Clifford Gilpin Snyder (March 1, 1917 – January 17, 1998), professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer, musician, record producer,

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California's thriving

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades. He was inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 1989.

Biography

Born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

, United States, Stone's father was a country musician billed as Herman the Hermit. The family moved to

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, and early in his life, he played bass in the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s of

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took ...

and

Anson Weeks Anson Weeks (February 14, 1896, Oakland, California – February 7, 1969, Sacramento, California) was an American pianist and the leader of a popular west coast dance band from the late 1920s through the 1960s, primarily in San Francisco. He made ...

in Southern California, as well as working at local radio stations KXLA, KFI, KFVD,

KFWB KFWB (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. KFWB is owned by Lotus Communications, and airs a classic regional Mexican music radio format. The station has a colorful history, being the radio voice of Warner Bros. ...

and KFOX-AM 1280 in Long Beach. Starting in 1935, Stone appeared on the Los Angeles–based radio shows ''Covered Wagon Jubilee'', '' Hollywood Barn Dance'', ''Dinner Bell Roundup'', and ''Lucky Stars'', singing as well as performing comedy routines and acting as host and DJ in the mid-1940s. In 1939, he married his first wife, Dorothy, and they had four children. Stone began working at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in 1946, and became an A&R man there; among the talents he discovered were Tennessee Ernie Ford (for whom he acted as manager from 1947 to 1957), Cathie Taylor, Molly Bee, Hank Thompson and

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

. He also worked regularly with

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born in Rosewood, Kentucky, his songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of Ameri ...

after his relocation from Nashville to Hollywood. Stone was instrumental in helping various young musicians get their start in television, such as guitarist Zane Ashton (aka Bill Aken) who would also write songs for Stone's Central Songs publishing firm. His '' Hometown Jamboree'' premiered as a weekly TV broadcast in December 1949 over KLAC-TV/

KCOP KCOP-TV (channel 13), branded Fox 11 Plus, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and op ...

-TV in Los Angeles; in 1953 it moved to

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

-TV, where it replaced a competing program hosted by Spade Cooley and itself ran until cancellation in 1959. Stone's career at Capitol was successful, but he was ultimately better known for his successes in radio. He recorded six albums with a backing band which went under various names, including Cliffie Stone & His Orchestra, Cliffie Stone & His Barn Dance Band, Cliffie Stone & His Hometown Jamboree Gang, Cliffie Stone & His Hepcats, and Cliffie Stone's Country Hombres. His 1955 hit, "The Popcorn Song", peaked at No. 14 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine's singles chart in 1955.

Personal life and death

By the 1960s, Stone was doing well in music publishing with his company, Central Songs; and for a short period launched a label called Granite Records. Stone's son, Curtis Stone, played in Highway 101. His first wife, Dorothy, died in 1989, and he married songwriter Joan Carol. Cliffie Stone died from a heart attack on January 17, 1998, at his

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

, home.

Chart singles

Guest singles

References

External links

*
Stone in the Country Music Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Cliffie 1917 births 1998 deaths American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Musicians from Stockton, California American radio personalities Television personalities from California Record producers from California Talent managers American music industry executives 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from California 20th-century American businesspeople People from Saugus, Santa Clarita, California Country musicians from California 20th-century American male singers