Hillbilly-Music.comThe People. The Music. The History.
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About The Artist Leon Roget Payne was born in Wood County, Texas - a small town named Alba. His sight was impaired at an early age and when he was seven years old, he attended a school for the blind. He developed an early love and enjoyed singing. Then he learned to play the guitar. He continued to learn and began entertaining friends, too. He graduated from high school when he was 18 and started then to strive for a life in the music business. Leon was quoted in one magazine article in 1951 of his start: "My first job was with a small carnival. It wasn't the best paying job in the world, but it was a start." But his talent was such that his first job led to others and more offers. In fact, he got offers to appear on radio stations in St. Louis, Dallas, Houston and other cities. He had some aims as an entertainer - one was said to play the Palace as most 'vaudeville' entertainers wanted to in New York. Another was to appear on WSM's Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Leon became a songwriter of note. One of the all time country music classics was his tune, "I Love You Because". By 1951, he was playing and entertaining folks in the Houston, Texas area with his band, the Lone Star Buddies. Leon got married along the way - married his childhood sweetheart - whom he first met when he was in grammar school. One of Leon's aims was to make enough money from his songwriting to eventually retire from live performing and have his wife read a good book to him once in a while. He recorded for the Bullet, Capitol and Decca record labels that we know of along the way. Timeline and Trivia Notes Group Members included:
Credits & Sources
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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
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