Betty Nan Carroll (left) and Donna Baker at the local senior citizens’ center.
The following is an article I wrote for the local newspaper that will be published next week.
UTM Grad Shares Stories of Her Father’s Life in Music
Imagine growing up in a world in which you viewed people like country music’s Roy Acuff, Stringbean, and Grandpa Jones as friends instead of the musical icons they were. Imagine spending Friday and Saturday nights in a dressing room entertaining yourself or playing with Johnny Cash’s daughter while your father is performing on stage as part of the Grand Ole Opry. Imagine seeing your father every Saturday on WTVF’s Hee Haw and accepting it as a normal life.
Imagine that your godfather was Roy Acuff.
If you can imagine this, you can grasp what Donna Phelps Baker’s growing up years were like. The 1982 UTM graduate and Nashville resident returned recently to Martin to be a part of a speaking series offered at the Gateway Senior Citizens Center.
The Tennessee History series began in July, under the supervision of Becky Hames, activities director. Topics have included historical events like the Battle of Shiloh and historical places like The Ryman in Nashville.
When local retired teacher Betty nan Carroll was asked to do a presentation on The Ryman Auditorium, she agreed and reached out to Baker, fellow retired teacher and member of Alpha Delta Kappa, to be a part of the program on July 25. Carroll’s presentation included the history of the famous building and its builder as well as how the building was used over the years for revivals, public speakers, and performers. Baker’s part of the program involved her father and how he came to be an important part of the Nashville music scene.
It’s possible you may not recognize his name. Although he released six albums on Nashville’s Starday record label, he is more recognized than known to a generation of Hee Haw viewers from 1972 until 1988. Jackie Phelps was an accomplished musician and singer whose journey into the music business began at a young age while growing up in Virginia.
“He was born in October of 1925,” Baker said. “The same month and year that the Grand Ole Opry started.”
Like many of that time, the native of Holland, Virginia grew up poor but learned to play a pedal steel guitar and an acoustic “flat-top” guitar which allowed him to perform locally at venues like grocery stores. Encouraged by others to audition for Bill Monroe, who is considered to be the father of bluegrass music, he traveled to Norfolk to do so and was rejected. Later, however, when a band member quit, Monroe contacted him and asked him to join the group.
The year was 1947, and it wasn’t long until Phelps was drafted to serve in the military. He was sent to Korea but never saw combat. Instead, his role was to drive officers, including generals, to their destinations. When they learned he could sing and play music, they asked him to perform, thereby enabling him to continue to develop his craft.
Upon his return to civilian life, he continued to play with Bill Monroe’s band occasionally but secured a spot with Red Foley’s band. While touring with Foley in Springfield, Missouri, he was smitten by the cute girl selling tickets to the event and in 1949, he married the girl named Lois. He and his bride moved to Nashville where he did studio work, but his travels did not stop.
By this time, Phelps could play the banjo in addition to the guitar, and he began his tenure of working with Roy Acuff, a tenure that included performing in Bob Hope’s USO tours. The entertainers spent ten to 12 weeks at a time going to places like Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. “Wherever there was an American military base in southeast Asia, they performed there,” Baker said.
No doubt he experienced some close calls while in southeast Asia, but it was on U.S. soil that the most famous one occurred. Having performed in Kansas City, Phelps and Jean Shepherd were offered a ride on a small plane to return to Nashville, but Shepherd was eight months pregnant and not allowed to fly, so Phelps drove her back to Nashville.
That plane crashed near Camden, Tennessee, killing Patsy Cline and “Hawkshaw” Hawkins.
Another tragedy hit close to home when Phelps’s close friend, the musician, songwriter, and comedian known as “Stringbean” was murdered in his home along with his wife. “She was shot in the back,” Baker said. “It was brutal.” Phelps was devastated by the loss and served as honorary pallbearer at Stringbean’s funeral.
Phelps’s repertoire of fellow performers, in addition to those mentioned, include Porter Waggoner, Jean Shepherd, and even studio work with Elvis Presley. But his most lucrative and steady work began when Archie Campbell and a Hee Haw producer discovered Phelps and Jimmy Riddle one night doing rhythm skills known as “eefing” and “hambone.” Two weeks after auditioning, the two men signed a contract that lasted for Phelps from 1972 until his retirement in 1988.
In 1989, he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 1990. His close friend Grandpa Jones served as an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. He was inducted posthumously into Hazard, Kentucky’s Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in 1990.
The Tennessee History series will continue through October, and a schedule of dates and times is available on the Gateway Senior Citizens Facebook page and the City of Martin Facebook page, or you can go by the center and pick up a calendar. The next scheduled topic is August 15 at 10:00 A.M. when Pam Harris will share stories and information about Graceland.
That is the end of the article, but I hope it intrigued you to look him up on YouTube and other sites. Baby boomers likely watched Her Haw and may recognize Phelps.
This week’s recipe was one I got from my mother-in-law who read magazines and searched the Internet regularly for new recipes to try. She was an amazing cook and wonderful person who was loved by all who knew her. I couldn’t have asked for a better mother-in-law.
Sunny Vegetable Salad
5 cups fresh broccoli, chopped
5 cups fresh cauliflower, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup chopped onion (I like red onion for this)
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup sunflower kernels
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons apple or red wine vinegar (I use the red wine vinegar)
6 bacon stripps
Instructions:
Cook bacon strips until crisp. Remove to paper towel to cool and allow extra grease to be absorbed.
In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. In a large bowl, combine chopped vegetables, raisins, and sunflower kernels. Stir well, then add dressing from smaller bowl. Add shredded cheese and stir well to mix all ingredients. Crumble bacon and top salad with bacon crumbles. Serve immediately or refrigerate until time to serve. Note: If I am not going to serve immediately, I wait to add the crumbled bacon until ready to serve.
Life As I know it 