Tex Atchison

A Kentucky born and bred fiddler and vocalist, Tex Atchison was a member of the extremely popular traditional country band the Prairie Ramblers during the '30s, but went out on his own as a sideman, singer, and songwriter after that. His knack at writing amusing drinking songs came in about as handy in the country music genre as lots of muscles at a body building contest. "Sick, Sober and Sorry" was one of the Atchison titles, written with songwriting partner Eddie Hazlewood that made for a classic bit of honky tonk for Lefty Frizzell. The background in the Prairie Ramblers was certainly the right launching pad for any player with versatility fueling their rockets. Created by four Kentucky boys -- harmonica whiz Salty Holmes, bassist "Happy" Jack Taylor, and mandolinist Chick Hurt were the other original members -- the group added female vocalist Patsy Montana in the early '30s. "Nobody's Darlin' but Mine," with beautiful passages from the left-handed fiddler, was a popular song during the Depression. In her second year with the group, Montana scored the first million-selling record ever by a female country artist: "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart." The song was typical of the cowboy infatuation that was a big part of the group's popularity, to the point where the members even made their entrances on horseback, probably not difficult for Shelby David Atchison, nicknamed "Tex." Speaking of which, the Western swing style largely associated with Texas became a big part of the Prairie Ramblers' evolving sound, and on his own Atchison triumphed at yet another new genre sprouting out of the country corn patch: rockabilly. The feel he had for the idiom is surprising considering that he had already established his status as one of the great fiddlers from the pre-war era of...