Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
Joe Taylor
and His Red Birds
Born:  May 11, 1921
Died:  March 24, 2011
WGL Hoosier Hayride
WGL Fort Wayne, IN

About The Artist

Joe was a native of Portsmouth, Ohio and later when he was 16, his family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1948, he formed a band called the Indiana Redbirds that became pretty popular in the area. They were featured over the airwaves of WGL in Fort Wayne every Saturday from noon to 1:00pm. They offered a variety of entertainment for their listening fans. The group often do appearances that the infamous Buck Lake Ranch.

Joe Taylor was known as "The Cowboy Auctioneer". Other members of the Inidana Redbirds included an 18 year old accordionist, Patti Corbat. She could also do square dance calls, twirl the baton and provided some of the vocals. Connie "Cheeseburger" Smith provided expertise on the spanish and steel guitars. They termed Bill Allen a 'three-in-one' entertainer as he could play three instruments - bass, guitar and harmonica. And to round out the group's musical sounds, they had Gene Davis who provided good old fashioned hoe down fiddling. When Gene and Patti teamed up on a square dance, things got to moving in the halls where they performed.

Timeline and Trivia Notes

Group Members included:

  • Joe "The Cowboy Auctioneer" Taylor
  • Patty Corbat, accordion
  • Connie "Cheeseburger" Smith, spanish and steel guitar
  • Bill Allen, bass, guitar and harmonica
  • Gene Davis, hoe-down fiddler

Credits & Sources

  • Cowboy Songs No. 21; July 1952; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT

Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)

 
Emerald
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  9999 A My Sweet Eleanor
  9999 B My Gal's A Square Dance Caller