Stanley Brothers
Famed bluegrass duo from Bristol, Va.; Ralph and Carter Stanley were already legends by the late 1950s, when they moved to Live Oak and built the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. After brother Carter died in 1966, Ralph headed for Nashville and continues to perform. Also see Masters, Johnnie.
Taylor, Bob
Drummer, born 1928 in Calif., Bob Taylor became a key figure in the Western-swing scene with Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard. Worked with guitarist Duane Eddy (“Rebel Rouser”) in 1960s; later led own band, The Rogues, for many years. Taylor came to Jacksonville in 1994, worked locally with Larry Mangum’s Cowboy Orchestra. Died [...]
Tillotson, Johnny
Jacksonville country-pop teen idol discovered and developed by Mae Axton in the late 1950s (or so she claims in her autobiography, Country Singers as I Know ‘Em). Johnny Tillotson, a semi-regular on Toby Dowdy’s McDuff Hayride TV show, won a Nashville talent contest that led to a deal with New York-based Cadence Records in 1958. [...]
Velvet, Jimmy
Born James Tennant in Jacksonville, Jimmy Velvet was a Paxon High student of Mae Axton’s; she arranged his appearances on Toby Dowdy’s McDuff Hayride TV show alongside fellow Axton protégé, Johnny Tillotson. Through Axton, Velvet became a friend of Elvis Presley’s and a collector of Presley memorabilia; he later founded the Elvis Museum. As a [...]
Waterford, Charles “Crown Prince”
Born 1917 in Jonesboro, Ark., Waterford started a career as a blues singer in Oklahoma City in 1936. He soon lit for Chicago, where he became a fixture on the Windy City blues scene. Moved to Los Angeles in 1945, where he briefly worked alongside singer Jimmy Witherspoon in Jay McShann’s band, then returned to [...]
Watts, Noble “Thin Man”
Native of DeLand, grad of Florida A&M University, Noble Watts was in the FAMU marching band with both Cannonball and Nat Adderly. In the 1940s through the 1950s, he played tenor sax with Charles Brantley & the Honeydippers; pianist Ray Charles was also a member. Watts went on to work with such notables as Dinah [...]
Whitman, Slim
Born Otis Dewey Whitman in Tampa, yodeling Slim Whitman was already a top-rated country performer with 30 top-50 country singles and 19 gold albums when he bought a spread near Middleburg (southwest of Jacksonville, in Clay County) in 1957. Unbelievably huge in England, at one point he even surpassed the Beatles on the British charts. [...]
Wise, Chubby
Born Robert White, in 1915, in Lake City; Chubby Wise moved to Jacksonville at 15 to pursue a career as a fiddler. Landed a touring gig with the Jubilee Hillbillies, went on to tour with Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys; later worked with The York Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Hank Snow, Red Allen, and the Stanley [...]
