in the January '57 issue of 'Country & Western Jamboree':
"Noel Boggs' guitar
playing talent has brought him into every phase of show business. He has had
his own band, performed on radio, TV, in films and has helped design the double-neck
steel guitar now widely used throughout the country. Born in Oklahoma City
on November 14, 1917, Noel began his guitar playing during his junior years
in high school. Upon his graduation in 1936, he joined his first traveling
band, covering the southern and eastern states with that outfit. Returning
to Oklahoma City in 1937, Noel joined the staff on radio station WKY doing
an early morning show and other spots throughout the day. In 1941, he formed
his first band with which he entertained at the Rainbow Room for three years
when he received a call from Bob Wills in Hollywood inviting him to join the
Wills orchestra. [] With Bob Wills, he recorded his first disc for Columbia.
The following year, Noel again formed his own outfit. In June 1946, Noel joined
Spade Cooley at the Santa Monica Ballroom. This was to be a long run, but
when just getting settled, the show was booked for a three-month tour and
covered 18,000 miles in the forty-eight states. When the show got back to
Hollywood, it appeared on TV over KTLA holding a Saturday night spot for six
years."
That pretty well summed up Noel's career up to that point. A self-taught jazzer, he was the only one of three children in the Boggs family to show an interest in music. In 1935, he went to work for various radio stations in Oklahoma City. His idol then was Leon McAuliffe who, of course, played steel in Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Nine years later, in July of 1944, Noel would replace Leon in Bob Wills' band. Prior to that, in 1939, he met Hank Penny and cut his first recording session with him in a Memphis hotel room.
That pretty well summed up Noel's career up to that point. A self-taught jazzer, he was the only one of three children in the Boggs family to show an interest in music. In 1935, he went to work for various radio stations in Oklahoma City. His idol then was Leon McAuliffe who, of course, played steel in Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Nine years later, in July of 1944, Noel would replace Leon in Bob Wills' band. Prior to that, in 1939, he met Hank Penny and cut his first recording session with him in a Memphis hotel room.
To be continued soon..............................
© PAUL VIDAL * Privas, France * April 2002
