Sept. 1: "Boxcar Willie" would be 79 today...

... he died in April, 1999 from leukemia.

Born Lecil Travis Martin in Sterret, Texas, Lecil sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. His stage name Boxcar Willie came from a character in a ballad he wrote and sang.

Martin attended a talent show in San Jose, California and performed under the nickname "Boxcar Willie"


for the first time. He won first place, a $150 prize and the nickname stuck. Music was only a part-time gig; he was in the Air Force and flew missions every day in the early 1950s.

In 1976, Martin left the Air Force and became a full-time performer. He became well-known thanks to a series of television commercials for recording artists who were not well-known in the U.S. including Slim Whitman and Gheorghe Zamfir. Eventually his own singing career took off, and he become a country music star in his own right, selling more than 10 million records, tapes and CDs. In 1981, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry as its 60th member.


In 1985, Martin moved to Branson, Missouri and purchased a theater on Highway 76, or 76 Country Music Boulevard. In addition to the Boxcar Willie Theater, he opened a museum and eventually had two motels, both bearing the name that made him famous - "Boxcar Willie."

Press links below to view You Tube videos:
-- "Hobo Heaven"
-- "Train Medley"
-- "Winds Of Yesterday"

Sept.1: Tommy Evans of the "ever-drifting" Drifters is 83 today.

The Drifters, known for classics including "Up on the Roof," "Under the Boardwalk," might not have been singing about romance and as much as a way to get away from legal entanglements, threats and line-up changes that plagued the group over the years. In the '50s, there was so much acrimony there were two groups named the Drifters, one dubbed "The Original Drifters" who didn't do much more than perform in clubs before splitting up. It's as if the group did more drifting apart than singing together. (At one point a group named The Drapers had more members from the Drifters than the Drifters did.)

Still, at different times, the group featured legendary names including Clyde McPhatter, Johnny Moore and Ben E. King.


Tommy Evans first joined the group in mid-1956 and again in 1958. Singing bass, he was a member when they scored the top ten hit, "Fools Fall in Love" that same year (number 69 Pop and number 10 R&B) and "Drip Drop" the following year. Tommy Evans. Evans had been with the group in mid-1956 and again in 1958. In 1963, he was back for his third stint as bass of the Drifters .Evans left in 1963 after "Up on the Roof" and "On Broadway."

As an aside, the blues guitar you hear in "On Broadway" was played by record producer  - and future convicted murderer - Phil Spector.

Even after he left the group, Tommy Evans occasionally showed up at Drifters recording sessions or did overdubbing on Drifters recordings - including "Under the Boardwalk," although there is no official proof of this.


-- "There Goes My Baby" (Featuring Ben E. King)
-- "Up on the Roof" 

-- "On Broadway"