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Sonny Houston was a native of New England writes Mary Jean Shurtz in a 1949
article. Sonny took to playing the guitar and singing at a very early age.
He started his professional musical career in the North Miami Florida area,
appearing with the various local country bands when he was just 15 years old.
At that time, he joined up with a group that called themselves the "Florida
Ramblers".
His career took him
to radio stations in New York (WLSB in Ogdensburg; WAT in Watertown), Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts (WHOB in Gardner
and WKOX in Framinghame) and Tennessee. His personal
appearances took him to just about all parts of the country as well
as Canada.
One of the highlights of his career when Sonny and his band, the Trailsment,
were given the honor of playing before President Harry S. Truman during
a visit to Worcester, Massachusetts, just before an election.
During the summer of 1949, the group headlined the bill of performers
at the M.B.C. Ranch in Shirley, Massachusetts.
His appearances in Nashville included guest shots on the Ernest Tubb
Midnight Jamboree, the Eddie Hill show over WSM as well as appearing
at Roy Acuff's Dunbar Cave in Clarkesville, Tennessee.
By 1956, he was a popular performer in the New England area. He was
on the air over WORC, a station out ofo Worcester, Massachusetts, where
he'd play records along with singing and playing his guitar in personal
appearances around the area.
Credits and Sources
- National Hillbilly News; July-August 1949; Orville W. Via, Publisher;
Huntington, WV
- Cowboy Songs No. 49; December 1956; American
Folk Publications, Inc.
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