Utah Slim and Sweetheart Mary WJOB Hoosier Jubilee KWKH Shreveport, LA WDZ Tuscola, IL WIBC Indianapolis, IN WJOB Hammond, IN WNAX Yankton, SD (1947) KFEQ St. Joseph, MO (1949)

About The Artist Utah Slim and Sweetheart Mary were in real life known as James Albin and Mary Thompson Albin. Mr. Albin was born in Rosine, Kentucky and Mary was born in Indiana. The couple were married on September 11, 1939 in Effington, Illinois. They became radio entertainers, known as Utah Slim and Sweetheart Mary and kept at it for some 30 years. They began their professional music careers together at radio station WDZ in Tuscola, Illinois. Their popularity and talent then led them to WIBC in Indianapolis, Indiana. For a time, Sweetheart Mary sang with JImmie Davis' group. From there they worked with the Edwards Family which led them to Shrevesport, LA where they hooked up with the Rice Brothers Gang and KWKH. During 1946, they toured with the WLS Road Show with Patsy Montana. In 1947, their journey took them to WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota. The year of 1949 took them to radio station KFEQ in St. Joseph, Missouri where they spent several years. They were on the air about six days a week during that stint. They appeared on such shows as "MFA Roundup" at 11:45am and "Pony Express Roundup" at 2:00pm. They also had their own show at 2:30pm. While one article mentioned they had recorded a couple of tunes and written a few others, we've not been able to determine what label(s) those tunes were recorded for. They recorded "Dear Old Tennessee", "In Care Of The Angels", "I'm Going Back To The Ozarks", and "No Farther Away Than My Heart". Their songwriting talents included "The Letter I Never Mailed", "My Mother, My Dad, My Pal", and "I'm Happy Hollow Bound". When the couple decided to end their musical careers, they moved to Aurora, Colorado where James (Utah Slim) managed service stations for an unknown oil company. After he retired, he became a painter. James and Mary had two sons (Jerry and Tim) and two daughters (Pam and Robin). Credits & Sources Hillbilly-Music.com wishes to thank author / journalist Wayne W. Daniel for providing us with notes from past correspondence with Sweetheart Mary that helped us find a bit more details about this duo. The Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder; December 1941; Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder; New York, NY Cowboy Songs; No. 23; November 1952; American Folk Publications, Inc.; Derby, CT Denver Post; Obituaries; March 26, 1997; Denver, CO Rocky Mountain News; Obituaries; March 27, 1997; Denver, CO

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