Lulu Belle & Scotty -- Ron VanDenboom

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Date Posted: 06/11/09 6:45pm
Author: Hillbilly-Music.com
Subject: Lulu Belle & Scotty

Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
Lulu Belle & Scotty
WLS National Barn Dance
WLS Chicago, IL
WLW Cincinnati, OH

About the Group

The "Hayloft Sweethearts" were known as one of the 'happiest and best loved' families on the air. They both came from the mountains back east. In 1938, they were voted by listeners as one of the top three in popularity.

They were said to have had that indefinable "something" that is difficult to describe when trying to explain their popularity. George Biggar wrote in their song folio back in 1941 that they were 'natural'.

Throughout their career, as popular as they were, they always seemed to have a singular goal in mind - to get back to that cabin in the pines, a place in the Big Smoky mountains in North Carolina. They eventually got that home and were able to visit it once in a while before eventually retiring. It was near Ingalls, North Carolina. Scotty used to heard his family's sheep over this same land.

Scotty was the seventh child in Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wiseman's family. He had a hobby back then of playing harmonica and guitar for square dances. As a teen, he began collecting mountain ballads. He went to Duke University for a year after high school, then spent three years at Fairmount, WV Teachers College. It was while he was at Fairmount that he got a job on radio station WMMN; he sang those mountain ballads he had collected and helped in program work. When he graduated from the Teachers College, he became their program manager for a few months, when the opportunity came to join the WLS staff.

Along about 1940, though they had left the WLS National Barn Dance. In reading the book, "Not Just A Sound, The History of WLW" by Dick Perry, it seems a few of the crew such as Charles Biggar and Bill McCluskey. McCluskey was brought in to be the goodwill ambassador and handle the talent at WLW. He was there they pulled a coup got Lulu Belle and Scotty to join the Boone County Jamboree on 50,000 watt clear-channel WLW.

About four years after Scotty was born, a Myrtle Cooper was born in Boone, North Carolina to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Cooper. In 1929, her family moved to Evanston, Illinois. It didn't take long for John Cooper to go to the WLS studio and as them to hear his daughter sang; he thought she was as good as anything that was on the Barn Dance. She auditioned and in a few weeks, she was part of the hayloft gang at the theatre on Eighth Street. She was nicknamed "Lulu Belle" - a sort of 'cut-up' of a girl in a calico dress and high-topped shoes.

Through it all, fame never seemed to cause them to be anything other than the same natural 'mountain folk' that they had always been and longed to return to later in life. They received a lot of fan mail and played to sold out audiences in mid-western theatres. They were always amazed that folks would make such a 'to-do' about them.

Reading their story, you can see perhaps where Scotty got the inspiration to write "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You"...

Trivia and Timeline Notes

Scotty played guiar and five-string banjo
Scotty also wrote songs
Lulu Belle and Scotty were married on December 13, 1934
Daughter Linda Lou was born January 3, 1936 - noted that she had not yet learned to chew gum (Lulu Belle had a tendency to chew gum when she performed...) and once in a while, showed an inclination to yodel.

Recordings

Conqueror

Rec. No. Side Song Title
8315 A Daffy Over Taffy
8315 B Little Black Moustache
8593 A Madam I've Come To Marry You
8593 B Farmer's Daughter
8594 A Prisoner At The Bar
8594 B Get Along Home Cindy
8595 A Sugar Babe
8595 B Tildy John
9189 A Never Take No For A Answer
9189 B Wish I Was A Single Girl Again
9249 A When I Yoo Hoo In The Valley
9249 B Mountain Dew
9250 A The Prisoner's Dream
9250 B It Ain't Nobody's Bizness
9586 A Be Careful Girls
9586 B The Empty Stocking
9587 A The Wumpus Cat
9587 B Whoa Black Buck
9693 A I'd Like To Go Back
9693 B The Wandering Boy
9694 A Did You Ever Go Sailing?
9694 B Remember Me
9695 A From Jerusalem To Jericho
9695 B There's No Hiding Place Down There

London

Rec. No. Side Song Title
16014 A Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
16014 B Schrudle Du

Mercury

Rec. No. Side Song Title
6304 A My Heart Cries For You
6304 B Shenandoah Waltz
6318 A Each Time You Leave Me
6318 B Truly I Love You
6389 A Around The Corner
6389 B Wishin'
6400 A I'm No Communist
6400 B Tied Down

Starday

Rec. No. Side Song Title
746 A I'll Be All Smiles Tonight
746 B Try To Live Some (When You're Here)

Vocalion

Rec. No. Side Song Title
4690 B When I Yoo Hoo In The Valley
4691 A Mountain Dew
4772 A Never Take No For An Answer
4772 B Wish I Was A Single Girl Again
4841 A The Prisoner's Dream
4841 B The Old Red Cradle
4910 A This Train
4910 B Turn Your Radio On
4962 A It Ain't Nobody's Biz'ness
4962 B There's A Little Pine Log Cabin
5487 A Get Along Home Cindy
5487 B Prisoner At The Bar

Emerald

Rec. No. Side Song Title
1998 A Hang Out The Front Door Key
1998 B Lonesome Whippoorwill
2005 A Tenderly He Watches
2005 B The Old Time Bible

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