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About The Artist
Jimmie Osborne: The Kentucky Folk Singer Jimmie Osborne was borne in 1923 in Winchester, Kentucky. He grew up loving to sing and play the guitar. His dad bought him a fiddle, but Jimmie asked him to take it back and trade it in for a guitar. He got his guitar and a neighbor helped him learn some chords and from that point on, Jimmie Osborne's star began to rise. After graduating from high school in 1940, Jimmie married a pretty little blonde by the name of Margaret Lacy. Around the same time, he entered an amateur contest at a nearby high school and won first place, which soon got him a job on WLAP in Lexington, Kentucky. In I946 Jimmie got his first big break and moved to KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, the home of the Louisiana Hayride. He worked there with the Bailes Brothers and traveled some 50,000 miles making personal appearances throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. He quickly became one of the leading folk singers in the Gulf coast area.
Jimmie did quite a bit of disc jockey work in his time that he spent on radio station WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky. His show was quite a hit with the listeners since he tended to play the songs they most wanted to hear. In September 1947, Jimmie landed a recording contract with King Records in Cincinnati, Ohio where his first recording, "My Heart Echoes" made it to Number 10 on the Billboard Juke Box Survey. Other hits he had included: "Mom Is Dying Tonight", "A Vacant Sign Upon My Heart", "Tears of Saint Ann", "God Please Protect America", and perhaps his all-time greatest recording, "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus", the tragic, true story of a little girl who suffocated in an abandoned well in San Marino, California. Mr. Osborne received some 2,000 fan letters within three days of the song's release for air play.
Yet in the midst of all Jimmie Osborne's life, there was a mystery that no one knew what led him to taking his own life. He seemingly had it all, good, popular, upbeat. The books at the authors' disposal have little or nothing about him or his life, from which one might postulate a conclusion.
Back then, he had just joined WVLK in Lexington, KY. In talking about his career and early attachment to the guitar and music, Jimmie was quoted, "...my success is just a big dream come true." He had started with The Kentucky Mountain Barn Dance that was held in Lexington, KY every Saturday night on January 1, 1951. He was expressing aspirations to stay there a while during that interview. He said: "I've got some real friends in Kentucky, and I would hate to ever leave them. However, it's kind of hard to tell what state is the best, for every place I've been, folks have been swell."
For information regarding Jimmie Osborne recordings, you may write to:
Get The Music
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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
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| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 1363 | A | Blue Days And Lonely Nights | ||
| 1363 | B | Invest Your Little Heart In Mine | ||
| 1412 | A | Married On Paper | ||
| 1412 | B | When You Told Me That You Love Me, How You Lied | ||
| 1484 | A | Too Many Friends | ||
| 1484 | B | You Can't Sometimes Hardly Ever Tell | ||
| 1501 | A | Victims Of An Innocent Dance | ||
| 1501 | B | A Sinner's Love Affair | ||
| 715 | A | My Heart Echoes | ||
| 715 | B | Your Lies Have Broken My Heart | ||
| 725 | A | Forever Far Apart | ||
| 725 | B | It's So Hard To Smile | ||
| 736 | A | Mom Is Dying Tonight | ||
| 736 | B | A Vacant Sign Upon My Heart | ||
| 768 | A | Son, Please Meet Me In Heaven | ||
| 768 | B | Not Unloved Nor Unclaimed | ||
| 788 | A | The Death Of Little Kathy Fiscus | ||
| 788 | B | A Bundle Of Kisses | ||
| 817 | A | Your Lovin' And Huggin' | ||
| 831 | A | Forever And Ever | ||
| 831 | B | I'm Gonna Strut My Stuff | ||
| 863 | A | What A Price To Pay For Love | ||
| 863 | B | You're The Only Angel | ||
| 878 | A | You Get The Roses, I Get The Thorns | ||
| 878 | B | Helpless Heart | ||
| 893 | A | The Moon Is Weeping Over You | ||
| 893 | B | God, Please Protect America | ||
| 908 | A | Old Family Bible | ||
| 908 | B | Thank God For Victory In Korea | ||
| 926 | A | The Door To My Heart | ||
| 926 | B | No Longer An Orphan | ||
| 942 | A | My Saddest Mistake (Took My Son From Me) | ||
| 942 | B | No Bitter Tears | ||
| 958 | A | I Hate To Be Jealous | ||
| 958 | B | Tell Me Daddy | ||
| 971 | A | The Arm Of God | ||
| 971 | B | He'll Come Like A Thief In The Night | ||
| 988 | A | Voice Of Free America | ||
| 988 | B | It's Just A Habit | ||
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Voting Member of:
When Jimmie Osborne, the very popular "Kentucky Folk Singer" died
on December 26, 1958 of self-inflicted gun wounds at the age of 35,
he left behind a great void in the world of country music which
is still mourned today—more than 37 years after his passing.
Later in his career, he performed on WSM's Grand Ole Opry in Nashville,
Tennessee; WLS' National Barn Dance in Chicago as well as on WLW in Cincinnati,
Ohio and WGRC in Louisville, Kentucky.
Jimmie wrote most of his own songs, and until his death, he recorded exclusively
for King Records and wrote for the Lois Music Publishing Company. He wrote other songs
such as:
An article in an old Country Song Roundup magazine back in June 1951
said Jimmie was a "...wiry guy, with a smile that lights up his
whole face, a smooth singing voice, a knack for playing a good
guitar and a keen sense of originality."
British Archives of Country Music
British Archives of Country Music