W LEE O'DANIEL-HAVE YOU EVER BEEN LONELY.wmv

Early life

O'Daniel was born in Malta, Ohio, and as a young child moved to Reno County, Kansas, where he lived on a cattle ranch. In 1925, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to work for Burrus Mills, a flour-milling company.

Radio fame

In the late 1920s, O'Daniel assumed responsibility for the company's radio advertising. To that end, he wrote songs and hired a group of musicians to form an old timey band. Originally called the Light Crust Doughboys, notable musicians such as Bob Wills got their start with O'Daniel. After the Doughboys split up, O'Daniel formed the Western Swing band Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys. The new group was named after O'Daniel's Hillbilly Flour Company. The show extolled the values of Hillbilly Brand flour, the Ten Commandments and the Bible.

O'Daniel's noontime radio show not only gave him his nickname "Pappy" after a catchphrase used frequently on air, "pass the biscuits, Pappy" it also propelled him into the public spotlight. By the mid 1930s, W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel was a household name in Texas. As a national magazine reporter wrote at the time: "At twelve-thirty sharp each day, a fifteen-minute silence reigned in the state of Texas, broken only by mountain music, and the dulcet voice of W. Lee O'Daniel."

Political career

Governor

In 1938, he ran for governor of Texas as a Democrat. O'Daniel's campaign hailed his flour and the need for pensions and tax cuts. He promised to block a sales tax and raise pensions. O'Daniel won the Democratic party primary election easily with 51% of the vote over 12 opponents. In office, he proposed a new sales tax, which was voted down by the Texas Legislature. He handily won re-election in 1940. In both elections, his main competition came from Texas Railroad Commissioner Ernest O. Thompson, the former mayor of Amarillo.

Senate

In 1941, O'Daniel ran for the United States Senate in a special election. He defeated Lyndon Johnson by 1,306 votes in one of the more controversial elections in state history. His victory made him the only person to ever defeat Johnson for elected office. As a senator, O'Daniel was ineffective, and most of his legislation was defeated. He endorsed the anti-Roosevelt Texas Regulars in the 1944 presidential election. O'Daniel refused to run for another term in 1948, but ran for governor of Texas in 1956 and 1958 and claimed that the Brown v. Board of Education decision was part of a communist conspiracy. He finished third in the Democratic primaries both times.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• MUSIC
• COUNTRY
• LEE
• O'DANIEL

[palapescada]

Thank you so much for posting this and stirring so many fond memories! I can remember as a little child listening to Pappy O'Daniel's radio show I think it was about the late 30's.

[oldtexasmusic]

@palapescada Glad you like it. I have several 15 minute radio shows posted with The Hillbilly Boys and Lee's son as the MC. Give em a listen.

[jtls8]

Excellent version of this Marcus! Thank you!!!!

5*****s

[oldtexasmusic]

@jtls8 You're welcome, James.

[bigdogmaniac72]

I like it. Old sound and a good old song. Thanks Marcus

[oldtexasmusic]

@bigdogmaniac72 Yeah, I like them old sounds too.

[oldtexasmusic]

@BABSINUK LOL!!! Yes, it was written in 1932 so many have had a chance to record it.

[BABSINUK]

Hi,Happy sounding tune,but with a sad undertone in the lyrics,I would think the world and his dog,knows this song.