Biography
Charline Arthur refused to conform to expectations. Country music of the 1950s rarely welcomed brash, suggestive songs from women, still less from one who ignored directives issued by her label and booking agents. Despite repeated attempts to rein her in, she maintained her approach. Her volatile disposition made collaborations tense, most notably with producer Chet Atkins. Even so, her recordings often displayed striking power. In several respects she anticipated rockabilly through her gritty, blues-infused hillbilly sound and her unrestrained live performances. She became the first woman in country music to appear onstage wearing pants, a choice that allowed her to move freely across the boards. Although her major-label tenure lasted only three years with RCA, her catalog later attracted a devoted audience, demonstrated by Bear Family’s 1986 compilation Welcome to the Club.
Born Charline Highsmith on September 2, 1929, in Henrietta, Texas, the future singer grew up as the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher and first performed in church during her school years. At age seven she saved money from returning bottles and purchased a six-dollar guitar. Drawn to the hardcore honky-tonk style of Ernest Tubb, she composed her initial song, “I’ve Got the Boogie Blues,” at twelve. While still a teenager she began appearing on a local Texas radio program. In the mid-1940s she secured a place on a traveling medicine show, yet her parents barred her from touring; she responded by marrying Jack Arthur, who would later contribute bass to her studio sessions.
By the late 1940s she was working the honky-tonk and nightclub circuit throughout Texas, which produced a Bullet Records single coupling “I’ve Got the Boogie Blues” with “Is Love a Game.” After that release she and Jack relocated to Kermit, Texas, where she took a job as a radio DJ. She soon organized her own band and built a local following through club dates and broadcasts. In 1950 she cut another single for the independent Imperial label. During this period Eddy Arnold and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, caught one of her performances. Impressed, they steered Julian and Gene Aberbach, proprietors of Hill and Range publishing, to the singer. The Aberbachs arranged a publishing agreement and secured her an RCA contract in 1953.
Early in 1953 Arthur entered the studio for her first RCA session, backed by musicians that included Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins. The RCA affiliation brought appearances on the Louisiana Hayride, the Big D Jamboree, and the Ozark Jubilee. She frequently shared bills with Elvis Presley, whose mother counted herself among Arthur’s admirers. Recognition grew; in 1955 she finished second to Kitty Wells in Country & Western Jamboree magazine’s DJ poll.
Difficulties nevertheless mounted. Although she performed on the “Prince Albert” segment of the Grand Ole Opry, several of her selections were turned down for being overly suggestive. After Steve Sholes, Chet Atkins assumed production duties at RCA, and the two clashed repeatedly. None of her releases achieved commercial traction. When her contract lapsed at the close of 1956 she moved to the Colin label, where results remained equally disappointing. Around the same time her marriage to Jack ended.
Arthur subsequently formed a trio with sisters Betty Sue and Dottie, yet the venture produced little success. By 1960 she was penniless. She relocated to Salt Lake City, where she encountered Ray Pellum, a nightclub and record-label proprietor who arranged a steady engagement for her in Chubbuck, Idaho. She also recorded for his Eldorado imprint during this period. In 1965 she traveled to California. Between 1965 and 1978 she issued material on the small Rustic, Wytra, and Republic labels under the management of Alice M. Michaels. Debilitating arthritis prompted a return to Idaho in 1979; she remained there until her death in 1987. Arthur lived to witness the reappearance of her RCA recordings on Germany’s Bear Family label in 1986.
Born Charline Highsmith on September 2, 1929, in Henrietta, Texas, the future singer grew up as the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher and first performed in church during her school years. At age seven she saved money from returning bottles and purchased a six-dollar guitar. Drawn to the hardcore honky-tonk style of Ernest Tubb, she composed her initial song, “I’ve Got the Boogie Blues,” at twelve. While still a teenager she began appearing on a local Texas radio program. In the mid-1940s she secured a place on a traveling medicine show, yet her parents barred her from touring; she responded by marrying Jack Arthur, who would later contribute bass to her studio sessions.
By the late 1940s she was working the honky-tonk and nightclub circuit throughout Texas, which produced a Bullet Records single coupling “I’ve Got the Boogie Blues” with “Is Love a Game.” After that release she and Jack relocated to Kermit, Texas, where she took a job as a radio DJ. She soon organized her own band and built a local following through club dates and broadcasts. In 1950 she cut another single for the independent Imperial label. During this period Eddy Arnold and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, caught one of her performances. Impressed, they steered Julian and Gene Aberbach, proprietors of Hill and Range publishing, to the singer. The Aberbachs arranged a publishing agreement and secured her an RCA contract in 1953.
Early in 1953 Arthur entered the studio for her first RCA session, backed by musicians that included Floyd Cramer and Chet Atkins. The RCA affiliation brought appearances on the Louisiana Hayride, the Big D Jamboree, and the Ozark Jubilee. She frequently shared bills with Elvis Presley, whose mother counted herself among Arthur’s admirers. Recognition grew; in 1955 she finished second to Kitty Wells in Country & Western Jamboree magazine’s DJ poll.
Difficulties nevertheless mounted. Although she performed on the “Prince Albert” segment of the Grand Ole Opry, several of her selections were turned down for being overly suggestive. After Steve Sholes, Chet Atkins assumed production duties at RCA, and the two clashed repeatedly. None of her releases achieved commercial traction. When her contract lapsed at the close of 1956 she moved to the Colin label, where results remained equally disappointing. Around the same time her marriage to Jack ended.
Arthur subsequently formed a trio with sisters Betty Sue and Dottie, yet the venture produced little success. By 1960 she was penniless. She relocated to Salt Lake City, where she encountered Ray Pellum, a nightclub and record-label proprietor who arranged a steady engagement for her in Chubbuck, Idaho. She also recorded for his Eldorado imprint during this period. In 1965 she traveled to California. Between 1965 and 1978 she issued material on the small Rustic, Wytra, and Republic labels under the management of Alice M. Michaels. Debilitating arthritis prompted a return to Idaho in 1979; she remained there until her death in 1987. Arthur lived to witness the reappearance of her RCA recordings on Germany’s Bear Family label in 1986.