Roy Claxton Acuff was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful. In 1952, Hank Williams told Ralph Gleason, "He's the biggest singer this music ever knew. You booked him and you didn't worry about crowds. For drawing power in the South, it was Roy Acuff, then God."
Knowles Fred Rose was an American musician, Hall of Fame songwriter, and music publishing executive.
Benny Edward Martin, was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the eight-string fiddle. Throughout his musical career he performed with artists such as the Bluegrass Boys, Don Reno, the Smoky Mountain Boys and Flatt and Scruggs, and later performed and recorded with the Stanley Brothers, Hylo Brown, Jimmy Martin, Johnnie and Jack, and the Stonemans, among others. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
Robert Harriot Barrat was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.
Lloyd Corrigan was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually mysteries such as Daughter of the Dragon starring Anna May Wong, before dedicating himself more to acting in 1938. His short La Cucaracha won an Academy Award in 1935.
Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independent label throughout its history, it has had several distributors.
Frederick Francis Sears was an American film actor and director.
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music was a multi-volume set of recordings released by the Smithsonian Institution. Released in 1981, the collection contains 143 tracks deemed to be significantly important to the history of country music.
Bill Edwards was an American film and television actor, championship rodeo rider, and artist. His film roles include Hail the Conquering Hero, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, and The Virginian. He is also known for his recurring role as Jonathan Kaye in the television series Hawaii Five-O.
George Alan Cleveland was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954.
Beecher Ray "Pete" Kirby, better known as Bashful Brother Oswald, was an American country musician who popularized the use of the resonator guitar and Dobro. He played with Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Morgan Wallace was an American actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1946, including W.C. Fields' It's a Gift (1934) where he persistently asks Fields for some "Kumquats". He supported Fields again in My Little Chickadee (1940).
Howdy Forrester, born Howard Wilson Forrester, was an American bluegrass fiddler and a popularizer and practiser of the "Texas" or "show fiddle" style. He was a long-time member of Roy Acuff's Smoky Mountain Boys.
Edward Keane was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1921 and 1955.
"No One Will Ever Know" is a song written by Fred Rose and Mel Forre. It was originally associated with country icon Hank Williams when it was issued as a posthumous single in 1957.
"Wreck on the Highway" is a classic bluegrass song most commonly associated with Roy Acuff.
Smoky Mountain Melody is a 1948 American musical Western film directed by Ray Nazarro, and starring Roy Acuff, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Russell Arms, Sybil Merritt, Tommy Ivo, and Jason Robards Sr. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on December 16, 1948.
Sam Flint was an American actor.
Whirlwind Raiders is a 1948 American Western film directed by Vernon Keays and written by Norman S. Hall. The film stars Charles Starrett, Don Reynolds, Nancy Saunders, Fred F. Sears, Doye O'Dell and Smiley Burnette. The film was released on May 13, 1948, by Columbia Pictures. This was the thirty-first of 65 films in the Durango Kid series.
"Freight Train Blues" is an early American hillbilly-style country music song written by John Lair. He wrote it for Red Foley, who recorded the song with the title "I Got the Freight Train Blues" in 1934. The tune was subsequently recorded by several musicians, with popular renditions by Roy Acuff in 1936 and 1947. Bob Dylan later adapted it for his self-titled debut album (1962).
