The Wilburn Brothers were an American

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 ...

duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003).

Biography

The brothers were born in

Hardy, Arkansas Hardy is the 2nd oldest city in Sharp and Fulton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 770 in 2024. Geography Hardy is located at (36.320553, -91.480645). The Spring River, which begins in Mammoth Spring, flows throu ...

. They first attracted attention as child performers, beginning in 1937, in an act called The Wilburn Children;Diekman 2007, p. 17.

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

discovered them and brought them to the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

in 1940. Due to federal

child labor laws A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...

, the Wilburns were forced to leave the Opry after six months. After growing up, they continued to travel and were regulars on the similar ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

'' program in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

from 1948Hefley 1992, p. 177. until 1951. After the family act disbanded, and the brothers served stints in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, they continued in 1953 as The Wilburn Brothers touring with

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country singer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. His hits including " If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, Die ...

and

Webb Pierce Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American country music vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number-one hits than any other country and western pe ...

.Carlin 2003, p. 429. They signed with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

in May 1954, and had their first hit record the same year, backing

, on "Sparkling Brown Eyes." Other notable hits include "Go Away With Me" (1956), "Which One Is To Blame" (1959), "Trouble's Back In Town" (1962), "It's Another World" (1965), and "Hurt Her Once For Me" (1967). In 1956, the Wilburns were offered the chance to record "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" before

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. After hearing the song they decided against recording it, describing it as "strange and almost morbid". In addition to being successful artists, the Wilburns formed the Sure-Fire Music Publishing Company (with

Don Helms Donald Hugh Helms (February 28, 1927 – August 11, 2008) was an American musician who was the steel guitar player of Hank Williams's Drifting Cowboys group. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1984). Biography Helms was a featu ...

) in 1957,Bush, Mitchell 2007, p. 91. as well as the Wil-Helm Talent Agency in the early 1960s. They were instrumental in launching the careers of many country musicians, most notably

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

,Ellison 1995, p. 175. whom they signed to their music publishing company. Lynn was the "girl singer" of the Wilburns' touring show between 1960 and 1968,Hoffman, Ferstler 2004, p. 637. and she made weekly appearances on their syndicated television show from 1963 to 1971. They also helped develop the career of

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

between 1973 and 1975, by having her tour with them on weekends and during school breaks. The Wilburn Brothers had a syndicated television program, ''The Wilburn Brothers Show'', that ran from 1963 to 1974, with 354 half-hour episodes produced. Reruns can still be seen on the cable network

RFD-TV RFD-TV is an American pay television channel owned by Rural Media Group, Inc. The channel features programming devoted to rural issues, concerns and interests. The channel's name is a reference to Rural Free Delivery, the name for the United St ...

and in the UK on

Rural TV Rural TV was a rural lifestyle and culture television channel, broadcast internationally. It was launched on March 2, 2009, replacing Pulse +45mins. It merged with FamilyNet in 2013. Background Rural TV, known as "The World's Rural Channel", wa ...

. They were Opry members from 1953 until the time of Doyle's death from lung cancer on October 16, 1982 (at age 52). Teddy continued with the Opry as a solo artist, until his death on November 24, 2003, of congestive heart failure, just six days before his 72nd birthday. They are both buried in the

Nashville National Cemetery Nashville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Madison, a suburb of Nashville, in Davidson County, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of the end of 2 ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Discography

Albums

Singles

Footnotes

References

* Bush, Johnny – Mitchell, Rick (2007), ''Whiskey River (Take My Mind): The True Story of Texas Honky-Tonk'', University of Texas Press * Carlin, Richard (2003), ''Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary'', Taylor & Francis * Diekman, Diane (2007), ''Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story'', University of Illinois Press * Ellison, Curtis W. (1995), ''Country Music Culture: From Hard Times To Heaven'', University Press of Mississippi * Hefley, James C. (1992), ''Country Music Comin' Home'', Hannibal Books * Hoffman, Frank W. - Ferstler, Howard (2004), ''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound, Volume 1'', CRC Press

External links

* Allmusic entry. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilburn Brothers, The American country music groups American country music duos Grand Ole Opry members Four Star Records artists Decca Records artists People from Sharp County, Arkansas Musical groups established in 1954 Sibling musical duos