Chuck Harding and The Colorado Cowhands Born:  July 22, 1914 Died:  January 15, 1994 KWTX Waco, TX WHBQ Memphis, TN WJOB Hammond, IN WKRO Cairo, IL WMC Memphis, TN WMPS Memphis, TN WPAD Paducah, KY WREC Memphis, TN

About The Artist Chuck Harding's musical background was a bit different than most hillbilly musicians of the day. He was a trained musician and taught fretted instruments at the Chicago School of Music for three years. The Colorado Cowhands were a group of artists that were quite spread out in their roots. R.T. Mercer, was from Dyer, Tennesse and sang the 'more serious folk ballads' and Spanish guitar. Pee Wee Truehitt (or was it Truckett as mentioned in the caption with the picture?) was out of Waco, Texas. As they often said, he slapped the bass fiddle and offered the comedy parts of the act. Adrian Childress was from Knobel, Arkansas and played the fiddle and did vocals. Then there was Jerry La Masters who was a celebrated fiddle virtuoso and was said to have a remarkable breakdown style. The manager of the group was "Scotty" who was also Mrs. Chuck Harding. Around 1950, the group were appearing over radio station KBOA in Kennett, Missouri where they had a two and half hour show each day. They also made personal appearances almost nightly in a 300 mile radius around Kennett. Around that same time, Dome Records signed up Chuck Harding to a recording contract. Chuck wrote a lot of his own songs and his recordings included tunes such as "Jump Jackrabbit Jump", "Poor Little Girl", "Bald Headed Boogie", "Cotton Pickin' Blues", "Talking the Blues" and more. Chuck also had his tunes recorded by other artists. These tunes, (but they didn't mention who recorded them) included "I'm Going To Write To Heaven", "A Picture, A Ring, And A Curl", "Teardrops Every Time It Rains", "I'm Living In A Lonely World", "Wasted Love" and more. In addition, Jerry La Masters also cut a record with Dome Records to spotlight his fiddle mastery - "Back Up And Push" along with "Ozark Breakdown" and "Way Down Yonder". Timeline and Trivia Notes Group Members included: Chuck Harding R.T. Mercer, Spanish guitar "Scotty" Adrian Childress, fiddle Pee Wee Truckett (Truehitt?), bass fiddle Credits & Sources Country Song Roundup No. 5; April 1950; Charlton Publishing Corp.; Derby, CT.

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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)   Blue Bonnet Record Rec. No. Side Song Title   117 A She's Just A Honky Tonk Girl   117 B Press Your Lips To Mine   127 A Poor Boy Waltz   127 B I'm Gonna Ask The Judge (To Set Me Free)   135 A Talking The Blues   135 B I'm Living In A Lonely World   138 A Leap Year Blues   138 B Don't Worry Your Mind About Me