Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
Cecil Campbell
and his Tennessee Ramblers
Born:  March 22, 1911
Died:  June 18, 1989
KDKA Pittsburgh, PA
WBT Charlotte, NC
WCKY Cincinnati, OH
WHAM Rochester, NY
WHAS Louisville, KY
WSB Atlanta, GA

About The Artist

Cecil Campbell was the leader of the Tennesse Ramblers (refer also to a separate writeup of the Tennesee Ramblers). They were RCA Victor recording artists for many years, having started with them in 1934 and were still with them by 1951.

Cecil earned a reputation as a steel guitar player and as you might know, some of his popular tunes had a Hawaiian flavor to them, such as "'Neath Hawaiian Palms", "Hawaiian Skies", "Little Hula Shack In Hawaii", and "Hawaiian Moon". He could also handle the banjo, guitar and vocals.

In the early 1950s, they did an unusal number called "Spooky Boogie". Cecil was looking for an "...unusual hollow type of rattling sound designed to send cold chills rushing down the spine." He couldn't find that sound on the musical instruments. But as fate would have it, one of the members of the Tennessee Ramblers had false teeth and that mysterious sound that appears on the tune "Spooky Boogie" was made by a pair of chattering false teeth. The flip side of that disk was another unusual tune called "Steel Guitar Dig." That record was the follow up to his "Proud Papa Polka" and "Serenade To The Winds."

By 1951, Cecil was living in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Katherine and their daughters, Joretta Kay, and Linda Lee. From there, he traveled to New York for his recording sessions usually. The Southern Attractions Booking Agency kept him busy performing in the south.

Credits & Sources

  • Country Song Roundup No. 12, June 1951, Charlton Publishing Corp., Derby, CT.

Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
 
RCA Victor
Rec. No. Side Song Title
  20-1874 A Beaty Street Blues
  20-1874 B North Carolina Skies
  20-2024 A Campbell's Steel Guitar
  20-2024 B I Trusted You
  20-2155 A Last Night I Cried
  20-2155 B Little Hula Shack In Hawaii
  20-2303 A She's Got The Cutest Eyes
  20-2303 B Steel Guitar Hop
  20-2404 A Hawaiian Moon
  20-2404 B It's Gonna Come Home To You
  20-2531 A Hawaiian Dreams
  20-2531 B Talk, Talk, Talk
  20-2669 A Neath Hawaiian Palms
  20-2669 B Put Some Meat On Them Bones
  20-2807 A Don't Call Help
  20-2807 B Tryon St Boogie
  20-2918 A Southern Special
  20-2918 B Whose Blues Are You Now?
  20-3116 B Please Daddy, Don't Drink No More
  20-3239 A I'm A Henpecked Man
  20-3239 B Time Will Tell
  20-4325 A Carolina Steel Guitar
  20-4325 B No Wedding Bells For Me
  48-0169 A No Blues, No Blues For Me
  48-0169 B One Little Flower