'Beverly Hillbillies' Singer Dies at 93

Yahoo Entertainment - AP Music ^ | December 9, 2004

[bd476]

LOS ANGELES - "Jerry Scoggins, who sang "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" that introduced the comical Clampett clan on "The Beverly Hillbillies," has died. He was 93.

Scoggins, the lead singer of the Cass County Boys, died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Westlake Village.

In 1962, the country and western singer was working as a stockbroker and singing on weekends when he was asked to record a theme song for the pilot of the television series starring Buddy Ebsen (news).

Bluegrass stars Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs played guitar and banjo on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" while Scoggins sang the lyrics.

The song and series were instant hits, and the ballad made the national hit parade in 1963.

The series, which ran on CBS from 1962 to 1971, was ranked as TV's No. 1 program in its first two seasons and drew up to 60 million viewers at its peak.

Scoggins was retired when he read in 1993 that 20th Century Fox was planning a movie version of the series. He called the studio and was put through to music supervisor Steve Smith, who told him, "Criminy I didn't know you were still around."

The studio had wanted Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson to sing the theme for the movie, but director Penelope Spheeris held out for Scoggins.

"I wanted to keep as much familiarity in the movie as I could find, and that was a key part: people's familiarity with his voice," she told the Los Angeles Times in 1993.

Scoggins estimated that by the movie he had sung "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" more than 1,000 times since first recording it.

Scoggins was born in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and began singing and playing guitar on Dallas radio in the early 1930s. In 1936 he formed the Cass County Kids with John "Bert" Dodson and Fred Martin.

Gene Autry (news) changed the group's name to the Cass County Boys when he hired them in 1946 for his Melody Ranch radio program. They worked with Autry for 12 years on radio and television, and performed in 17 of his movies.

The group also recorded and performed on TV with Bing Crosby (news) in the early 1950s.

The Cass County Boys were inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in 1996. They also received a Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Scoggins, a widower, is survived by two daughters, Judy Headley of Santa Barbara and Jane Kelly of Westlake Village; five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter."

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The Ballad of Jed Clampett

lyrics and music by Paul Henning

 

Come 'n listen to my story 'bout a man named Jed

Poor Mountaineer barely kept his family fed

An' then one day, he was shootin' at some food,

An' up thru the ground came a bubblin' crude.

Oil that is! Black gold! Texas tea!

 

Well, the first thing ya know, Jed's a millionaire

Kin-folk said, "Jed, move away from there." Said

Californy is the place y'oughta be, so they

loaded up the truck, and they moved to Beverly.

Hills that is! Swimmin' pools, Movie stars!

 

Ol' Jed bought a mansion. Lawdy it was swank

Next door neighbor was pres'dent of the bank,

Lotsa folks objected, but the banker found no fault,

'Cause ol' Jed's millions was a-layin' in the vault

Cash, that is! Capital gains, Depletion money!

 

Well now it's time to say goodbye to Jed and all his kin

An' they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin' in.

You're all invited back again to this locality,

T'have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality.

Hillbilly, that is! Set a spell, Take your shoes off!

Y'all come back, here!

Copyright 1962 by Carolintone Music Company, Inc.

[Joee]

I don't know whether this will work or not, but may he RIP

http://www.discoverynet.com/~ajsnead/allsongs_1/bevrlyh.html

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Quick Time link for "The Ballad of Jed Clampett"

[Pharmboy]

Well, Jerry, as my country cousin used to say: "Make yourself t' home."

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Cass County Boys - 1996 WMA Hall of Fame Members

	secret text
		Cass County Boys 1996 WMA Hall of Fame Members
			The Cass County Boys are known to a generation of Americans who listened to them on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch radio program from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s and saw them in at least eleven Autry movies and ten of his TV shows during that period. They appeared in several Western films with Charles Starrett and Tex Ritter as well. They recorded for Decca, made transcriptions for the World Broadcasting Service and made five telescriptions for the Snader Company. The composition of the group, which was formed in the latter part of 1936, remained the same throughout their careers. The group consisted of lead singer Fred Martin (accordion), tenor Bert Dodson (bass) and baritone Jerry Scoggins (guitar). Initially, Martin and Scoggins were singing duets on Dallas radio. They invited Dodson, who was playing bass with the Light Crust Doughboys, to join them. Martin was from Cass County, Texas. Scoggins and Dodson were also from Texas. An announcer dubbed them the "Cass County Kids". Each was an outstanding performer in his own right; Martin was a popular radio performer, Dodson was a superb bass player (much in demand as a studio musician) with a beautiful tenor voice, and Scoggins sang the lead in the popular "Beverly Hillbillies" TV theme, among other things. But we remember them most fondly as the Western trio that was always characterized by superb musicianship and smooth harmony. 1996 was the 60th anniversary of the group's formation. (By O.J. Sikes)
secrettext

[the invisib1e hand]

Two best shows in my lifetime: Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies (in that order).

[r9etb]

Yeah, but it's cleaned up some from the SNL skit Bel Airabs, which was a satire on the "Abscam" scandal of the early 80s.

In the episode the song ran thusly:

"So they loaded up the Rolls and moved near Beverleeeee.... Belair, that is. Big houses. Swimmin' pools. Jews."

[reagan_fanatic]

How sad.

Another legend passes on to the Great Beyond. The Beverley Hillbillies are one of my all-time favorite shows, along with Green Acres.

[FBD]

do you have the entire song?

[reaganaut]

Does anyone know if there is a C&W/Bluegrass ping list? If not, i'll start one. I just don't want to be redundant.

[reaganaut]

RIP Jerry. I spent many hours singing along with you as a child.

[MeekOneGOP]

bump! :^)

[bubbleb]

Thanks for the ping---brought back childhood memories. Mr. Scroggins will be remembered for using his talents to bring pleasure to many.

[MeekOneGOP]

Both are great shows.

[RightWhale]

How can a banjo player increase the gas mileage on his car?

[hobbes1]

just damn. First Dimebag Darrel, now this... : (

[floriduh voter]

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Me too!

[floriduh voter]