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TEXAS JIM ROBERTSON’s
Jaw Jaw Yap Yap Yap
will no doubt bring
a frown of consternation to the collective brows of the feminist movement; it is
however, a hilarious and lively example by this seasoned pro. As his moniker
would suggest, Jim was born in a rural community near San Antonio.
In 1925, when 16 years old, Jim accepted an invitation to visit his aunt in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Having spent his fare home, Jim found himself
stranded, so in order to raise money Jim had to find a job and, encouraged by
his aunt, he approached a local radio station. Much to his surprise, the station’s
programme director offered him his very own show. Jim’s downhome humor
and rich baritone voice was a hit with his listeners and some months later,
favorable reports about Texas Jim’s performance filtered through to the New
York based NBC network, which resulted in a staff job in New York. The mid-
thirties saw Robertson on Bluebird as one of the best selling ‘folk/western’
artists in the US.
In 1946, after wartime service in the South Pacific and experience in occupied
Japan on Navy/Marine radio, he was welcomed back with open arms at RCA.
He enjoyed further success over the next two years including a hit with a cover
of Hank Williams’
Wedding Bells
in 1949. He moved to MGM (as did Jesse
Rogers) and later drifted out of the recording scene, not to be heard of again.
JIM BOYD
was overshadowed by his older brother, cowboy singer Bill
Boyd, who recorded for Victor. Jim signed up for the same company in the late
40’s and cut some excellent material, including many country boogies which
were recorded at Sellers Studio or station WWFA in Dallas.
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