Ethmer Cletus "Slim" Rhodes (April 27, 1912 – March 10, 1966) was 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 ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

guitarist and vocalist popular during the 1940s and 50s with his band, Slim Rhodes and His Mountaineers.

Biography

Ethmer Cletus "Slim" Rhodes, the son of James K. Polk Rhodes and Amanda Elizabeth Patterson Montgomery, was born in

Poughkeepsie, Arkansas Poughkeepsie (Pronounced locally as Pow-keeps-ee) is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Sharp County, Arkansas, Sharp County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in south central Sharp County, one mile south of the S ...

. In 1928, he formed a band with brothers Gilbert Ray ("Speck"), Perry Hilburn ("Dusty") and sister Helen Beatrice ("Bea"). The group was later dubbed the Log Cabin Mountaineers by a Missouri state senator who invited them to play for the state legislature. Slim was M.C. and played guitar; Dusty played fiddle; Bea played fiddle, mandolin and accordion; Speck played the bass fiddle, banjo, and did comedy (and in 1960 joined

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Por ...

's band). The Rhodes family toured from Missouri to California and back, playing in theaters. From 1938–41, the group was heard on KWOC-AM in

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County, Missouri, Butler County in southeastern Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 ...

and often performed at the Mid-South Fair. Other members at the time were Buddy Simmons and Tiny Little. Starting in 1939, "Slim Rhodes & The Mother's Best Mountaineers" were heard daily on WMC-AM in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

at 11:30 a.m. on the South Central Quality Network, sponsored by Mother's Best Flour. The group also had a weekly Saturday show over WMC-TV in Memphis from 12–12:30 p.m. By 1953, they also had a 30-minute live show on KATV-TV in

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

every Tuesday. Other members included Brad "Pee Wee" Suggs (electric guitar), who recorded on Meteor Records and later for Phillips International on his own; and Danny Holloway (steel guitar). In 1950, Rhodes was signed by Gilt-Edge.

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

in Memphis signed the group from 1955–58, recording a mix of country and rockabilly. Rhodes acquired an Elvis Presley sound-alike vocalist, Sandy Brooks; releasing the rockabilly "Do What I Do" and "Take and Give". Between 1955–57, Rhodes was a frequent part of Sun tours through the southern U.S. In 1966, he released the album, ''The Rhodes Show on the Road'' on the Cotton Town Jubilee label.''The Billboard'' (December 7, 1963), p. 14 Rhodes' radio and television and programs ended the mid-1960s. Slim died in 1966 from a fall in his Memphis home.

Discography

Notes

References

* Marsh, Dave, ''For the Record: Sun Records, An Oral History'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Slim 1912 births 1966 deaths People from Pocahontas, Arkansas Singer-songwriters from Arkansas American country singer-songwriters American rockabilly musicians Sun Records artists 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Arkansas