Leodie Jackson Born:  May 20, 1926 Died:  September 20, 1995

About The Artist Leodie was born in Blocker, Oklahoma. His parents were Benny and Zella Jackson. A site providing information about his death indicated he started his own band back in the Kiowa area of Oklahoma, playing the steel guitar. His brother Leon was also part of that band. We first learned of Leodie while archiving some black and white negatives in our collection and started to see what information could be found about his musical career. He played in the Los Angeles / Hollywood hillbilly music scene during the 1940s. He did make a name for himself. The Bigsby guitar company ran an ad in 1949 in the old Jamboree magazine that listed him among several steel guitar players of that era - Joaquin Murphy, Noel Boggs and Speedy West. We have found a few photos of Leodie and his Bigsby steel guitar playing with Cotton Henry and Bob Armstrong at the Nordondo Club which was on Redondo Beach Boulevard in Gardena, California. After the owner died, the family sold the building / property. Later on, Leodie formed his own group and did a couple of recordings for the Courtney (slogan was "Music you Feel") label as Leodie Jackson and his Swingsters. The images we have seen of the Courtney label for Leodie's recordings show the label's address was 1424 East 78th Street in Los Angeles, California. Those recordings can be found on re-issue CD's today. Leodie Jackson passed away in 1995 and was buried near his hometown area in Oklahoma. Credits & Sources Jamboree Magazine; March 1949; Drawer 1731; Ventura, CA Jamboree Magazine; May 1949; Drawer 1731; Ventura, CA Jamboree Magazine; June-July 1949; Drawer 1731; Ventura, CA Get The Music British Archives of Country Music

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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)   Courtney Rec. No. Side Song Title   104 A Ramblin' Oakie   104 B Steelin' The Blues   137 A That Naggin' Wife Of Mine   137 B Double Crossin' Mama