Stan Anderson and the Blue Rhythm Boys Nebraska Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame (2001)

About The Artist Stan Anderson and the Blue Rhythm Boys have the distinction of being one of the first groups to bring country and western music to the viewing audiences in midwestern and southwestern Nebraska over KHOL-TV, Channel 6 and 13 out of Holdrege, Nebraska. Channel 6 was what they call a relay station at hays Center that allowed the sation to cover southwest Nebraska, eastern Colorado and north central and northwest Kansas. The entertainers listed as part of this band are all in the Nebraska Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame. The group was a regular feature on two of the shows that aired over KHOL-TV. One was the "Midwest Jamboree" that aired weekly "live" from 10:30pm to 12 midnight. The show had sponsors such as Siddlers Furniture Outlet and Tom and Jerry's Appliance. It was on the air from the middle 1950s to 1959. Another show the group was featured on was the "Hayloft Frolic" show. This aired on Monday nights on the same channel. Stand Anderson was the leader of the group. He was known to play a fine "Chet Atkins" style guitar and vocals similar to Hank Snow. Stan was born in 1935 and lived in the Gothenburg area of Nebraska nearly all his life. Dick Hill was the group's rhythm guitar player as well as a vocalist. He has been a part of country and western music as a disc jockey and as an entertainer since 1947. He got his start on radio station KBRL out of McCook, Nebraska while he was still in high school. Dick also had a group while being a part of the "Blue Rhythm Boys" - "The Drifting Troubadours". Dick and his group appeared each Sunday afternoon over KRVN in Lexington, Nebraska from the Trailer Sales in Hastings via remote broadcast. Later on, Dick was a disc jockey at KHAS radio in Hastings and part of the "Gorden Whitten and the Western Wanderers" group. Clyde Storey played what they call the "dog house bass fiddle". They said he could make that bass fiddle do what he wanted it to do in spite of the fact that it was bigger than him. Roger Pope was their accordion player and handled the lead and background on the songs the band did. He was also featured on all the polkas and waltzes the band played. He later had his own group called "Almost Country" that played out of the Grand Island / Hastings area and played electric keyboard. Larry Magner played the fiddle and sang harmony vocals. He was only 17 when he joined the band. When Larry left the "Midwest Jamboree" and "Hayloft Frolics" shows, he started working with "Hadley Barrett and His Westerners" in North Platte, Nebraska. Later on, he moved back to Hastings and for a while had his own group called the "Countrymen". Bob Ayers joined the group as their drummer and also did vocals. After leaving the Blue Rhythm Boys, Bob started his own group and worked in the Hastings, Nebraska area more than 25 years. He was also a songwriter and recorded several of his songs. Timeline and Trivia Notes Group Members included: Stan Anderson, leader, vocals, guitar Dick Hill, rhythm guitar, vocals Clyde Storey, bass fiddle Roger Pope, accordion Larry Magner, fiddle, harmony vocals Bob Ayers, drummer and vocals

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