Yodeling Slim Clark

Born in Massachusetts under the name Raymond LeRoy Clark, Yodeling Slim Clark stood among the leading vocalists in cowboy and western music throughout the 1940s. He later recalled deciding on a career as a cowboy singer by age eight and developing his guitar playing and vocal style solely by listening to records. Professional work began for him in 1937 with performances throughout central Massachusetts. Regular appearances on WKNE in Keene, New Hampshire, started in 1941, and five years later he launched his recording career on the Continental label. Most of those sessions featured Clark alone, delivering vocals, yodels, and guitar. The repertoire drew chiefly from traditional cowboy and folk numbers, together with several Wilf Carter songs and original material often written with Pete Roy. From 1952 to 1967 he hosted radio and television programs on WABI in Bangor, Maine. Four singles appeared on Doc Williams’ Wheeling label in 1953, followed by an album for the Canadian Arc label. In 1965 he recorded several excellent albums for Palomino records before gaining recognition as a painter of woodland scenes.