Music: American Roots
Bakersfield music pioneer Cliff Crofford dies
Reprise: Cliff Crofford & Billy Mize: Tell Him No - 1959
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Cliff Crofford, a renowned songwriter and entertainer with a local connection, died Sunday.
A private family viewing will be held Friday in Ontario, according to Draper Mortuary.
Crofford was one of the pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound. He was a prolific songwriter and versatile musician who hosted both radio and television shows and wrote a number of songs for movies.
Born in 1929 in Rochester, Texas, Crofford found his way to Bakersfield while on a vacation to Reno in 1949.
Crofford stopped in Bakersfield after a friend suggested he meet fellow musician Bill Woods, according to Crofford's long-time friend Jiles Beam. Crofford decided to move to Bakersfield and joined Bill Woods' band, playing at Café 99 in McFarland.
They also had a radio show that ran five days a week on KAFY 500 AM.
Throughout his career, Crofford played in three bands, the Orange Blossom Playboys with Bill Woods, the Jimmy Thomason Band and the Beardsley Ball Room. He also appeared at several clubs in Bakersfield, including the Blackboard, the Clover Club and the Lucky Spot.
Crofford spent time playing clubs in the Los Angeles area and even toured with Johnny Cash through the Midwest.
Crofford made several TV appearances on the "Afternoon Show" and the "Jimmy Thomason Show." He also co-hosted "The Chuck Wagon Gang" in the mid 1950s.
Some of his greatest fame came from his work in movies, that included not only his songs, but appearance in Clint Eastwood's film "Every Which Way But Loose" and Burt Reynold's "Smokey and the Bandit II."
Crofford was 79.
Johnny Bond: Diggin' for Gold - 1950's
Johnny Bond, born Cyrus Whitfield Bond in Enville, Oklahoma, was a popular country music entertainer of the 1940's through the 1960's and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Bond got his first break working for Jimmy Wakely in the late 1930s and went on to join Gene Autry's Melody Ranch in 1940. He also acted on occasion in films like Wilson and Duel in the Sun and was later a regular on the 1950's Los Angeles country music television series Town Hall Party.
He is best known for his 1947 hit "Divorce Me C.O.D.," one of his seven top ten hits on the Billboard country charts. In 1965 at age 50 he scored the biggest hit of his career with the comic "Ten Little Bottles," which spent four weeks in the #2 position.
Bond's other hits include "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" (1947), "Oklahoma Waltz" (1948), "Love Song in 32 Bars" (1950), "Sick Sober and Sorry" (1951) and "Hot Rod Lincoln" (1960). He died of a heart attack in 1978, at the age of 63.
-Wikipedia
To Hear Your Banjo Play - 1947
Folk master Pete Seeger narrates Alan Lomax's documentary on the evolution and appreciation of American folk music. Special cameo performances include Woody Guthrie and Brownie McGhee, amongst many others.
Waterloo: Cliff Crofford & Billy Mize - 1959
In this clip multi-instrumentalists and all-around talents Cliff Crofford & Billy Mize perform rollicking, stomping rendition of Waterloo. From 1959, this number is another prime example of the world famous Bakersfield Sound.
