Jack Guthrie

Leon Jerry "Jack" Guthrie (November 13, 1915 – January 15, 1948) was a songwriter and performer whose rewritten version of the Woody Guthrie song "Oklahoma Hills" was a hit in 1945.[1] The two musicians were cousins.[2]

Jack Guthrie
Birth nameLeon Jerry Guthrie
Also known asOke (to friends)
Born(1915-11-13)November 13, 1915
Olive, Oklahoma, US
DiedJanuary 15, 1948(1948-01-15) (aged 32)
Livermore, California
GenresWestern swing
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1940s
LabelsCapitol

Early life

Born in Olive, Oklahoma, he was a cousin of Woody Guthrie.[2] He grew up around horses and musical instruments before the family moved to California in the mid-1930s, where he took on the nicknames "Jack", "Oklahoma", and "Oke".[2] He competed in rodeo as a bucking-horse rider and in 1937 traveled with Woody to Los Angeles where they landed on The Oke & Woody Show on KFVD radio in Hollywood.[2]

Career in music

Guthrie's rewritten version of a Woody Guthrie song "Oklahoma Hills" (Capitol 201) reached No. 1 in 1945, staying on the charts for 19 weeks.[1] The b side, "I'm A Brandin' My Darlin' With My Heart", reached No. 5 later that year. At the time the record became a hit Jack Guthrie was in the U.S. Army and stationed in the Pacific Theater. As soon as he got out of the service he wrote and recorded more songs, played live gigs up and down the West Coast. In July 1947 he was admitted to a hospital with tuberculosis. He died in 1948 in Livermore, California.

Guthrie's style was influenced by Jimmie Rodgers and adapted to fit his cowboy image.[2] Although the labels listed 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans' as the artist, in reality Guthrie had no working band. The studio brought in some of its better musicians to back Guthrie. Many of them, like Porky Freeman, Red Murrell, Cliffie Stone, and Billy Hughes were recording artists in their own right.

Discography
Year Part # Titles Notes
Capitol Records
1945201Oklahoma Hills // I'm Brandin' My Darlin' Within My Heartas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
1946246I Loved You Once But I Can't Trust You Now // When The Cactus Is In Bloomas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
1946309I'm Tellin' You // Chained To A Memoryas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
1947341Oakie Boogie // The Clouds Rained Trouble Downas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
1947406You Laughed And I Cried // It's Too Late To Change Your Mindas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194740012This Troubled Mind O' Mine // I'm Building A Stairway To Heavenas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194748005Shame On You // Oklahoma Hills (B-side by Jimmy Wakely)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194740032Please, Oh Please // Oklahoma's Callingas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194840075Ida Red // Next To The Soilas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194848016*Oklahoma Hills // When The Cactus Is In Bloom (reissues)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194848017*This Troubled Mind O' Mine // Chained To A Memory (reissues)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194848018*Oakie Boogie // Oklahoma's Calling (reissues)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194840118You're Gonna Be Sorry (Some Of These Days) // Bow Down Brotheras 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194815251In The Shadows Of My Heart // Answer To Moonlight And Skiesas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194815266Oklahoma Hills // Oakie Boogie (reissues)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194940131No Need To Knock Upon My Door // Look Out For The Crossingas 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
194940222Colorado Blues // Welcome Home Strangeras 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'
1952F2128Oklahoma Hills // Oakie Boogie (reissues)as 'Jack Guthrie & His Oklahomans'

note: (*) also released as part of the 3-disc 78rpm album set Oklahoma Hills: Jack Guthrie Memorial Album (Capitol AC-76).

Compilations
  • Oklahoma Hills (Bear Family BCD-15580, 1991)

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits, p. 146.
  2. Logsdon, Guy, "Guthrie, Leon Jerry "Jack" (1915–1948) Archived August 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture Archived May 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 26, 2010).

Bibliography
  • Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8230-8291-1
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