HECK HARPER SHOW - featuring Ray Montee

Heck Harper TV Show on KGW-TV in 1964!

Skipper Montee - 4 neck Bigsby
Johnny Fuhrman, fiddle (deceased)
Don Baterri, accordian
Steve Malnachuck, bass
Ernie Cutshall, percussion (deceased)
Hector Flateau (Harper), guitar (deceased)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Steel Guitar
• Bigsby

[RayMontee]

I never heard Heck sing this song except on one or two occasions at a dance.

Quite familiar with the Sunnyside Inn........played there with him on one or two occasions. I always understood his name was Hector Flateau?

[RayMontee]

Thank you for viewing and responding. We did our best and were considered to be professional musicians and tried always to look the part. Again, thanks for listening to the music and for taking the time to correspond. Ray

[repugnus]

I'd really like to see a video of him singing that birthday song. My family has sang it at birthdays since I was a little kid, but I've never heard the actual Heck Harper version.

[RayMontee]

I'm not sure I know what birthday song you're referring to. The only one I can think of was a tune recorded by Grady Martin & His Slew Foot Five.......called "Happy Birthday" and it was on most all juke boxes across this great land. We did that from time to time at clubs but it wasn't really a TV song.

[RayMontee]

Always enjoyed working with Heck. I knew his g'tars were to one day be placed on display but was never sure where that was. THANK YOU for the info'.

[JeffW77]

Wow...great memories of Heck Harper. Thank you.

[Kramnosnits]

I didn't hear Hecks Happy Birthday song, but I've played it many times on stage.

As a child, I hardly ever missed this show and in the early 1980's I met Heck at the Sunnyside Inn where he was doing a sitdown gig...without the western wear. His real name is/was? Lester Flatus.

[steinsteel]

My Mother think you look like a Highly Schooled Opera Singer sitting playing the steel guitar.

My mind is on that steel. Great Playing

[vevajean]

I found this looking for the Birthday song. I should write to KGW and encourage a Heck Harper Birthday song video.

[Rknbkr12]

@Rknbkr12 - I'm sure someone in the broadcast world has something available. I know stations have changed, but all stations archive - perhaps KGW TV still has something they'd share. Good luck!

[repugnus]

@Clover4film

My dad was on the show too. I haven't met any one else outside my family that sings that song, so it's good to know there's other people out there singing it too, haha.

[repugnus]

@Rknbkr12

Yup, that's the song. My family still sings it at every birthday party we have.

My folks few up in Portland and said they used to watch him play it on TV. I'd love to hear or see an actual version of it at some point.

[Clover4film]

@repugnus - Me too! I went to a birthday party recently where everyone sang that song, and I was surprised, because I've found that only people who grew up in Portland, Oregon know that version. So one other person there had grown up in Portland and taught it to his family. We always sang it when I was a kid; everybody did. And I was on the Heck Harper TV show when I was a kid. I'd like to see some old footage of that show, but I haven't found any so far.