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About The Artist
Dolpha was born and raised in the town of Red Bush in Johnson County. Dolpha called it "a little town nestled in the foothills of the Cumberlands." When he finished his schooling, he was a school teacher in Johnson County for five years. He moved to Catlettsburg and won an election as city clerk. Dolpha worked first as a city clerk for Catlettsburg. Later, on he became their chief of police. Newspapers of that era do paint a glowing picture of Dolpha. When he won the nomination for city clerk in 1917, they wrote, "...Young Skaggs is a hustler from start to finish, besides being a clean, sober upgright citizen and is sure to win in November." A reader wrote a letter to the editor of the Paintsville Herald and told readers a bit more about young Dolpha. He lost his father when he was young, but he went forward and scored a 92 percent on the State Board questions that led to him being a teacher for five years. The writer went on, "If elected as City Clerk in November, we feel assured he will conduct himself and do the work in a manner that the good citizens of Catlettsburg will never regret trusting him with the office."
In 1928, he made the news as chief of police for Catlettsburg. He and a patrolman sustained gun shot wounds in a incident of trying to arrest someone. In Decemember 1929, the Catlettsburg police arrested 90 people,including 55 on charges of drunkedness. Dolpha, the chief of police, reported $2,230 in fines were assessed to the city council. Little is mentioned of his musical involvement except in promo ads or in short blurbs. The Skaggs family reunion in September 1931 was attended by over 1,500 at the Bethel Camp grounds, about 3 miles east of Louisa. It was the first such reunion. The article mentioned that Dolpha brought a string band from Catlettsburg as one of two musical groups providing entertainment. In June of 1931, a local newspaper article tells readers that the group was organized by Dolpha Skaggs as a church orchestra and played at the Second Baptist Church in Hampton City. It was not long before the group's name spread. The group was given an opportunity to do a broadcast over radio station WSAZ in Huntington, WV. They were almost an instant hit with listeners and began to do regular broadcasts over that station. In 1931, a picture show the members at that time were Dolpha Skaggs, announcer; Marion McCoy, violinst and instructor; Ted Alley, guitar; Henry Alley, mandolin; Vernon Alley, tenor banjo; and, Charles Wiggington, guitar. All of them were living in Catlettsburg at the time. It should be noted that later research discovered that Charles Wiggington's name as spelled in this article and others was incorrect; his name was Charles Wigington.
During its broadcasting infancy, the group composed what would become their theme song, "Big Sandy Train." How did that happen? The listeners. In that early era, artists would receive requests via mail at the radio station. Such was the numerous requests that came in for that song, it became their theme song. The group finished in first place after an eight week contest over WSAZ between ten orchestras. Listeners cast their votes by mail. The Mountain Melody Boys got over 5,000 votes. The runner-up in that contest only recived about 3,000 votes. In June of 1931, they were being heard on Tuesday evenings from 4:35pm to 5:00pm on WSAZ. Ann Tenney wrote in July of 1935 that they got 5,652 cards and letters during the contest. In 1934,they won one of the national titles at the Vanity Fair in Huntington and in 1935, their popularity got them a contract with the West Virginia Broadcast System. The Mountain Melody Boys were one of twelve bands to compete in a contest sponsored by the National Fiddlers Association on October 28, 1934, run by Larry Sunbrock. The band fiddlers and yodelers contests were held at noon, 2:30pm and 8:00pm. The twelve bands were:
Ann Tenney wrote a "Radio Brevities" column in the Ashland Daily Independent that provided details of Chief Dolpha Skaggs' and his Mountain Melody Boys. When they were airing over WCMI, the group received requests from listeners by mail. Chief Skaggs missed one of the radio broadcasts on July 3, 1935. But listeners were given a surprise when a new member was introduced. It was a gentleman by the name of Ed McCafferty, who had been playing the mandolin for "...a mere twenty-three years but is an expert nevertheless." Slim Clere handled the announcing chores in Chief Skaggs' place. The Mountain Melody Boys on this broadcast were Slim Clere, Charlie Wigington (they got his spelling right this time), Wimpy Alley and Ruey (Curley) Collins along with Ed McCafferty. Ms. Tenney asked Dolpha if he had any hobbies. His answer was basically, "...if he liked any thing better than radio work and "gum shoeing" he didn't know what it was." The Sandy Valley Grocery company sponsored a train to the 1934 Century Of Progress Exposition in Chicago, IL. Over 2,000 made the trip. It left Pikeville, KY at 8:00 on Wednesday September 5 and arrived in Chicago that night around midnight. It was said to the largest, private special train to go to the exposition. Radio station WSAZ reported the progress of the train each hour during the day. Additional coaches had to be added to the special train to accommodate the demand for tickets. The Ashland High School band with more than 50 members were on board. Earle Powell and his ten sons of Paintsville were on the train. There was to be a Sandy Valley Banquet on Saturday night at the Hotel Knickerbocker. The train to Chicago and the return trip on September 13 included Mr. McCarthy of the Axton-Fisher Tobacco Co. of Louisville who supplied cigarettes for all who cared to smoke. At the banquet in Chicago, a pack was placed to the side of each person's plate. William Wrigley, Jr. kept guests supplied with chewing gum as did the Orbit Gum Company of Chicago. Earl Powell and his Ten Aces of Paintsville, the Mountain Melody Boys of Catlettsburg, the Gibson Girls of Ironton and the Ashland High School Band provided the entertainment. A number of clowns were also on the train. His work as a policeman also gained him some notoriety. He once travelled some 5,000 miles tracking down a murderer over five states that led to his capture and got him a big reward on his capture and conviction and life's sentence. That led to his picture appearing the April (1935) issue of the "True Detective Stories" magazine.
  
 
 
 
 
 
Band members of the Mountain Melody Boys and the approximate years they were part of the band.
Randolph (Dolpha) Skaggs died on March 1, 1942 due to coronary heart disease at the age of 53. News reports indicate he hdad been ill for two months prior to his passing. His funeral service was to be held at the Missionary Baptist Church in Hampton City, TN. He served two terms as Chief of Police (1928 to 1936). He served as city clerk for several years prior to that. In the years prior to his death, he was in the restaurant business. One article stated, "As organizer and business manager of a gorup of radio entertainers known as the Mountain Melody Boys, Mr. Skaggs travelled extensively throughout this section and was widely known." At one time he was married to Millie V. Skaggs; she passed away on February 8, 1920. He married again to Bessie Ward; she was married to James E. Stanley when she passed away in 1998. He was survived by a son, Emil Skaggs of Catlettsburg and a daughter, Erma Lee Skaggs. He was buried in the Catlettsburg Cemetery.
Credits & Sources
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The Mountain Melody Boys were a group out of Catlettsburg, KY. They were led
by Dolpha Skaggs, but he did not play a musical instrument or sing.
In deed he did win the election in November as the Republican party made a clean sweep
of the major offices of Mayor, Police Judge, City Clerk and City Attorney.
In July of 1935, Ann Tenney provided insight into the early history of this group.
She wrote that the group started in 1927 by Catlettsburg's Chief of Police, Adolpha Skaggs.
He was serving as superintendent of the Catlettsburg Baptist Sunday School.
Ann writes that the group then included Clarence (Slim) Clere as announcer and violinist;
Henry Alley, banjoist; Charles Wigginton and Ruey (Curley) Collins, guitarists.
Ann goes on to state that the group made their radio debut in February of 1928 over
WSAZ in Huntington, WV and were on the air continously since that time.
