Rodeo Rangers

About The Group The Westernaires took a while, but they had been together since 1946 and were featured in special vocal and instrumental arrangements on Saturday nights on the Old Dominion Barn Dance over WRVA in Richmond, Virginia. The group was 'favored' to play backup to Sunshine Sue when she did her solos on the show. Pokey was the only native Virginian. Irving and Zeb were from North Carolina. Jimmy was said to be a Tar Heel, too, by way of Detroit by way of Canada. Irving had begun working with Sunshine Sue at WRVA in 1941. In 1944, Pokey joined them, too. During that time, Zeb was playing with the Tobacco Tags and came to them shortly after World War II. Jimmy joined them in 1946 to make the quartet complete and they became The Westernaires. They made personal appearances through out the state. They also appeared on such network shows up to that time such as "Ladies, Be Seated", the Paul Whiteman talent show, and the Horace Heidt Show. Timeline and Trivia Notes Group Members included: Pokey Kersey, guitar Irving Gurganus, fiddle Zeb Robinson, bass Jimmy Whitley, accordion Read More About The Group Printer Friendly Version