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Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
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About the Group
About The Group We first learned of George and Dixie, the Yodeling Twins in one of Richard Keeler's News from Old New England in the old Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder magazines in 1944. In fact, they had their own ranch where they would put on shows. It was known as Pinecrest Ranch near Nasonville, Rhode Island. The shows took place primarily in the summer season. But in roaming the internet, we found that their show was on WNAC (1230AM) as early as 1939. In this era of the internet, one can do a lot of research from searches and point and click. "George" was George P. Mahoney, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1906 to his parents, John and Bridget (Burns) Mahoney. The 1940 census lists him as an entertainer and married to Florence. In the early days, many country music artists would appear at local theaters as part of a combined bill where they would entertain audiences before a feature film was shown. On Sunday and Monday, December 15 and 16, 1940, George and Dixie appeared at the Lyric theater. Their act featured "Emo" who was a star banjoist. Then the article mentions that George and Dixie were "...adept at the fine art of interpreting our own American folk songs which include songs of the prairie, the deep South, the cowboy chants and maountain ballads. George and Dixie Combine their singing and yodeling duets and solos with guitar accompaniment and a happy ability to amuse their audiences with comedy interludes." Another such appearance was at the RKO in Boston in January 1941 which was to feature Vaudeville, the movies "Bowery Boy" and "Escape to Glory" along with stage entertainment. George and Dixie were on the bill as a duo who "...sing hillbilly songs." Also appearing were Kay Ivers, The Blond Tappers, Bobby "Uke" Henshaw and an acrobatic act - The Eno Troupe. In 1945, Mr. Keeler reported that George was working at Ratheon in Waltham, Massachusetts during the day but keeping busy with the personal appearances at night. In the 1940s, some of the magazines would list a lot of songs being published by many of those writing columns or having connections to those writing them. In June 1945, National Hillbilly News reported that George and Dixie had introduced a song on the Yankee network - "Somehow Love Will Find A Way". It was written by Lew Mel and Floyd Wilkins, published by the Country Music, Inc. out of Chicago. In another mention, they were one of several acts featuring a song called "Sombreros In The Sun", written by Lew Mel and George Calder, published by the Kelly Music Company. The duo were long time mainstays on radio station WNAC in Boston, Massachusetts. Often the only mention found in an article would be that the duo was still entertaining the audiences over WNAC. At one time in 1946, their show was airing at 3:45pm. In 1946, Dusty Cal Witham told readers their show was airing at 7:30am over WNAC and was called "George's Jamboree". Further research indicates that George and Dixie may not have been 'twins' let alone relatives. For a time, Evelyn Halgren (who had previously worked as "Bunny" with Curley Lawrence's group) was given the part of 'Dixie' for a time. In early 1947 Richard Keeler was reporting that George and Dixie were "temporarily" off the air and were expected back soon. The last mention we have found of them was in April 1951 and they were still entertaining folks over WNAC. Credits & Sources
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