Thelma (The Carolina Sweetheart)

About The Artist Thelma the Carolina Sweetheart was entertaining folks in South Carolina back in 1953. And had earned their affections for several years by then. She was 28 when she was doing her songs then. Her first radio audition nearly scared her to death over at station WGTN in Georgetown, South Carolina. She said her knees were knockin' so fast they would have beat time to a tune as good as a bass fiddle. But after the second tune in her audition, she had herself a job. At first she was doing a show at 6:30am each morning for fifteen minutes. But they changed her show to the 12:30pm slot so more folks could hear her. Later on, she got a featured spot from 1:00pm to 2:00pm daily show that was called the "The Carolina Sweetheart and her Hillbilly Jamboree." Thelma's 13 year old daughter, Mary Alice, would sing on the show once in a while, too and the audience constantly kept requesting her to appear. And she did, whenever school didn't get in the way. At that time, she was writing some songs and hoped to find someone to record them. But was also hoping to ink a recording contract. Credits & Sources Cowboy Songs Magazine No. 25; March 1953; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT.