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Doug McGinnis
WAYN Rockingham, NC


About The Artist

Doug McGinnis is first mentioned in a 1953 Cowboy Songs column featuring "Stars On The Horizon".

Doug has a unique place in country music history on the southern California scene. Doug owned a club in Los Angeles / Hollywood known as the Mule Kick Club on Lankershim Boulevard. Hank Penny later bought the club and renamed it The Palomino in 1949. The Thomas Brothers bought the club in 1952.

At that time, he was under contract to appear at a venue called "Hollywood Club" in L:ng Beach, California.

But his career began a bit after he was discharged from the U. S. Navy in 1946 and formed a trio working for no pay over radio station WAYN out of Rockingham, North Carolina.

His break came when "Little Beaver" of the Red Ryder series was in the midst of a tour in the southern part of the United States and wanted a trio act, which led to Doug's trio.

Later on, Doug's trio joined the Russ (Lucky) Hayden / Fuzzy Q. Jones show. But at the same time, Doug added a well-known act to his group as well - Jimmy Bryant who later hooked up with Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree.

On June 16, 1953, Doug was one of the headline acts appearing on a charity show put on by the Thalia Sorority of the Long Beach Polytechnic High School. The Master of Ceremonies was to be Carl "The Squeakin' Deacon" Moore. Other acts appearing were Carolina Cotton, Terry Preston (also known as Ferlin Huskey), Eddie Cletro, Tex Williams, Frank Simon, Sam Nichols, Jess Willard and Harry Rodclay. Billy Armstron and the Westernaires were going to back the acts. The show was held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium.

In 1956, Frank Armentaro reported that Doug had a show over KID-TV in Idaho Falls, Idaho along with Big Jim DeNoon.

In 1957, his fan club president, Elsie Wilson, was telling Country and Western Jamboree readers that Doug was appearing on television over WMFD-TV in Wilmington, North Carolina. His fan club president noted that fourteen girls had started a fan club for him a few weeks earlier.

Credits and Sources

  • Hillbilly-Music.com would like to thank Jason Odd from Australia for providing us with information about the Mule Kick Club / The Palomino
  • Cowboy Songs; No. 26; May 1953; American Folk Publications, Inc; Charlton Building, Derby, CT
  • Long Beach Press-Telegram; June 16, 1953; Long Beach, CA
  • Country and Western Jamboree; December 1956; Maher Publications, Inc.; Chicago, IL
  • Country and Western Jamboree; Winter 1957; Maher Publications, Inc.; Chicago, IL

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