The Cass County Boys: Bert Dodson on bass, Freddy Martin on Accordian, Jerry Scoggins on guitar.
Posted on 12/09/2004 9:41:11 AM PST by 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.
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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."
God Bless Jerry Scoggins. God Bless and comfort his surviving family members and friends.
What a voice, and what a talent.
Sad bluegrass/CW news Ping.
Pickin'-and-Grinnin'-at-the-Pearly-Gates bump.
I didn't know the series lasted until the early 70s. I thought it just ran for like 4 or 5 years. Must have been weird for the actors to see the strife and turbulence of the late 60s/early 70s when their show represented the idyllic period of the 50s and early 60s.
Sad news and a Texas native prayer Ping.
Yep. His voice accompanied by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, just awesome.
Yep, idyllic, charming and G rated.
".... then one day he was shootin' at some Jews, and up from the ground came a-bubblin' crude. Oil that is. Black Gold. Texas Tea. Kuwait Koolaid...."
LOL, is that true? That's great. If you could verify that, it would be good to know. :)
Ping....
May he rest in peace. Prayers out for his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. He'll be with his wife again.
The Cass County Boys: Bert Dodson on bass, Freddy Martin on Accordian, Jerry Scoggins on guitar.
I always wondered how old "Granny" was when she was on the show. She seemed about 93 to me at the time. Thanks to the Internet I can now see that she was born in 1902 and was therefore only 60 when the show began. She lived to the age of 71. Buddy Ebsen was only 6 years younger but lived to be 95.
Let me tell ya a little story 'bout a man named Jed.
Flatt and Scruggs are my favorite Bluegrass pickers. They can flat tear up Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
Sad.
I think they were guests one time on the show.
Rock and Roll PING! email Weegee to get on/off this list (or grab it yourself to PING the rest)
Pardon this non-r&r, still music related exception, PING...
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