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Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
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About The Artist Boots Faye was born Grace Eloise Tartsch in Springfield, Missouri, the youngest of three girls. She grew up in a musical environment - her dad was a played several musical instruments including the guitar and fiddle. Her sisters however were not musically inclined.
Bobby Faye and Boots Faye, as the Faye Sisters on KWTO, would often get together to sing and play their guitars for pastime. At that time there was a weekly talent program called the Alfenbrau Hour in Springfield. One day they decided to audition for the show even though neither had performed outside their respective homes. They were accepted and sang one song. When they were through singing, they were told they had a phone call and it was Ralph Foster of KWTO who offered them a job as entertainers on the station."
While at KWTO they also did personal appearances with other entertainers from KWTO. During this time they appeared on as many as five shows daily on KWTO and often as early as 5 a.m. While on personal appearances they began singing as a trio with another KWTO entertainer, Jim West. The trio became a popular act with the audiences and KWTO gave the trio a programming slot of their own. When Boots' partner, Bobbie, got married, the act split up. From KWTO, Boots took her musical career to the legendary radio station in Shenandoah, Iowa, KMA, run by Earl May. She was there for nearly a year before she moved to San Bernardino, California with her family. When she got California, she had an audition with Foreman Phillips, who hired her as his new female vocalist. At the same time, a fellow in the band by the name of Roscoe Krawl, who's stage name was Idaho Call took a liking to her and eventually they were married. During that time, Boots recorded on a private label, "Callfaye", which was probably named for the two of them and located in San Bernardino, too. They also had a publishing company called Krawl Publishing. She later recorded the same tunes for the RCA Victor label and also went on to record on Capitol records also. Along the way, the hooked up with Ted Daffan's Texans. Idaho Call (or sometimes spelled Idaho Kawle) can be heard as vocalist on some of those singles by Ted's group such as "Shadown On My Heart" and the 1945 hit, "Headin' Down the Wrong Highway". While Idaho Call and Boots Faye never performed on the famed WSM Grand Ole Opry, their children did treat the two of them during a trip to Nashville in 1987 where they were able to see the Grand Ole Opry in person. Boots and Idaho were also doing some songwriting. The 1950s article mentions that Boots had written such tunes as "Cry, Cry, Cry" and "Leave It To Jesus." Later on, she and Idaho co-wrote such tunes as "Baby Sitter Blues" and "Crying My Heart With the Blues." On the personal side, Boots was married to Idaho in 1945. He passed away in 1993. They were the parents of four children. Credits & Sources
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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
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An early 1950s article tells us that though she was the youngest in the family
of singers, she was the first to make it a profession. Life found
them in Springfield, Missouri when she decided to form a duet team
with a friend (Mary Genevie Brayfield "Bobby Faye") and called themselves the Faye Sisters and earned
a spot on the staff of KWTO in Springfield. While at KWTO, Boots was
also a part of a female group that KWTO billed as the Hillbilly Belles.
"They worked at KWTO for two years. They toured with
the Weaver Brothers and Elviry Show through several
states. They returned to KWTO in 1940, where they
stayed until 1943 except for a brief stint on KMA in
Shenandoah, Iowa.