Gilliam, Les 2009-09-25
Les Gilliam talks about how he came Back to music after singing as a teenager And how he opened up the Museum for the man that his town was renamed for; Gene Autry
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: Les Gilliam
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: September 25, 2009
Location: Gene Autry, Oklahoma
Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson
Length: 00:57:11
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1:
Music Festival, Final year for the festival, Early life, Dad was killed, Mom had to split the children up, He went to live with his grandparents, Knew Gene Autry really well, 1941, 35,000 people moved because they changed the name, To Gene Autry, OK, Mom sold buffalo burgers, His sisters gave free sticks of gum to people, Double Mint Wrigleys, They sponsored his radio show, Pearl Harbor, Few days later WWII, Gene Autry did a weekly television show, Started making shows, 91 motion pictures, Walk of fame, Gene Autry- fit all the categories, Story, Will Rogers came in and heard him play, Autry’s land was next door to Gilliam’s grandparents land, Siblings, Three girls, Two boys, He is the youngest, They raised everything that they ate, Does not remember the dust storms, Mom- post master, Age 42 first times his mom had running water, Ardmore, Mom played piano, 1951, H.B Hudson, Uncle lived in Lubbock, Uncle Roy lived in little field, Uncle H.B took him to the radio station, KDAB, The cotton club- he was able to sing there, The Maines Brothers- the originals, 1952, Uncle took him to Dallas, The Gaborone, College, 2 years at Murray College, Oklahoma A&M- now Oklahoma State, Oklahoma 1955- CD, Western Swing music, Hank Thompson, He became a student rep. of both schools, Dallas, 1956, Been married 53 years, Lived in Denton, Wife got a degree, The crowed changed to rock n roll music, Wrote a song for groovy Joe Poovy, Rock a Billy singer, Helped drive executives around during the Pure Country film, Job, 38 years in the computer business, Once he and his wife (Martha) retired, He has been doing music full time, About 15 years, He does about 100 shows a year, Johnny Western, Nebraska and Kansas, A lot of publicity, Silver Dollar city, Half solo and half with the band, Band, Smiley Williams, McIntire kids, Reba’s family, His fiddle player got Parkinson, What’s next, Just enjoying the ride, 15 albums, Repeat business or referral, Museum, To celebrate the history of the town, Willie Johnston, Western Singers and movie stars, Gene Autry memory.
Tape 1, Side 2:
Johnny Western, Embarrassed of his little crowd, Johnny is the reason that this festival is a success, He got “big names” every year, Future of Museum, Worried about how it will continue, With out the festival every year, Stories, Mr. Gilliam just tells Andy a few stories about visiting his Uncles in Lubbock, H.B – a bails bond man in Lubbock
Access Information
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Recording Format Notes:
Transcript: No transcript available
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