Autry Inman

Born Robert Autry Inman on 6 January 1929 in Florence, Alabama, the musician died on 6 September 1988. Displaying talent early, he took up guitar at five and assembled the Alabama Blue Boys at twelve. Local radio broadcasts featured his performances, and by the mid-1940s he had joined the roster of the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree. His 1947 debut on the Grand Ole Opry led to an acquaintance with Cowboy Copas; two years later he joined Copas’s Oklahoma Cowboys on bass, remaining until 1950. He then spent the following two years alongside George Morgan. Signing with Decca Records brought a number 4 country success in 1953 with “That’s All Right,” although subsequent releases on the label yielded no comparable results. Sessions for RCA-Victor spanned 1958–60, followed by a 1960 United Artists single and a 1962 Mercury outing, none of which registered on the charts. During 1961 he launched his own Lakeside imprint and issued a live collection. “The Volunteer,” cut for Sims in 1963, climbed into the country Top 25. Jubilee issued two risqué live sets the next year. A patriotic recitation titled “The Ballad Of Two Brothers,” built around strains of the “Battle Hymn Of The Republic,” returned him to the charts in 1968, peaking at number 14 country and number 50 pop. Screen appearances included A Face In The Crowd in 1957 and Music City USA in 1966. Additional albums appeared, yet no further chart entries materialized.