Music and Mayhem on Main Street:
R.D. Hendon and his Western Jamboree Cowboys in Context
Part 7: "MacArthur and the Wandering Blues"
The Western Jamboree Cowboys' first record was still new when they began working on their second one. The rationale behind such a quick follow-up was not the success of their debut (which, in fact, barely sold any copies); it was the topicality of the biggest cause celebre of the moment, President Truman's dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur as General of the U.S. Armed Forces during the Korean War on April 10, 1951. This unexpected move was creating a furious controversy across the United States, generating Senate hearings, editorial condemnations, and at least one protest record.
"Oh! Mr. President" is one of those records that future collectors would loathe, bathed as it is in melodramatic lyrical sentimentality and completely lacking any musical interest. It was written by one Bernice Hicks, but the label solely credits R.D. Hendon. While many records were made about the MacArthur controversy, nearly all of them focused on MacArthur's farewell speech to Congress, in which he declared, "Old generals never die, they just fade away." Only Hendon's dared to directly reprimand President Truman himself:
Oh! Mr. President
Do you know what you have done?
The people trusted you as a friend
But the thought of how
You hurt us all
And brought about this tragic end
It concludes by requesting that Truman "get down (his) knees" and ask God's forgiveness. Charlie Harris is the lead vocalist and guitarist heard here, probably backed up by Jay W. Ingham (steel guitar), Johnny Cooper or Gig Sparks (rhythm guitar), and Tiny Smith (bass).
"Oh! Mr. President" was the group's first release on the 4-Star label, the Los Angeles indie that had contracted with jukebox mogul H.W. Daily in Houston since 1948 to supply them with local talent. It appeared in the "X" series (which may have stood for "experimental"), i.e., it would only be released in Texas in a limited pressing, having to prove itself before it could gain a national release. Improbably, the record generated enough interest to be re-pressed (though on the Gilt-Edge subsidiary, not the better-distributed parent label). The label credited R.D. Henden, the first of many typographical deformities that plagued the band's labels.
Alexandria, La. Town Talk, April 25, 1951.
The Cowboys' next record would be Johnny Cooper's only vocal effort with the group: "The Wandering Blues" b/w "Marking Time" (4-Star X-24), both Cooper originals in the Jimmie Rodgers vein. It sounds like it was recorded at the same session as "Oh! Mr. President." Johnny had been a singer with the group since the Sphinx Club days, but he'd moved to Bandera to perform with Gil Baca's band there, returning sometime in late 1950 or early 1951.
Johnny Cooper c. 1951.
Cooper was born in Tyler, Texas, but grew up in Houston. He joined the Marine Corps at age 17, and was stationed on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He survived WWII and made it back to Houston around 1947 after a few months of singing on the West Coast. "The Wandering Blues" aptly captures Cooper's restless career. In a 1995 interview, he recalled performing with bands all across the United States, spending time in Missouri, California, and the East Coast. After leaving Hendon's band, he played with Link Davis, George Jones, Floyd Tillman, Eddie Eddings, the Yandell Brothers, and the Williamson Family in Houston.
"Hank Thompson came through and needed a bus driver," he said. "Billy Gray came through (Houston) and hired me. They billed me as 'the singing bus driver.' I drove the bus for 'em. I worked with Hank Thompson all over the country on one big, long tour. Come back, and I quit while I was ahead."
The band made what was possibly their first out-of-town appearance in Waco at the 31 Club on May 15, 1951. Both "No Shoes Boogie" and "Oh! Mr. President" are listed in a local newspaper ad promoting their appearance, but not "The Wandering Blues," suggesting that it was released later that summer. There are two pressings of the record, one of them misspelling Johnny Cooper's name as "Coger."
Cooper's replacement in the band was Eddie Noack, who will be the subject of our next installment.
Waco, Tx. News-Tribune, May 14, 1951.
"The Wandering Blues"
"Marking Time"