Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
Uncle Billy Woods
and the Cripple Creek Folks
WEBQ Harrisburg, IL
WPAD Paducah, KY
WSON Henderson, KY

About The Artist

Mary Jean Shurtz wrote in her usual detailed column in December 1945 that folks in Hopkinsville, Kentucky were able to hear Uncle Bill and His Cripple Creek Ranch Boys (perhaps another name the group was known by) twice a day, five days a week. They were heard from 8:30am to 9:00am, then again at 3:00pm. The Peek Brothers were another group appearing on that station as well on Saturdays. Uncle Bill and his gang were also doing personal appearances in the surrounding areas.

Uncle Billy Woods and His Cripple Creek Folks - Undated Photo 1

Curt Delaney, one of Uncle Bill's band members, wrote the readers of National Hillbilly News in early 1946 that he was appearing over KGLO in Mason City, Iowa. While outlining his career, he mentions that he was with Uncle Bill's group at stations such as WPAD in Paducah, Kentucky; WEBQ in Harrisonburg, Illionis; and WSON in Hendersonville, Kentucky.

Uncle Billy Woods and His Cripple Creek Folks - Undated Photo 2

Author Wayne Daniel also mentions an Uncle Billy Woods in his history of country music in Georgia (Pickin' on Peachtree), but after some correspondence and comparison of pictures, it may be another Uncle Billy Woods. To make it more interesting, WLS in 1938 featured a Billy Woods, a xylophone player, on the cover of its Stand By magazine. There was also a Bill Woods who played out of Bakersfield, California.

Credits and Sources

  • Hillbilly-music.com wishes to express its appreciation to Roxanne, granddaughter of Nannie Lou Carlton who was a band member with Uncle Billy Woods and the Cripple Creek Folks in the 1940s.
  • Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder; December 1945; Mountain Broadcast Pub. Co., Inc.; New York, NY
  • National Hillbilly News; April 1946; Poster Show Print Co.; Huntington, WV