Biography
"Smiley" Wilson entered the world as Hamilton K. Wilson in Etowah County, Alabama, and completed his early education in the area surrounding Gadsden. He joined Tex Bynum's Rogers County Cowboys at age 17 before spending the next two years alongside Gene Durnel's Rio Grande Rangers. His 1947 schedule included regular broadcasts on WBXL in Peoria, Illinois, along with recording sessions for the Apollo label. By 1949 he had assembled his own outfit, the Range Partners, which operated from WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina, while he simultaneously appeared on the Louisiana Hayride originating in Shreveport. In 1950 Wilson laid down the track "Juke Box Boogie," a fiery specimen of early rockabilly that Ivin Ballen secured for his Gotham imprint without ever releasing it. That same year he also landed a part in the film Square Dance Jubilee, produced by Robert L. Lippert and directed by Paul Landres (Go Johnny Go), alongside Spade Cooley, Cowboy Copas, and The Tumbleweed Tumblers. Wilson further performed with the Circle 3 Ranch Gang.