Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1949-?) (#1307) (78)
A: "Irish Wash Woman" (c: n/a)
B: "Paddy On The Turnpike" (c: n/a)
(Producer not identified)
Several of DeNoone's earliest releases were square dance discs, and may have been intended to be gathered into an album, similar to Cliffie Stone's early solo records of the same era. These records on the California-based 4-Star label generally didn't have composer or musician credits, although this one's label notes that it's a square dance disc (with no calls) featuring arrangements from Ray Shaw.
Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1949-?) (#1308) (78)
A: "Granny With Her Night Shirt On" (c: n/a)
B: "Silver Bells" (c: n/a)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1949-?) (#1309) (7")
A: "Varsovienne" (c: n/a)
B: "Schottische Mixer" (c: n/a)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1949-?) (#1310) (7")
A: "Goodnight Waltz" (c: n/a)
B: "Bohemian Waltz" (c: n/a)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1950-?) (#1432) (7")
A: "Narcissus" (c: Public Domain)
B: "Turkey In The Straw" (c: Public Domain)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1950-?) (#1433) (7")
A: "The Girl Left Behind" (c: Public Domain)
B: "Bell Bottom Trousers" (c: Public Domain)
(Producer not identified)
Another square dance set, with backing from The Rhythm Rustlers
Big Jim DeNoone (4 Star Records, 19--?) (#45-1646) (7")
A: "Wild Strings" (c: Jim DeNoone)
B: "Long Lost Girl" (c: Jim DeNoone)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoon (Gilt Edge Records, 1950-?) (#5020) (7")
A: "E Ramble" (c: Jim DeNoone)
B: "Dream Waltz" (c: Jim DeNoon & Johnny Jobes)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (Gilt-Edge Records, 1953-?) (#5081) (7")
A: "Stop! That's My Cotton-Pickin' Heart" (c: Jim DeNoone)
B: "If My Pillow Could Talk" (c: DeNoone & Gatches)
(Producer not identified)
Martha Lou Gaches & Big Jim DeNoone (Gilt-Edge Records, 1953-?) (#45-5083) (7")
A: "Earthquake Heart" (v. Martha Lou Gaches) (c: Big Jim DeNoone & Martha Lou Gaches)
B: "The Death Of Hank Williams" (v. Johnny Jobes) (c: Jack Cardwell)
(Producer not identified)
Classic-sounding West Coast honkytonk. The A-side is one of several recordings Martha Lou Gaches made with hillbilly bandleader Big Jim DeNoon (1921-1978). Mr. DeNoon, who also spelled his name with an "e" at the end, was a Missouri-born multi-instrumentalist who moved out to California in 1948, where he performed on the fabled Town Hall Party TV show, also appeared in a few films, and found work backing country stars such as Johnny Bond, Spade Cooley, Red Murrell, Cliffie Stone, and others. He also aced the championship of the Northwest Fiddlers' Contest three years running -- in 1958, 1959 and 1960 -- and presumably is the violin player on many of these recordings. I have a strong, unconfirmed, suspicion that singer/composer Martha Lou was actually Jim DeNoon's wife, Margie L. DeNoon (nee Margie Massey, 1924-2004) though the "Gaches" name is used consistently in her composer credits, so I may be barking up the wrong tree on that one. But if it is the same person, she was also originally from Missouri, and became a lesser-known but still significant member of the West Coast country scene. In addition to being a featured solo vocalist with DeNoone's band, The Rhythm Rustlers, she collaborated with several other (male) country artists during the 1950s and '60s, including "Bashful" Bobby Wooten, a country deejay on Seattle radio station KAYO, who also recorded on 4-Star and Gilt-Edge Records, and may have even co-composed one of Buck Owens' early songs. Ms. Gaches wrote and recorded a song called "Old Blue," which was covered by hillbilly elder Grandpa Jones, and co-wrote a tune called "Courtin' In The Rain," which was recorded by T. Texas Tyler, way back in 1954. In an era when female country singers were few and far between and had a pretty restricted role, Martha Lou definitely stands out as a forceful and versatile performer -- on most of her early singles she sounds a lot like Jean Shepard, though her bluegrass-tinged version of "Old Blue" spotlights a much different, more Appalachian, vocal style. Particularly noteworthy is her collaboration (below) with Bakersfield honkytonker Billy Mize, another Town Hall Party alumnus whose own career was building steam in the late 1950s.
Big Jim DeNoone & Martha Lou Gaches (4-Star Records, 1954-?) (#X-69) (7")
A: "I Believed In You" (c: Martha Lou Gaches)
B: "Old Blue" (c: Martha Lou Gaches)
(Producer not identified)
Martha Lou Gaches & Big Jim DeNoone (4-Star Records, 1954-?) (#X-69) (7")
A: "I Believed In You" (c: Martha Lou Gaches)
B: "Old Blue" (c: Martha Lou Gaches)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone & Glenda Hawkins (Orbit Sound, 1956) (#ORBIT-107) (7")
A: "No One Can Take Your Place" (c: Lonnie Coleman)
B: "You Don't Know What Your Heart Wants To Do" (c: Lonnie Coleman)
(Producer not identified)
Early works from West Coast songwriter Lonnie Coleman, who worked for years under the radar as a staff writer at Pamper Music in Nashville, cutting several singles along the way for a variety of labels, with many of his songs covered mostly by lesser-known artists. Coleman was born in Plunkettville, Oklahoma and may have been living in the Pacific Northwest when he cut this album for the Oregon-based Verla Records label, which was a spinoff of Ripcord Studios. This disc underlines the interconnections between the country scenes in California and the rest of the Pacific coast, where countless artists went where the work took them, up north to Seattle and Vancouver, and back down to the Southern California.
Big Jim DeNoone (Orbit Records, 1956-?) (#108) (7")
A: "Just Another Broken Heart" (c: Dale Stevens)
B: "Last Night I Kissed An Angel" (c: Jim DeNoone)
(Producer not identified)
Both tracks feature Dale Stevens on vocals...
Big Jim DeNoone (Orbit Sound, 1957) (#109) (7")
A: "Crazy Fiddle" (c: Jim DeNoon)
B: "Ukulele Waltz" (c: Jim DeNoon)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoon (Orbit Sound, 1957) (#110) (7")
A: "Fluid Drive" (c: Jimmy Collins)
B: "Straight Shift" (c: Collins & Stevens)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoone (4 Star Records, 19--?) (#2091/2092) (7")
A: "Franklin D" (c: Tex Terry)
B: "Ozark Waltz" (c: Tex Terry)
(Producer not identified)
Big Jim DeNoon (1921-1978) (who also spelled his name with an "e" at the end) was a 6' 7" Missouri-born multi-instrumentalist who moved out to California in 1948, where he performed on the fabled Town Hall Party TV show, also appeared in a few films, and found work backing country stars such as Johnny Bond, Spade Cooley, Red Murrell, Cliffie Stone, and others. The son of a championship fiddler, he aced the Northwest Fiddlers' Contest three years running -- in 1958, 1959 and 1960 -- and also played banjo, lead guitar, mandolin and ukulele both live with his bands and on his recordings. DeNoon made his home on California's Central Coast, where he hosted television shows on Channel 11 in San Jose, as well as KSBW-8 in his adoptive hometown of Salinas, where he passed away at age 57. In addition he operated a couple of music venues, The Big Barn and The Bird's Nest, though the timelines for those clubs aren't clear. Mr. DeNoon was also part of a road show called the Hoffman Hayride, which played gigs at various Bay Area venues south of San Francisco. Here's a quick look at his work...
