George York born 10 February 1910

George (February 10, 1910 – July 1974) and Leslie York (August 23, 1917 - February 21, 1984), known professionally as The York Brothers, were an American country music duo, popular from the late 1930s through the 1950s, known for their close harmony singing. Their country boogie style, a precursor to rockabilly, combined elements of hillbilly, jazz, and blues music. Originally from Kentucky, they are often associated with the city of Detroit, where they were based for several years, and which they paid tribute to in songs such as "Hamtramck Mama", "Detroit Hula Girl", and "Motor City Boogie". 

George and Leslie York  were both born in Louisa, Kentucky, United States. They were raised in a musical family. After finishing 8th grade George worked as a miner in Kentucky, but eventually moved to Denver, Colorado to pursue a career as a professional musician. After singing and playing guitar with various Denver bands, George moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he found work at radio station WPAY. Meanwhile, Leslie (who was seven years younger than George) finished 9th grade, and won a talent contest in Lexington, Kentucky. He joined his older brother in Portsmouth, and the two soon relocated to Detroit, Michigan. 

                                    

Detroit's auto industry in the late 1930s employed thousands of Southerners. Also at this time, sibling country music acts such as the Delmore Brothers and the Monroe Brothers were enjoying great popularity. Adopting "The York Brothers" as a stage name, they quickly found success as a live act in Detroit's country music taverns. In 1939 they recorded their first single, "Hamtramck Mama," which became a hit on the Detroit-based Universal label, selling some 300,000 copies in the Detroit area alone. The song's bawdy lyrics raised some protest among the politicians of the city of Hamtramck (within Detroit's borders). More successful singles followed, and in 1941 the brothers signed with Decca Records. Originally recording with just the two of them singing and playing acoustic guitars (with Leslie usually playing lead), they gradually added new instrumentation as they updated their sound. 

The start of the Second World War and the resultant shortage of shellac for production of records led to most labels cutting back on releases. The York Brothers were trimmed from the Decca roster after releasing six sides, although their popularity in the Midwest and South remained strong. They began performing with an expanded group and released several records on the Detroit-based Mellow label. By the start of 1944, however, both brothers were in the Navy, with George serving in the Pacific and Leslie in Europe. 

In 1946, with the war over, the brothers reunited and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. One of the few 'hillbilly acts' to successfully adapt to post-war tastes, they joined the Grand Ole Opry and signed with the new Bullet label. They released a new version of their earlier hit, "Hamtramck Mama," as well as originals and covers of popular songs. They survived the 1948 AFM recording ban with steady live work, including a six-week stint with the Louisiana Hayride, and remained with the Opry until 1950, when they returned to Detroit. 

While still in Nashville, George and Leslie had begun recording a long series of sides for Syd Nathan's Cincinnati-based King label, using top-notch studio musicians such as steel guitarist Jerry Byrd, guitarist Zeb Turner, and bassist Louis Innis. Many of their King efforts showed Western Swing, Latin, and R&B influences, and were consistently strong sellers. Some originals, such as "Mountain Rosa Lee", later came to be considered classics (in this case, within the bluegrass field). 

The York Brothers moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1953, along with their families. There they were regularly featured on the Big D Jamboree television show, and the WFAA Shindig radio program. They continued recording, including another session for Decca in 1957. Around this time, George began having problems with his voice, so Leslie took over the lead parts. Leslie recorded some solo material for Sage Records that year. In 1963 the brothers started their own label, York Bros. Records, and released several regionally popular singles, including "Monday Morning Blues." 

They eventually retired from performing, with George running a night club, and Leslie working various jobs. Both died in Dallas – George in 1974, and Leslie in 1984. 

(Edited from Wikipedia)

Joe Ely born 9 February 1947

Joe Ely (pronounced EE-lee) ( February 9, 1947 – December 15, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was "one of the main movers" of Austin, Texas's progressive country scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Chieftains, James McMurtry, The Clash, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, and Guy Clark. 

Born Earle Rewell Ely in Amarillo, Texas, Ely spent his teenage years in Lubbock and attended Monterey High School. His father Earl worked for the railways, and in Lubbock ran a used clothing store. He died when Ely was aged 13 and his wife was institutionalised. Ely went to live with relatives and contributed to finances by working as a dishwasher and cook in a cafe. He played violin from the age of eight and sang in the First Baptist Church choir. He sold his violin to buy an electric guitar and was expelled from Monterey High School for "singing 'Cherry Pie' by Marvin & Johnny in the middle of a school assembly". Ely "took to the road like his heroes Jack Kerouac and Woody Guthrie." He experienced "a drugs bust in Texas involving magic mushrooms", went to California where he bought a guitar, and in New York worked as a janitor in a theatre. 

He returned to Lubbock and in 1971, with fellow Lubbock musicians Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, formed The Flatlanders. He recalled, "We never had any money, but we never needed any." There was always "just enough for a bag of rice or a couple of potatoes". According to Ely, "Jimmie Gilmore was like a well of country music. He knew everything about it. And Butch was from the folk world. I was kinda the rock and roll guy and we almost had a triad. We hit it off and started playing a lot together. That opened up a whole new world I had never known existed." 

                 Here's "Settle For Love" from above album. 

                                   

In 1972, the band recorded their first album. The band's initial breakup occurred just after their first album was cut and the three musicians followed individual paths, but have appeared together on each other's albums. Ely's first, self-titled album, was released in 1977. In 1978, his band played London, where he met British punk rock group the Clash. Impressed with each other's performances, the two bands later toured together, including appearances in Ely's hometown of Lubbock, as well as Laredo and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas. 

Ely with Joe Strummer

The Clash paid tribute to Joe Ely by including the lyrics "Well, there ain't no better blend than Joe Ely and his Texas Men" in the lyrics of their song "If Music Could Talk", which was released in 1980 on the album Sandinista! Ely sang backing vocals on the Clash single "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Joe Strummer planned to record with Ely's band but died before that happened and was one of Ely's greatest regrets. 

On May 1, 1982, Ely presented the Third Annual Tornado Jam in Lubbock to a crowd of 25,000. The Jam included Linda Ronstadt, Leon Russell, Joan Jett, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and the Crickets. The first Tornado Jam was a fundraiser to help Lubbock after the Tornado, hence the name. The second Annual Tornado Jam drew a crowd of 35,000. In the early 1980s, Ely toured with the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Dutch flamenco guitarist Teye, with whom he recorded Letter to Laredo (1995) and Twistin' in the Wind (1998). Throughout his career Ely issued a steady stream of albums, most on the MCA label, with a live album every 10 years or so. 

In the late 1990s, Ely was asked to write songs for the soundtrack of Robert Redford's movie The Horse Whisperer, which led to his reforming the Flatlanders with Gilmore and Hancock. A new album from the trio followed in 2002, and a third in 2004. In February 2007, Ely released Happy Songs from Rattlesnake Gulch on his own label, Rack 'Em Records. A book of Ely's writings, Bonfire of Roadmaps, was published in early 2007 by the University of Texas Press. In early 2008, Ely released a new live album featuring Joel Guzman on accordion, recorded at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas, in late 2006. 

The Flatlanders released their album Hills and Valleys on March 31, 2009. In 2011, Ely released the acclaimed album, Satisfied at Last. "Treasure of Love" by the Flatlanders was released in 2021 on Ely's Rack'em Records. In September 2015, Ely released Panhandle Rambler and in 2016 he was the reigning "Texas State Musician", a one-year designation that he formally accepted in a ceremony at the State Legislature that spring. In October 2022, he was inducted to the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. 

In September 2025, Ely announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia. He died from Parkinson's, dementia and pneumonia at his Taos, New Mexico home, on December 15, 2025, at the age of 78. 

(Edited from Wikipedia)

 

Tracy Pendarvis born 8 February 1936

Tracy Pendarvis (8th February 1936 - 25th January 1997) was an American  Rockabilly  singer. 

Born Tracy Rexford Pendarvis in the small central Florida town of Shamrock , he developed a love for music at an early age. He listened to the Grand Ole Opry from WSM in Nashville and also heard plenty of rhythm and blues. He soaked it all up and this showed in his music in later years.

Together with close buddy Johnny Gibson they jammed until the early morning, having fun and honing their skills in equal measure. In late ’57 they entered a talent contest on WDVH in Gainesville, Florida and won first prize, a record deal with the small Scott label. Pendarvis, Gibson and drummer Merrill “Punk” Williams were met at the door of 706 Union Avenue by Ernie Barton who arranged an audition with Sam Phillips. Sam the man with the best ears in world liked what he heard. The boys had a rockabilly sound which took him back four years, and he decided to give them a try. They also had the look, check out the well known photo of the hip rocker in the upturned collar.

There’s some conjecture as to how Tracy Pendarvis would have faired at Sun Records had he arrived there a couple of years earlier. It is suggested that with his voice he could have had a shot, but having said that, a lot of artists got overlooked due to the sheer volume of acts in that mid-’50s period. When he did arrive in 1959 Sam had lost a lot of artists and was able to devote more time to the ones he still had. Whether you make it in the music business seems to be more down to luck and fate than anything like real talent .

                                      

Sam produced the first session, augmenting the trio with session men Sid Manker on bass and Jimmy Wilson on piano. Sam must have been beaming from ear to ear when the guitar started to jingle jangle, and the drum started its marching beat. A couple of bars later and in comes Tracy with the lonesome a thousand guitars, a million stars. A Thousand Guitars was a brilliant record and Sam struggled to watch the boys finish the song as cash registers must have started flashing before his eyes. Sam had lost a bit of the wild-eyed enthusiasm over the last year or two but he wasted no time in getting this little peach pressed.

Unfortunately the b-side said it ­ Is it Too Late? Yes it was, three or four years too late in fact. In 1960 kids wanted to buy soppy-pop not rockabilly-rock. The pity of it all was that the single was a killer hit waiting to happen. It was the first Sun single of the ’60s and was released at a time when the majority of singles releases at that time were by the departed Johnny Cash or the boycotted Jerry Lee Lewis. The same fate befell the follow-up, South Bound Line and Is It Me.  The top side was another high quality release, sort of Mystery Train done Johnny Cash style, with Pendarvis’s vocals again very engaging.

For the third single Sam chose to try the formula which had worked with Carl Mann. Rocking up the standards was not a new notion but it was certainly back in vogue in 1961 and TP’s stab at Belle of the Suwannee was as good as anything else at that time.Following the failure of the third successive single, the singer and label parted company. Pendarvis started his own record production company, Descant Records, working in tandem with Bill Lowery’s NRC complex in Atlanta, Georgia. He worked on recordings by Lowery’s proteges including Jerry Reed, Joe South and Ray Stevens.

He had two releases under his own name for Descant but limited distribution would no doubt have hindered the sales of the these rockaballads. After a year Pendarvis folded Descant Records and moved to Chicago, playing the Illinois honkytonks before moving back to his native Florida. For the rest of his life Tracy worked in audio technology, installing a studio in his hometown of Tavares. In October 1992 he made his long awaited debut in Europe at the Hemsby Rock ‘n’ Roll festival. 

He died a couple of years later on the 25th January 1997 in Cross City, Florida. Looking back over his career half a century later, the bottom line is that Tracy was unlucky to be in the right place at the wrong time. 

(Edited from Bear Family notes) 

Oscar Brand born 7 February 1920

Oscar Brand (February 7, 1920 – September 30, 2016) was a Canadian-born American folk singer-songwriter, radio and TV host, and author. In his career, spanning 70 years, he composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Canadian and American patriotic songs. Brand's music ran the gamut from novelty songs to serious social commentary and spanned a number of genres. Brand also wrote a number of short stories. 

He was born on a wheat farm near Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father was an interpreter to Indians for the Hudson’s Bay Company and later ran a theatrical supply company and a pawnshop. Young Oscar fell in love with music while listening to player-piano rolls. His family moved to Minneapolis when he was 7, then to Chicago and finally to Brooklyn, where they sought treatment for Oscar, who had been born with a missing calf muscle. He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, then roamed the country with his banjo, working on farms along the way. He later graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in psychology. 

In 1942 he joined the Army, where he worked in the psychology section of an induction center and edited a newspaper for psychiatric patients. After his discharge, he moved to Greenwich Village and tried to insinuate himself into the world of music. One of his first initiatives was writing a book called “How to Play the Guitar Better Than Me.” 

His radio career began in December 1945, after he wrote a letter to New York stations offering to present a program of Christmas songs he claimed most people had never heard. WNYC, which at the time was owned by the city, accepted the challenge. His song about Santa’s distinctive body odor proved his point. At the show’s end, WNYC’s program director asked Mr. Brand what he was doing the next week. He boldly replied that he’d be right back in the same studio in the Municipal Building. 

                                    

The music he played included fiddlers to folk songs of the Appalachians to ethnic songs of the big cities. He also played what were then known as “race records” by the likes of Memphis Minnie and Tampa Red, precursors of rhythm and blues and rock ’n’ roll. Mr. Brand’s own singing voice had an offhand (and sometimes off-key) authenticity, which he applied to old, new and sometimes deliberately mangled songs, both on and off the air. 

In 1950 Mr. Brand was listed in “Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television,” a pamphlet that contained the names of artists who supposedly had Communist connections. Unlike some of his colleagues, he was never asked to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (he insisted that he never would have cooperated if he had been), and while he did lose some work, he continued to make money from his songwriting. Doris Day’s version of his song “A Guy Is a Guy” reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1952. 

Oscar with Odetta

Brand's WNYC show began what Guinness World Records eventually verified as radio’s longest-running with a single host. (It beat out Alistair Cooke’s “Letter From America,” which ran for just under 58 years.) Mr. Brand never had a contract, but he kept coming back. His employers particularly appreciated that he never asked for compensation — nor did he ever receive any. He also established his own one-of-a-kind reputation. In 1959, The New York Times called him “one of radio’s most genial fanatics.” 

His guests included the Weavers, Lead Belly, Judy Collins, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Harry Chapin, Emmylou Harris, B.B. King and Woody Guthrie’s son, Arlo, who as a teenager gave one of the earliest performances of his song “Alice’s Restaurant” on Mr. Brand’s show. Few have sung and strummed more prolifically. The hundreds of songs Brand recorded include election songs, children’s songs, vaudeville songs, sports car songs, drinking songs, outlaw songs and lascivious ditties about Nellie the Barmaid. 

He scored ballets for Agnes de Mille and commercials for Log Cabin Syrup and Cheerios. He wrote music for documentary films, published songbooks and hosted the children’s television shows “The First Look” and “Spirit of ’76” as well as, from 1963 to 1967, the Canadian television series “Let’s Sing Out.” He also wrote, with Paul Nassau, the music and lyrics for two shows that made it to Broadway, although neither had a long run: “A Joyful Noise” (1966) and “The Education of HYMAN KAPLAN (1968), based on stories by Leo Rosten. He was curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and served on the advisory panel that helped develop “Sesame Street.” 

In 1995, Mr. Brand won a Peabody Award for “more than 50 years in service to the music and messages of folk performers and fans around the world.” Mr. Brand’s last show aired on Sept. 24, 2016. He died on September 30, 2016, after a two week battle with pneumonia at his home in Great Neck, N.Y. He was 96. 

(Edited from New York Times & Wikipedia)

Mamie Van Doren born 6 February 1931

Mamie Van Doren (February 6, 1931) is an American actress. A blonde bombshell, she is one of the "Three M's" along with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, who were friends and contemporaries. 

Born Joan Olander in South Dakota, Van Doren’s family moved to Los Angeles during her childhood. In early 1946, Van Doren began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television show. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered several beauty contests. She was married for a brief time at seventeen when Van Doren and her first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage was dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. 

In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles "Miss Eight Ball" and "Miss Palm Springs," attracting the attention of Howard Hughes. The pair dated for several years. Hughes launched her career by placing her in several RKO films.  She changed her name to Mamie Van Doren, taking her name from First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and the surname of celebrated scholars Carl and Mark Van Doren. Hughes provided Van Doren with a bit part in Jet Pilot at RKO Radio Pictures, which was her film debut. The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous "Vargas Girls." 

                                   

Van Doren did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO, including His Kind of Woman (1951) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent Price. About her appearance in that one, Van Doren has said, "If you blinked you would miss me. I look barely old enough to drive." She then began working on the stage and was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International. 

On January 20, 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios and broke off her engagement to boxer Jack Dempsey. Universal had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren, signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower. Universal first cast Van Doren in a minor role as a singer in Forbidden, starring Tony Curtis. Interested in Van Doren's allure, Universal then cast her in The All American (1953) but her breakout period came in the mid to late 1950s, when she starred in a string of movies that made her a drive-in icon. In Untamed Youth, she played a defiant teen caught up in a juvenile detention scheme and became the first actress to sing rock 'n roll in an American musical film. This resulted in a string of singles with backing by the Les Baxter, Warren Baker and Billy Vaughn Orchestras. 

In High School Confidential, she turned heads as a sultry figure. She showed off her comedic side opposite Clark Gable and Doris Day in Teacher’s Pet, a role she later said was one of her personal favorites. Other memorable titles from that era included Girls Town, The Beat Generation, Born Reckless and Running Wild. After Universal chose not to renew her contract in 1959, Van Doren continued working steadily as an independent actress. She appeared in cult favorites such as 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, The Navy vs. the Night Monsters and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women. In 1966, she even shared the screen with Mansfield in The Las Vegas Hillbillys, a rare moment that brought two of the era’s most famous blondes together.

Her career slowed in the 1970s and 1980s, but she never fully vanished. Van Doren made television appearances on shows including Fantasy Island, Vega$ and L.A. Law. Much later, she popped up in minor roles in projects like Slackers (2002) and the 2012 video release The American Tetralogy. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994 and a Golden Palm Star in Palm Springs in 2005, honors that celebrate her unique place in film history. Documentaries and retrospectives frequently feature her as one of the last living links to a glamorous, long-gone era of show business. Family has also remained central to her life. Van Doren has one son, Perry Ray Anthony, from her marriage to bandleader Ray Anthony. In 2007, she launched her own wine brand at age 76. 

These days, Van Doren lives quietly in California with her husband of more than four decades, actor Thomas Dixon, whom she married in 1979. One of the biggest surprises of Van Doren’s later years has been how active she remains online where she runs what appears to be her own Instagram account, regularly posting throwback photos and candid updates about her life. 

(Edited from Uncle Sam @ Ronin’s Fortress & Remind Magazine)

 

Little Arthur Duncan born 5 February 1934

Little Arthur Duncan (February 5, 1934 – August 20, 2008) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. He was a member of the Backscratchers and over his career was associated with Earl Hooker, Twist Turner, Illinois Slim and Rick Kreher. 

Duncan and Little Walter

Duncan was born in Indianola, Mississippi. His first instrument was the drums. In 1950, aged 16, he left Mississippi not for Chicago, as so many of his contemporaries had, but for the sunnier climate of Key West, Florida - which may seem like an odd destination for a traveling blues-man, but it wasn't a totally unique idea, since it was there that Arthur net up with guitarist Earl Hooker for the first time. They eventually made their way up to Chicago, and by 1954 Arthur was living in the basement of the apartment building of the city's west side where Little Walter lived upstairs. Arthur and Walter became friends, and it was under Walter's tutelage that Arthur first began taking his music seriously. 

Although he kept a day job, Arthur began frequenting the clubs on the vibrant Chicago blues scene, meeting and sitting in with almost every major name active in the local clubs at that dine. He also sent down south for a couple of friends, guitar playing brothers Hip and Jug Linkchain, recruiting them to come up to Chicago, and together they formed Arthur's first professional band, which played mostly on weekends. With the south and west sides of the city teaming with blues joints at the time, there was no shortage of gigs, although then as now, making a living strictly with music was a some-what tough proposition. 

Arthur recalls playing at a jam session on the south side, and getting to know most of the other local harp bonbon such as Billy Boy Arnold, Carey Bell, and Good Rockin' Charles - in Arthur's words, "There was a whole lot of harmonica play-ers back then", and Arthur learned from them all. He says his activity on the local blues scene cul-minated in the early 1960s when he recorded an album for a small local label, which unfortunately never got distributed, and never went anywhere. 

                          Here’s “Pretty Thing” from above album.

                                    

As the Chicago blues scene cooled off, so did Arthur's performing ambitions, although he never stopped playing, occasionally playing on Maxwell Street or sitting in with friends, hanging out in the clubs and seeing friends like Earl Hooker, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy. In the early 1980s he decided to open his own club on the west side as a sideline when he wasn't able to work Isis regular construction job during the frigid Chicago winters; when the construction company folded, Arthur jumped into the nightclub game with both feet. 

As proprietor of the Artesia Lounge on Lake St., and later Backscratcher's Lounge on West Madison, lie booked the blues people he liked, and had a steady stream talent doing gigs or just coming by to hang out and sit in, including Taildragger, Johnny Dollar, Mighty Joe Young, Johnny B. Moore, Milton Houston, Little Smokey Smothers, Johnny Littlejohn and others. Of course Arthur would come out from behind the bar to do a number with the band whenever he got the chance. 

So for much of the 1980s he was off the blues scene at large, tending to his own little scene on the west side, but seldom performing outside of his own club. Eventually a dispute with the landlord led to the closing of Backscratcher's Lounge, a sad day for patrons but with a silver lining for blues fans else-where, since it freed Arthur to get out into the blues mainstream again. He began recording and occasionally touring, and sitting in with bands at clubs other than his own for a change. Since then, his reputation grew steadily and he became one of the 'must see' artists in Chicago for fans of the true, deep, lowdown blues that the city is fatuous for around the world. 

In 1989, Duncan recorded the album Bad Reputation, which was released on the Blues King label. He later appeared on a compilation album, Blues Across America: The Chicago Scene, with Emery Williams Jr. and Robert Plunkett. In 1999, Duncan recorded for Delmark Records, which released the album Singin' with the Sun that year. On the album he was accompanied by the guitar players Billy Flynn and Eddie Taylor Jr. Live in Chicago followed in 2000.

His final recording was Live at Rosa's Blues Lounge, a live album recorded in Chicago in August 2007. One music journalist noted that "spirited, gritty performances of Reed's "Pretty Thing," Wolf's "No Place to Go," and two Dixon favorites ("Young Fashioned Ways" and "Little Red Rooster") leave no doubt that Duncan lives and breathes electric Chicago blues." However, a subsequent lengthy illness and hospitalization prevented Duncan from building on this success. He died in Northlake, Illinois, in August 2008, of complications following brain surgery, at the age of 74. 

(Edited from Scott Dirks article & Wikipedia)

 

Dick Nolan born 4 February 1939

 

Dick Nolan (February 4, 1939 – December 13, 2005) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist who was one of Newfoundland’s most prominent music ambassadors, known for performing Newfoundland folk music in Toronto night clubs. During his 50-year career he released more than 40 albums and recorded over 300 tracks. He is particularly known for his song "Aunt Martha's Sheep". 

Richard Francis Nolan was born in Corner Brook. As a teenager, he performed in a local band, the Blue Valley Boys, and sang on a Corner Brook radio show. Priscilla Boutcher, the former Mayor of Corner Brook, was Nolan's sister. In the 1950s, Nolan moved to Toronto, where he played with local bands and worked at several jobs. He began to record albums of the music of Johnny Cash and other country songs, earning him the nickname "The Johnny Cash of Newfoundland". 

His Blue Valley Boys, which included Corner Brook native Roy Penney, performed regularly at the Horseshoe Tavern in the early 1960s, where they backed such US country stars as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare and Charley Pride. Nolan switched his focus to traditional Newfoundland music and released many albums. Between 1959 and 1969, Nolan made 14 LPs for Arc Records, including two albums of songs by Johnny Cash. Nolan’s Arc recordings featured “truck driving” country material, as well as Newfoundland, Maritime and Christmas songs. 

                                   

He released one album with the Blue Valley Boys, one in duet with his daughter, Bonnie Lou Nolan, and two with Marlene Beaudry. He began to enjoy some success in the mid-1960s; his cover of Hank Snow’s “Golden Rocket” reached No. 2 on RPM’s Country Chart in 1965 and “The Fool” hit No. 8 in 1967. Nolan returned to Corner Brook in 1968. In the early 1970s, he performed on his own weekly television program on CJON-TV, as well as at nightclubs throughout the province. In 1972, he began to record for RCA. 

His first LP, Fisherman's Boy,  included the song “Aunt Martha's Sheep,” composed by fellow Newfoundlander Ellis Coles. Written in a traditional ballad style, but with contemporary Newfoundland references in its lyrics, the comical and folksy song reached No. 35 on the RPM Country Chart and received a BMI Certificate of Honour for song writing. It became Nolan’s signature tune, driving sales of Fisherman’s Boy to more than 50,000 copies. It was followed by the hits “Home Again This Year,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Country Chart in 1972, and “Me and Brother Bill” in 1973. 

Nolan returned to Toronto in 1973, and performed in restaurants and nightclubs catering to Newfoundlanders. He appeared on CBC TV’s The Tommy Hunter Show, Elwood Glover’s Luncheon Date and Stompin’ Tom’s Canada, as well as in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry. He released 41 LPs in total through Arc, RCA, Pickwick and Boot Records, including Fisherman's Boy (1972), Home Again This Year (1972) and Happy Newfoundlanders (1973), which each sold more than 50,000 copies; however, they pre-dated Music Canada’s sales certifications system and were not officially certified as gold records. In 1975, he received a Juno Award nomination for Country Male Vocalist of the Year. 

In 1992, Nolan performed on the album Singers for Fishermen, a musical response to the closure of the Newfoundland cod fishery. His later recordings included the gospel album Family Bible (1994), as well as Pretty Girls of Newfoundland (1996), Down By the Sea (1998), Christmas Morn in Newfoundland (with Eddie Coffey, 1998) and Newfoundland Good Times (1999). 

Nolan returned to Newfoundland in 2004 and lived his final days on Bell Island. In November 2005, shortly before his death a month later, Nolan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. He died December 13, 2005 due to complications from a stroke, in Carbonear (aged 66). He was writing his memoir and had been planning to release a CD of all his albums recorded with RCA in the 1970s. 

A retrospective compilation entitled The Best of Dick Nolan was released in 2006. In 2009, he was posthumously awarded the Dr. Helen Creighton Lifetime Achievement Award at the East Coast Music Awards.  

(Edited from the Canadian Encyclopedia, Wikipedia & CBC News)

Here’s a clip of Dick Nolan Live at the Sergents Mess , Moncton N.B. Aug 5 1995..With the Happy Go Lucky Band. Dick starts his set 14 minutes from the start of video.