Jimmy Wakely

Jimmy Wakely ranked among the final performers to achieve film success in the singing-cowboy mold or to convert a Hollywood contract into lasting record-industry gains. Discovered and mentored by Gene Autry, he never matched his patron’s box-office draw or record sales, yet he built a durable crossover following whose smooth delivery and broad song choices appealed to both pop listeners and country & western fans.

Born James Clarence Wakely in Arkansas on February 16, 1914, he grew up in Oklahoma, where a string of odd jobs supported his musical ambitions until 1937. That year he joined Dick Reinhardt and Johnny Bond to create the Jimmy Wakely Trio. The group drew primary inspiration from the Sons of the Pioneers; their harmony and instrumental work secured a steady radio slot in Oklahoma City. Local notice led to an introduction when Autry played Oklahoma in 1940. Impressed, the star brought the trio to California, where they became fixtures on the Melody Ranch broadcast and began appearing in Autry’s Republic Pictures features. Although Wakely would later enjoy greater solo recognition, Johnny Bond was the first trio member to secure a recording contract, signing in 1941. Wakely obtained his own deal the following year after parting from Autry and scored his initial hit in 1943 with a version of Elton Britt’s wartime anthem “There’s a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere.”

Even during World War II the singing-cowboy formula pioneered by Autry retained strong appeal on the home front. With Autry in military service, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter maintained the screen tradition, and Monogram Pictures, Republic’s chief B-western rival, offered Wakely a contract in 1944. His debut vehicle, Song of the Range, proved modestly profitable and launched a five-year run before the cameras. Never as instinctive an actor as Autry or Rogers, Wakely nevertheless possessed an engaging voice, and his 28 Westerns performed adequately at the time. Parallel to this screen work, his recording career expanded through an uncommonly polished blend of country, cowboy, and pop material. The sequence opened with his own richly atmospheric “Song of the Sierras,” which showcased his voice in a deeper, more serious register. The first major crossover success arrived in 1948 with “One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart),” a poignant account of romantic entanglement that topped the country & western chart and reached the pop Top Ten. Wakely formed a particularly close association with honky-tonk composer Floyd Tillman; his cover of “I Love You So Much It Hurts” held the country summit for five weeks in 1949.

Producer Lee Gillette conceived the idea of pairing Wakely with vocalist Margaret Whiting, a collaboration that proved highly fruitful. Their debut duet, the infidelity-themed “Slippin’ Around,” established the pattern: Whiting’s bright delivery complemented Wakely’s relaxed, Crosby-like phrasing to near perfection. The single spent seventeen weeks at number one on the country chart and one week atop the pop chart; nine additional joint hits followed, among them “Wedding Bells” and “When You and I Were Young Maggie Blues.” Such momentum naturally translated into broader media exposure. In 1952 Wakely headlined his own CBS radio program, The Jimmy Wakely Show. After co-hosting the 1961 ABC television series Five Star Jubilee alongside Tex Ritter, he continued issuing recordings on Shasta Records, the mail-order label he established in the mid-1960s. Live performances with his son and daughter sustained his popularity through the 1970s until emphysema curtailed his activities; he died from the disease in 1982.