Sunshine Ruby born October 24, 1939

Sunshine Ruby (October 24, 1939* -January 26, 2022) was an American singer who in the early 1950s, became a child star in the Texas country music scene.

Sunshine Ruby was a native of Myrtle Springs, Texas, a town about 50 miles east of Dallas. Her real name was Ruby Bateman. A Cowboy Songs article on "The Younger Generation" in 1953 told readers she started school at the age of five and became a favourite performer at school plays and neighbourhood gatherings. She was invited by Bob and Joe Shelton when she was 11 years old to appear on their barn dance show at the Mayfair Club in Tyler, TX - The Texas Barn Dance. She was a hit with the audiences and stayed with the show for eleven weeks. Then she did a fifteen minute show with Joe Shelton on KTER in Terrell, TX. 

One weekend, she was in Dallas and by chance had the opportunity to perform at a Big D Jamboree show . Producer Al Turner didn't think much of the young girl's performance and let her sing one song. However, the audience was so enthusiastic that Sunshine Ruby couldn't leave the stage until after her third song. She was immediately brought on board as a regular member of the show. Her performances soon made her popular throughout Texas and  earned her the nickname "Sweetheart of the Big D Jamboree." Talent scouts from the major label RCA Victor saw Ruby at the Jamboree in 1953 and signed her to RCA.

                                  

When she was 13 years old, her first single, "Too Young To Tango" b/w " Hearts Weren't Meant To Be Broken ," was released later that same year and became a national hit. Her sessions for RCA took place in Nashville with studio musicians who, however, didn't take their work with the young 13-year-old seriously. Guitarist George Barnes, in particular, frequently veered into jazzy improvisational solos instead of using the standard country licks that would have suited Ruby's voice far better. This significantly degraded the quality of the songs, and her singles achieved only modest success. Even a few duets with teen idol Tommy Sands couldn't remedy the situation.

Along the way, Jim Boyd heard her sing at a personal appearance in Wills Point, TX and invited her to appear on his show during one of his personal appearances. She went over so well, that Jim took her with him to Dallas to appear on his radio show. Country Song Roundup published a list of the Top Ten Male and Female Country Artists of 1953 in its February 1954 issue and it included Sunshine Ruby. By this time she had  her own fan club. The president was Blanche Trinajstick of Pueblo, CO. 

Blanche would go on to later publish a monthly newsletter / magazine called "K Bar T Roundup." Blanche told readers in her Hoedown magazine Fan Club column that Ruby's fan club had pooled their resources and bought Ruby a "real purty western shirt, blue, with white embroidery and fringe trimming the yoke for her 14th birthday.

The three-day Red River Valley Exposition was held in October 1954. Total attendance was over 13,000 and on Wednesday over 7,000 showed up. But even more were expected on Thursday night when Charline Arthur was to be the headline act and would be backed up by other Big D Jamboree performers including Sunshine Ruby, Riley Crabtree, the Belew Twins, Joe Bill, Johnny Hicks and the Country Gentlemen Band. But the weather did not cooperate. News accounts indicate a chilly wind blew through the area that night but attendance at least matched the previous night. Over 1,200 people took in the Big D Jamboree concert short of the capacity crowd expected.

She was part of the entertainment package that came to the Mayfair Building in Tyler, TX in September 1955. Al Turner, then of KTBB in Tyler and former owner of the Big D Jamboree was the emcee for a show that included stars of the Louisiana Hayride and Big D Jamboree would be on hand. The star studded line-up included Jimmy and Johnny, Billy Walker, Janet Hicks, Hoot and Curley from the KWKH Hayride show. It also included Bob Shelton, Jo Bill, Cornbread, Sunshine Ruby, La Faun Paul and the Texas Sweethearts, Treon and Dwight from the Big D Jamboree. She also sang on the Eddie Arnold Show, Jerry Lewis Telethon, Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, NY, and many other places throughout her brief music career. As a teenager, her father was strictly protective and discouraged her from pursuing Hollywood or moving away to tour full-time.

Sunshine Ruby retired from the music business and married the love of her life Glenn Clower in 1956 and together they raised their 4 children and owned & operated Glenn's Automotive in Grand Saline, Texas where Glenn died in 2009 and where Sunshine Ruby sadly lost her fight with Alzheimer's on  January 26, 2022.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Ancestry)(*some sources wrongly give birthdate as the 19th October)