — to lead To lead or draw astray into foolish evil disastrous course’’ To any Bible instructed and Spirit taught believer today there is no doubt about this being the day of the greatest demon activity In the demon world there are evil spirits There are unclean spirits Demons are not fallen angels There is no doubt about that Unclean spirits enter men (and women) to defile corrupt and to morally befiith! The holy God given pow-er of procreation gender has always been the object of the wrork of undean spirits
They inspire such songs as the above title They prepare the soil in the minds the emotions the nerves and the flesh and even the muscles of people such as to make them capable or susceptible of being swept wild by such songs as "Pistol-Packin’ Mama!’
A part of the same satanical program of the seduction of unclean spirits is the great flood of sexitized "Detective Magazines” sweeping the country, for now almost a full generation. Did you ever read one of them? Well, don’t do it! It is dangerous. It is like taking morphine. It will grow on you. The current voluptuous songs, the current nude pictures, and the current salacious fiction are all a part of Satan’s program of pincher movements against the whole kingdom of righteousness that will come to its spearhead in the final crashing apostasy that will immediately precede the rapture of the Saints! Never did all true believers need to pray for the discernment of spirits as today!
But no need to pray for discernment if you are not going to be fully armoured against them! And no use to be armoured against them if you are not going to fight! Spiritual passivity in Christians is a part of Satan’s great program of softening up for the attack! Satan sends his evil spirits into Christians But the cowardice of demons is such that when openly and aggressively and offensively resisted in the powrer of the spirit and with the wrar implements of the spirit they flee Demons never enter any but unoccupied territory Passivity of believers in the name of great spirituality is itself a master part of Satan’s program of deception!
That is true in the matter of morals and also in the matter of error! It is not enough to proclaim truth Jude said contend for it with agony and Paul stood upright and fought against its perverters i There is no revealed teaching of the Scriptures to w’hich the true ministers need to give themselves w’ith more attentive caution than that of the teaching about demons today! The true ministers remaining uninformed about these things about Demonology and hence silent about it is itself a great part of Satan’s program — for "the last times”1 and helps to bring on the great apostasy! Page 5
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86704138/1943-11-14/
Swing, with its variations, broke its own record for bad songs when it gave birth to "Pistol Packin' Mama"—for this one was worse. If anybody would like to challenge this statement, I will print, with an impartial air, all opinions submitted to this column.
What if there about thin hip-swinging, pistol-packin' mama that moves listeners to such heights of barnyard boisterousness? Two weeks ago in Chicago, I talked to A1 Dexter, father of "Pistol Packin' Mama," while he was appearing at a Loop theater and giving the original touch to the performance of the song. Al has been leading a hillbilly band for the past 10 years out in the southwest. But it took his "Gun Totin' Pal" number to shoot him into the national limelight. It wasn't until this double-barreled tune came out about five months ago that Dexter's name was heard outside his native Texas.
Dexter is equally talented as a composer, guitarist and singer. He first became interested in music at the age of 15, when he mastered the French horn, banjo and organ. He later studied guitar and mandolin. In addition to the "Pistol Packin'" ditty, some of the most popular songs he has composed are "Honky Tonk Blues," "Mother Mine," and "Calico Rag," all of which he has recorded.
This was Dexter's first trip to Chicago, in fact his first time east of Colorado. Before he struck it rich, he was playing for dimes, several times a week, in and around Longview, Texas. Al is known throughout the Lone Star state for his personal appearances.
Another song he plans to release soon is "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry," which is exactly the way I feel about the future of swing, after I heard "Pistol Packin' Mama' for the first time. There I was, biting down a big lunch of bun and beef at the Yum Yum hut, when the thing came roaring out of the juke-box like a herd of longhorns.
Dexter is a young chap, and must have something on the sphere to produce his pistol-packed dollar dynamite.
Appearing on the same bill of entertainment with Dexter in Chicago that week were Hi, Lo, Jack and the Dame, noted radio foursome. The quartet had only a last-minute notice of their Chicago engagement, and spent all available time in preparing for their act a wind up number which they figured would dynamite the house. That was before they arrived in town and noticed they had been ‘beaten to the draw by Al Dexter, and at that crucial moment the four decided to give! up their grand finale song, which they had sweated over so freely—"Pistol Packin' Mama."
Speaking of guns, Dexter is so fast with his shootin' irons, that he can stand before a mirror and beat himself to the draw. If you wish to express your own opinion pro and con on Dexter's song, address your communication to Miss Winn Nelson, Pushbutton Periods Editor, Sunday Journal and Star.
I lent a critical ear to the music of Bandman Jerry Wald in the Panther room of the College Inn, Hotel Sherman, where he has been standing for the past several weeks. His high notes are good enough to warrant the tucking away of a few gas coupons for a trip to the dancery that brings him to Lincoln next weekend. At least Wald made the coffers ring with the sound of gold every night. He was in Chicago with is a in with in Williams of that as ¡on for of all in to the boys. Next band into the Panther room is Charlie Spivak's.
Clipping location on The Lincoln Star page 32 CLIPPED FROM The Lincoln Star Lincoln, Nebraska 14 Nov 1943, Sun • Page 32 tillywilly17 Member Photo
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86704601/1943-10-01-p28/
Hide article text (OCR) COURIER -JOURNAL, LOUISVILLE, KY. FRIDAY MORNING, OCTOBER i", 1943. - . Guitar-Playing East Texas Hillbilly Is Author Of the Hit Tune. 'Pistol-Packin' Mama: Dexter Admits Top-Flight Song Is Pure Corn oa In 48. ' Jacksonville, Texas, Sept. 30 C4) A lanky youth from the piney woods of East Texas, whose first , guitar was a home-made, sweet-gum ; contraption, is the author of the nation's top-flight corny tune, "Pistol - Packin Mama." - He is Al Dexter, a seli-styled hillbilly, former painter and dec orator., The song has zoomed high on America's hit list. Doughboys on the' battlefronts are singing it. It's pure corn Dexter himself admits that but its popularity has gained him a tryout with Horace Heidt's Musical Knights. He's Surprised, Too. About the most surprised per son of all when the nation started singing "Pistol-Packin' "Mama." was the tall East Texan himself. "How come?" he said. "I dunno. Just got to thinkin' and it come out." That was a year ago, but it was only recently that the song caught on. 1 Dexter has been foolin' around with music since he was 15. He played a French harp and banjo and learned to finger an old reed organ his folks at Jacksonville used to have. Says he, "I got in the habit of singin while I worKed, Slid o whistlin like most folks. Guys and gals would gather 'round and listen. Kind of encouraged me, I guess, and that's the way it happened." Sang for Radio. His first "git-tar," he said, was made from sweet - gum strips picked up around a Jacksonville box factory and from a white-pine drain board from a dismantled kitchen sink. Then he got his first radio job singing over' a Fort Worth station. But "Pistol-Packin Mama" gave this country boy his big break. He is coining big money on royalties, and his tryout with the Heidt band may put him in the big time. At least, Dexter says: "Here's a-hopin'." 'Pistol-rackin' Mama' Now Goes to Court New York, Sept. 30 (U.R) Two music companies, one of which publishes "Pistol-Packin Mama," have filed a $100,000 suit against the American Tobacco Company, sponsor of the Lucky Strike Hit Parade radio show. "Pistol-Packin Mama" never has made the parade, and the song's popularity, the complaint set forth, logically would give it a fourth or fifth place listing among the nation's ten top tunes of the week. The complaint was filed by the Mayfair Music Company and the Everett H. Morris Company. Mayfair, which publishes "Sunday, Monday or Always," charged that that tune was removed unfairly from a first-place listing on the parade. The plaintiffs allege that the Hit Parade is a misrepresentation of the order of popularity of the first ten songs of Ameri- Next time you need calomel take Calotnb, trie Improved calomel compound tablets that make clo- mm-tfiklng plemeni. Buyar-roatod, icreenoie. prompt, ana ercecilve. ot neceunry to follow with salt ere.nble, No or castor OIL Use only as directed en label. ca, that the entire survey is Inaccurate, and that it is based upon some arbitrary form of selection by the defendants. $ Over U. S. Bombs Over Italy., RATION NOTICE: These Breakfast f-oods Require Stamps From Your Ration Book: Bacon. ' Canned bruits Butter for Toast Canned Juices BUT!- NO RATIONING OF DELICIOUS Quaker Puffed Wheat Sparlnes Wheal Shot from Guns with '- WHOLE GRAIN VALUES of Vitamin Bi, Nlocln, Iron. Ready to eat.' No Ration Ease Take out of nerves well - Blue m e a I cost is modest, Folks. Fried U. S. War Bonds Clipping location on The Courier-Journal page 26 CLIPPED FROM The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky 01 Oct 1943, Fri • Page 26 tillywilly17 Member Photo CLIPPED BY tillywilly17 · 52 seconds ago
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86704788/1943-10-22/
Hide article text (OCR) That Pistol Packin' Mama
Some discussion has developed about the quality of the songs which have been composed during this war compared to those of the first j World War. Colonel Oscar L. Rogers, commanding officer of trie army post in Sioux Falls, mentioned the subject incidentally in a speech before the Rotary club yesterday.
The colonel expressed the opinion that the songs of this war were not as good as those of the earlier war. The fact that his comment was given just after the Rotarians had departed from their customary dignity, and sang "Pistol Packin' Mama" may or may not have had bearing on his viewpoint.
But whether it be good or bad, it is an undisputed fact that about half of the nation today is singing or humming "Pistol Packin' Mama." It is one of the hit tunes of the air lanes. It is popular in the less erudite singing groups. It is serving as a substitute for "Sweet Adeline."
Professor Lee Bright, distinguished and able song director of the Sioux Falls Rotary club, introduced it yesterday with obvious distaste, being compelled to capitulate to a clamor for it. He said someone had referred to it as "a moron's song" and he indicated that he agreed with that description. Nevertheless, the Rotarians applauded their own efforts vigorously when they had concluded the song. Gray men, bald men, fat men, old men and young men of the club forgot their dignity for a moment and joined in the singing.
Just what makes "Pistol Packin' Mama" click is a mystery to us. The words aren't much. Here is the chorus which serves as a good example of the stanzas: Lay that pistol dottm, babe. Lay that pistol down, Pistol packin' Mama, Lay that pistol down. That isn't so much. The words don't represent a heavy strain on the vocabulary. Yet about the song there Is that something which we can't define. Musical classicists may ridicule it. The profound may abhor it.' The cultured may detest it. But America is singing it with gusto and apparently having a good time in the process. So what! A real crisis confronts the German armies in Russia. They are being hemmed in and their opportunities for escape are steadily becoming less. One of the great events of the war Is developing in that sector. If it works out according to present indications, Germany's hopes are certain to sustain a decided jolt. An Honored Guest A speaker whose remarks should hold the
Clipping location on Argus-Leader page 6 CLIPPED FROM Argus-Leader Sioux Falls, South Dakota 22 Oct 1943, Fri • Page 6 tillywilly17 Member Photo CLIPPED BY tillywilly17 · 33 seconds a
Another syndicated newspaper column described how the Sioux Falls Rotary club song director had been forced to introduce it "with distaste". "Gray men, bald men, fat men, old men and young men of the club forgot their dignity for a moment and joined in the singing." But whether it be good or bad, it is an undisputed fact that about half of the nation today is singing or humming "Pistol Packin' Mama."
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633217/m1/#track/4
My name, Baldwin. According to Petrillo himself, the strike cost the members of his union over seven million dollars in fees. In 1943 alone, the Decca company was the first to reach agreement with the musicians. That was in September of 43, 13 months before Victor and Columbia would sign and just in time to bring in a band for a record date with Bing in the Andrews Sisters. The immediate result a rather large hit that pistol down. They lay that pistol down, a pistol packing mama lay that pistol down for drinking beer in a cabaret. Was I having fun until one night she caught me. Right now I'm on the run. Still down by that pistol down pistol packing my pistol down. Everynight, bring it to you every day. I'll be your regular. And I put that gun away on that pistol down, they lay that pistol down, pistol packing, mama later throwing down before it goes off. And her son. Oh, she kicked up my windshield and she hit me over the head. She just cried and said I lied and she wished that I was dead. I got pistol down Beyblade, that pistol down, pistol Pachamama, that pistol down with the tough gal from deep down Texas way. We got no power. They don't like the way we pay. I believe that what you're seeing is just out. She's my grandmother right now. Japan is what we pilade pistol down. They that pistol down pistol back. In my mind, that is about. The song was by a hillbilly al Dexter with the dog, he always had his phone, but we we've come late. He got into his home in days. I'd the plane that flew down, they lay that flew down to Pachamama. Lay that down. Singing songs in a cabaret, well, I have to tell, one night I get pistol, bang, bang, pistol down pistol back in my life like this guy. The fact of my life that this guy. Patty Andrews, remember that part, there were basically that thing down before it goes off and hurt, heard somebody, he just do that thing in. And when he did it, you know, we had a great, great feeling for each other, you know, and we loved working with each other and being would be on one side of the mike and the three of us would be on the other side and he'd do things like that to make the three of us like, well, when he did that, we literally fell on the floor and it was you know, he didn't he didn't drop a beat, you know, and out of his mouth always comes these fantastic gems of being, I love you. Tillywilly17 (talk) 22:16, 10 June 2022 (UTC)
Born to Lose notes
[edit]Born to lose; w & m Frankie Brown. © May 29,
1943; E pub. 114385; Peer internatl. Corp., New
York. 21748
No letter today; w & m Frankie Brown. © May
29, 1943; E pub. 114384; Peer internatl. Corp.,
New York, 23715
https://archive.org/details/BillboardCountryCharts19391942/page/n25/mode/2up
26-34
The Billboard July 26, 1941 pg 76 4
The Billboard August 30, 1941 pg 104 1
The Billboard September 27, 1941 pg 69 1
The Billboard October 23, 1941 p
Born to Lose
Released on Born to Lose (1943)
Covered by (96 artists)
"Born to Lose"
Ted Daffan's Texans 1943 #3 country, #19 pop
Elton Britt 1948
Porter Wagoner 1956
Hank Snow 1957
Johnny Cash 1958
Ferlin Husky 1959
Don Gibson 1961
Reno & Smiley 1961
Goldie Hill 1961
Ray Charles 1962 #13 adult contemporary, #41 pop
Red Foley 1963
The Everly Brothers 1963
Slim Whitman 1963
The Ventures 1963
Billy Preston 1963
Harold Bradley 1963
Patti Page 1964
Jean Shepard 1964
The Sons of the Pioneers 1964
George Jones & Gene Pitney 1965
Dean Martin 1965
Ray Price 1965
Charlie Walker 1965
Ernest Tubb 1966
Willie Nelson 1967
Ella Fitzgerald 1968
Jerry Lee Lewis 1969
Boots Randolph 1969
Sonny James 1970
Floyd Cramer 1970
Eddy Arnold 1972
Conway Twitty 1973
Johnny Rodriguez 1974
Shirley Bassey 1976
Merle Travis 1981
Tom Jones 1985
Elton John & Leonard Cohen 1993
Pete Fountain 1994
LeAnn Rimes 1999
No Letter Today
Released on Born to Lose (1943)
Covered by (21 artists)
"No Letter Today"
The Dinning Sisters 1942
Ted Daffan's Texans 1943 #2 country, #9 pop
Wilf Carter 1944
Rosalie Allen 1945
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys 1946
Judy Canova 1947
The Carter Sisters 1950
Les Paul & Mary Ford 1955
Rosemary Clooney 1956
Ferlin Husky 1959
Bill Haley 1960
The Wilburn Brothers 1961
Ernest Tubb 1962
Hank Snow & Anita Carter 1962
Ray Charles 1963
The Stanley Brothers 1963
Hank Williams Jr. & Connie Francis 1964
Faron Young 1965
Ned Miller 1970
https://rolandnote.com/people.php?scode=songtimeline&keyword=No+Letter+Today&submit=Submit
Feb 20, 1942Ted Daffan's Texans record "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today" in the CBS Studios at the corner of Gower & Vine in Los Angeles
Feb 20, 1943Okeh releases Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today"
Mar 5, 1964Hank Williams Jr., Boots Randolph, Jimmy Dean and Dorothy Collins perform "If You've Got The Money I've Got The Time" on ABC-TV's "The Jimmy Dean Show." Bocephus does solo versions of "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" and "Hey, Good Lookin'"; Dean covers "No Letter Today"
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Feb 20, 1942Ted Daffan's Texans record "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today" in the CBS Studios at the corner of Gower & Vine in Los Angeles
Feb 20, 1943Okeh releases Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today"
Feb 15, 1962Ray Charles records "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Born To Lose" and "You Don't Know Me" for his album "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music" at United Studios in Los Angeles
Oct 7, 1965Dean Martin performs the Ted Daffan classic "Born To Lose" on "The Dean Martin Show." The NBC telecast also features Vic Damone singing the Cindy Walker song "You Don't Know Me"
Nov 19, 1965Homer & Jethro, dressed as Boy Scouts, parody "King Of The Road" as "King Of The Camp" on ABC's "The Jimmy Dean Show." Dean covers "Hey, Good Lookin'," Jody Miller sings "Born To Lose" and "Ev'rybody's Somebody's Fool," and Miller and Dean duet on "The Race Is On"
Apr 1, 1966"The Jimmy Dean Show" makes its final prime-time appearance on ABC-TV. Dean sings "Are You From Dixie?" and "Big Bad John," and throws in a medley of "Anytime," "Born To Lose" and "King Of The Road"
Apr 7, 1966Dean Martin sings the Ted Daffan standard "Born To Lose" while hosting the NBC variety series "The Dean Martin Show." Guests for the week include Lanie Kazan and The Righteous Brothers
Oct 8, 1967Jimmy Dean presents CBS viewers with a medley of country classics on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He sings "Born To Lose," "Oh Lonesome Me," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)"
Apr 9, 1969Ray Charles performs "Born To Lose" on CBS-TV's "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour." Charles also joins Campbell and John Hartford on a version of Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On"
Sep 20, 1969Tommy Cash guests on his brother's ABC-TV program "The Johnny Cash Show." Also appearing: Ramblin' Jack Elliott, The Staple Singers and Mama Cass Elliot, who duets with Cash on "Honey," "Gentle On My Mind," "Born To Lose" and "Release Me"
Oct 9, 1969Dean Martin covers Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" on his weekly NBC-TV series "The Dean Martin Show"
Oct 9, 1970Tom Jones performs the Ted Daffan song "Born To Lose" on his ABC variety show "This Is Tom Jones." Guest Aretha Franklin also joins him for a rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Dec 28, 1972Dean Martin performs the Ted Daffan standard "Born To Lose" during the year's final episode of the NBC variety series "The Dean Martin Show"
Nov 10, 1979Dave & Sugar sing "Golden Tears" and "Stay With Me" as musical guests on TV's "Hee Haw." Kenny Price covers "Blues Stay Away From Me," and Roy Clark adds "Born To Lose." The episode also features West Virginia senator Robert Byrd
Sep 2, 1992Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" ranks #92 as Country America magazine lists the Top 100 Country Songs Of All-Time
Mar 14, 2003The Country Music Foundation publishes "Heartaches By The Number," celebrating country's "500 greatest singles." Two songs written by Ted Daffan make the list: Daffan's own "Born To Lose" and Cliff Bruner's "Truck Driver's Blues"
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Nov 10, 1880Carroll Eugene Daffan is born in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. His children will include country singer/songwriter Ted Daffan
Nov 16, 1882Della Brown is born in Leesville, Louisiana. Her future children will include country singer/songwriter Ted Daffan
Sep 21, 1912Ted Daffan is born in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. The singer/songwriter rises to fame in the 1940s with such songs as "Born To Lose" and "Worried Mind," making him one of the original inductees in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970
Apr 25, 1940Ted Daffan's Texans record "Worried Mind," "I'm A Fool To Care" and "Blue Steel Blues" at the Burrus Mill Studios in Saginaw, Texas
Feb 20, 1942Ted Daffan's Texans record "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today" in the CBS Studios at the corner of Gower & Vine in Los Angeles
Feb 20, 1943Okeh releases Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" and "No Letter Today"
Jan 10, 1945Ted Daffan records "Headin' Down The Wrong Highway" in the CBS Studios at Gower & Sunset in Los Angeles
Apr 24, 1946Ted Daffan and His Texans record "Shut That Gate"
Sep 23, 1946Columbia releases Ted Daffan and His Texans' "Shut That Gate"
Oct 9, 1970Tom Jones performs the Ted Daffan song "Born To Lose" on his ABC variety show "This Is Tom Jones." Guest Aretha Franklin also joins him for a rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Oct 12, 1970The Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame inducts its first 20 members. The inaugural list includes Ted Daffan, Johnny Bond, Floyd Tillman, Stuart Hamblen, Cindy Walker, Merle Travis, Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, Bob Wills, Fred Rose, Hank Williams, A.P. Carter and Jimmie Rodgers
Oct 1, 1972Della Daffan dies in Houston. She was the mother of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Ted Daffan
Dec 20, 1972Carroll Eugene Daffan dies in Houston. His survivors include a son, country singer/songwriter Ted Daffan
Sep 2, 1992Ted Daffan's "Born To Lose" ranks #92 as Country America magazine lists the Top 100 Country Songs Of All-Time
Oct 6, 1996Singer/songwriter Ted Daffan dies from cancer in Houston, Texas. His recording legacy includes such 1940s classics as "Born To Lose," "No Letter Today" and "Headin' Down The Wrong Highway"
Mar 14, 2003The Country Music Foundation publishes "Heartaches By The Number," celebrating country's "500 greatest singles." Two songs written by Ted Daffan make the list: Daffan's own "Born To Lose" and Cliff Bruner's "Truck Driver's Blues"
Sep 17, 2019A recording by Ted Daffan's Texans, "Blue Steel Blues," is used in episode three of the PBS series "Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns" Tillywilly17 (talk) 22:18, 10 June 2022 (UTC)
Need some help with cover versions
[edit]Anybody good at this? I will post sources and info Not my strong skill set
Tillywilly17 (talk) 22:50, 10 June 2022 (UTC)
Nashville Songwriters HOF
[edit]Ted Daffan INDUCTION YEAR: 1970
This article has been updated based on Wikipedia's Born to Lose stub! Guess we should be honored. I think I borrowed from them too