Before we start in on today’s featured Packard, let’s note that this company managed to generate the most confusing nomenclature in the history of the automobile. The Clipper and the Eight were made in many different years, variously appended with “Custom” and “Super”. Sometimes, a model was both a Clipper and an Eight. In 1948, the Custom Super Clipper was renamed the Custom Super Eight. Both models also shifted periodically from longer wheelbase, luxury seniors to more modest junior status. Packard’s post-war Eight series belonged to its portfolio of junior cars, but its first-gen Eights, made in the early 1920s, were seniors. Where the pre-war Clipper broke new ground with its streamlined envelope styling, the Eight was a continuation of the same smooth styling, even if the name eventually changed. Here on eBay is a running, driving 1949 Packard Super Eight, advertised for $14,500, located in Polk City, Florida. The seller has perfect feedback, and the title is clear.
The engine was a bit shy for its photo shoot, but underhood we should see a 327 cu. in. straight eight, good for about 145 hp and mated to a three-speed manual gearbox. As noted by the seller, the engine and many other components were rebuilt or replaced to the tune of $7000. While they were at it, the prior owner cared enough to dress the engine bay to near-show-condition. This example’s underside is clean and straight.
These were the days of snazzy interiors. The pinwale cloth, beautiful steering wheel, and white/gold gauges confer a touch of class. This car’s headliner is nearly perfect, and the rear seats look great. In the trunk – also spiffy – are manuals, parts catalogs, an electrical diagram, and receipts. In this series, the Eight was the standard version, the Super Eight sat in the middle, and the Custom Super Eight was top-shelf. Interior appointments grew more luxe at each progression.
Body styles ranged from this four-door sedan to a very sleek coupe and a convertible. A few years earlier or later, other bodies were available, including longer wheelbase cars. Aside from sheet metal configuration, prices also depend on engine size. Bonham’s sold this stunning Eight with a 288 cu. in. engine, formerly from Harrah’s, in a no-reserve auction for just $9520, including premium. This eight-passenger 1947 Custom Super Clipper brought just $27k. Any of these, including our subject car, offers a lot of style for not much money. What do you think of these late 1940s Packards?
Oh sure, since I’m stuck on memory lane( Suzuki TS), may as well give him another jab. No, no, It’s okay, it’s, in part, why I’m here. A Packard, by gar, it’s been a while. Stalwarts of the site will remember our 1950( see photo) and a quick summary for newbies. My grandfather bought a new 1948 Packard, I vaguely remember riding in. It was a Deluxe 8 Touring Sedan, much like this. This being the Super 8, had the 327 and was $300 more( $2653) than the Standard 8. Ours was a 1950 Standard 8, 288 motor, and the 1st year with automatic. The “Ultramatic” added $199 to the car, and was a popular option.
This car being the Super 8, was about middle of the lineup, only about 7900 were sold. It’s unclear if this car has the O/D( I thought standard on the 327?) and no Electro-matic clutch, ( red clutch pedal pad) both that my grandfather had. The hood ornament, ( see updated avatar) that was my grandfathers, cost $13.25, the O/D and clutch were about $119, and the radio, was a whopping $128! They were wonderful cars. My grandfather bought a Packard because of their war efforts, and wrecked the car in late 1960, when he tangled with a city bus, or so the story went. It had just over 40K miles, and he was heartbroken. He bought a ’61 Chevy Impala, the next most patriotic American car, but if he could have bought a new Packard, we know he would have. He removed the hood ornament before it was towed away, and sat in his basement for 30 years. One day( 1980), my dad found the 1950 in a back yard on wood blocks near Milwaukee. The widow of the owner said, her husband parked the car( also with about 40K) in 1959 when he refused to pay over .25/gal. of gas.We restored the car, and in memory, proudly displayed grandpas hood ornament up front. When we sold the car, we kept the ornament, and my brother mounted it and adorns his fireplace now.
Thanks, Michelle, hope you all didn’t run out of tissues, good memories.
This is my grandfather and his new Packard, circa about 1950. Notice big stogie and same hood ornament!
Here’s the original invoice for his car( hope it works)
Howard:The ’48 through ’50 Packards seem identical. Was there in fact a any difference in their appearance? Their drive trains?
My uncle had a ’48 Packard convertible, green with a green leather gut and a huge spotlight. I vaguely remember riding in with the top down at as young child in the ’50s. Yet I can recall the car being the cynosure of eyes and a topic of conversation wherever it went. These were impressive cars, in a way that few modern ones are.
Hi Arfeeto, I believe the styling was the same, just the wheelbases were different and possibly the grill. It should be noted 1949 was Packards 50th anniversary with like 15 models and a ton of options. My grandfathers car and ours as well, was a stripped down model compared to what he could have had. Probably over $4grand, but my grandmother surely put the clamps on that.
Howard, I ran out of tissues. GREAT stories, great memorabilia. Thanks for adding context to this article, much appreciated.
When Michelle wrote this up. First one I thought about was Howard. Great history Howard, and thats something else you have the original paperwork from your Grandpa too. This Packard is absolutely beautiful. Hope it goes to a good new home. It seems like a very fair price too. Man, all I need to do is miraculously become independently wealthy and I could buy this!!!
Dave, note,,15 gallons gas-$2.50 !!!
I had one too. Although mine was a ’50 8 passenger limo. Paid
$250 for it in 1971. It ran and drove just fine despite the fact that it had been sideswiped by a
drunk driver not long before I bought it. Had the engine and tranny redone not long after I bought the car while the parts were available and left the rest of
the to do list for the upcoming fall. Oh sure, it got repainted while I was on my second summer tour, but other than that,
I redid the stainless steel strips on the lower edges of the fenders
and added an NOS set of WSW tires I bought from Clay Dooley tires there in Bloomington. Back then, I loved playing music 🎵 and even though I toured with
Midwest Entertainment during the summer, I’d still play one nighters on weekends while school was in session and the limo was used as transport for the band I worked with back then.
We even towed a utility trailer behind the car for our equipment
and that old straight 8 took it in
stride without protest or complaints. And the ride? You
couldn’t beat it. Smooth as silk and really floaty. After the show,
we loaded the trailer and headed
for home. Sometimes, I took a nap on the way back home and
the ride was like sleeping in your
girlfriend’s arms it was that comfortable. I kept the car for about a year or so after graduation and let my Mom drive
it when her new Chevy Caprice
wouldn’t start during the fall and
winter months. Loaned it to a friend of mine once to take his date to a drive in movie. Well,
everything worked out fine. He
brought the car to my folks clean
and with the tank filled up. (I was
opening for Marty Robbins at the time) And all was fine til Mom
drove the car to work the following Monday. My Mom worked in the restricted part of the Eureka Company assembling
atomic bombs at that time and she had to pass through a security checkpoint to get to the
factory. Long story short, the guard on duty noticed a pair of
young lady’s panties lying in the
backseat of my Packard! And since she knew the guard on station her face turned seven shades of red and I got an earful
when I came home. And that’s the story I tell when anyone asks
the man who owned one.
Some insightful memories you elicited here, Michelle! Great history told from personal perspectives making it all the more real.
Thank you too for the explanation of the Packard monikers, as you’ve clarified much of it though I’d still need a set of Cliff Notes to make it through a quiz on the subject.
Packard was an engineering Mecca from what I can tell, i.e., when Ford turned down the request to build the RR Melin engine during WW2 (Henry at the time was an admirer of Hitler) Packard quickly stepped up and went on to help make many improvements, hence another reason folks like Howard’s grandfather were so loyal to the make.
This one is a beaut and everything many people of the culture appreciate of this icon.
Once again, thank you, Michelle.
PS-cool insight too about your music career, Ken Carney! Marty Robbins was a unique guy. You’re a lucky man to have known him.
I had one also, and could never solve its overheating problem. Extremely well made cars otherwise. GLWTS
Hi Kurt, overheating was a big problem for all older cars, it seems. I entered our Packard in our small town 4th of July parade, ONCE,, with the whole family and my late mother in law, who loved parades, but was never in one, I think it made her life. Anyway, it was a warm day, as we inched along, big smiles, waving frantically, kids and MIL throwing candy, blissfully unaware, the temp gauge was nearing”H”. Even though I wasn’t sure how hot “H” was, I knew it was getting hot. Fast idle in N, kept it stable. A shroud or aux. fan would have helped. About halfway, it was pegged on “H”, as I was getting nervous. 3/4s the way, with neighbors and co-workers lining the street, I had to bail and turned down a side street, and shut it off. Where’s Howard going, they thought. Like the movie “China Syndrome”, I don’t think anyone else knew how close to disaster we came,,the Packard took it in stride! :D
And if that scenario played out today on a new car I’ll bet it’d disable itself and have to be towed to a dealer where it be diagnosed to the tune of hundreds of dollars…
That was a really considerate thing to do on your part for your MIL, sir. Regardless of the later outcome family-wise that’s something she found a real joy in what you did.
Good on you Howard.
You’re a class act,
Howard I wound up pulling the water pump after rodding out the radiator didn’t work and discovered the pump blades had holes in them. A new water pump helped but the engine still over heated driving around town.
Another well priced turnkey drivable entry into the classic car hobby. Buy it, drive it, enjoy it, and have fun at a local show!!!!!
I have a 1949 Super 8 which is a 22nd Series. This vehicle is a 23 Series. We have just completed a major cooling system project. We pulled the radiator and the heater core and shipped them into a radiator shop to be boiled out. Also power flushed the cooling channel in the block. We installed a new water pump. And we fabricated a radiator shroud to concentrate the air flow off the fan. We did our first car cruise this week end, No problems. Have another cruise coming up this week end which is a greater distance from home base. I have learned. Like most vehicles of this era the cooling system needs to be flushed very regularly with traditional green antifreeze. IAT (Inorganic Additive Technology)
Thanks for mentioning the shroud. So important – lots of cars you don’t think about rely on underbody or radiator sheet metal for cooling. The Corvair, for instance, which is air cooled (or oil cooled if you want to look at it that way), NEEDS its shrouding around the engine bay to stay cool….
I can’t get past the styling. Park it next to a 49-53 Hudson and there’s no comparison. Both great cars though.
I’m in my mid-60’s and can’t say how much I appreciate the stories here, keep ’em coming!
I’ll second that big time. I have a decade on you but I love this site and the stories and history, not to mention the incredible variety of different types of vehicles.. and the occasional bikes, trains, tractors and even a chainsaw! How cool is that?
My father always drove Packards, but he skipped this generation (although there were lots of them on the roads). He had a HUGE 1939 senior Packard that was like a Gilded Age luxury hotel lobby on wheels. He traded that one in on a 1951 Packard with Ultramatic. But it was nowhere near what his ’39 had been. I loved both cars, and how we mourned Packard’s whimpering demise!
A friend’s mother who often drove us kids places has one, standard shift, I usually got the middle seat in the front, and being 12 – 14 at the time was very interested in anything automotive. She shifted from 1st to 3rd, skipped 2nd most of the time. My father spent a lot of time in our ’50 Studebaker in 2nd.”Why, I asked. Her response was basically because 2nd is so far up there, I can’t reach it, and the Packard has so much torque that you don’t need 2nd most of the time.
The 48 22nd series had a smaller back window. The Ultramatic debuted in 49, but only on the Custom with 327 engine. Became available across the whole lineup in 1950. Stock hood ornament was officially called “The Goddess of Speed”, but was most often referred to as “Boy With a Doughnut”. Cormorant hood ornament cost about $15, seldom seen Egyptian was about twice as expensive. Here’s my 1950 Standard.
This is my 50 Standard 8 with Ultramatic.
22nd series in 1948 hade a smaller back window. Ultramatic became available in 1949 on Custom with 327 engine. Became available across the whole line in 1950. Stock hood ornament was officially known as “The Goddess of Speed”, but was most often called “Boy With a Doughnut”. Familiar Cormorant (PLEASE…NOT a SWAN!) was optional for about $15. Rarest of all was the Egyptian which cost about twice as much.
Marty Robbins was a really nice guy and it was the high point of my young life to be in the band that opened for him. I recall playing a show in Oklahoma one
evening and I was singing one of
his early hits called Pretty Words.
We were midway through the song, the lead player had just finished his solo, and it was time
for me to sing the second verse
and there he was! He sneaked in
beside me and sang that verse and I sang behind him on the last
chorus. The whole place went
batsh*t crazy after we finished the song! He came over to me and said “Take a bow son, it’s all
yours.”. The crowd clapped and cheered for 2, maybe 3 minutes
afterwards. I saw him heckle a
heckler in Dallas one night and he
brought the house down! I toured
with him for the rest of that tour
and then I signed a deal with Midwest Entertainment and worked for them through 1978. And after that, I got clean and sober. Been that way for nearly
50 years now and never looked back. Midwest Entertainment provided live entertainment to the
small cities and out of the way towns that the major record labels didn’t wanna bother with.
My guys and I played something
called a package show. These shows were cobbled together with as many different acts as they could cram into one show
And depending on the size of the
venue, you might have jugglers,
acrobats, sword swallowers, fire
eaters, comedians, dog and pony
shows, anything to wow the townsfolk and give them their money’s worth. Sometimes, they
would have the highschool band
play behind the jugglers, acrobats, and sword swallowers.
I recall playing a really big show in Evansville, Indiana in April of
1977. It was held in an old movie
theater that had been turned into
a music hall. And it also had a very old man who knocked on dressing room doors to let you know how long you had before it
was your turn to take the stage.
Well, this young comedian I knew
came up with a new skit that he called The Nervous Robber and he was itching to try it out on someone. So the old man’s knocking on doors when this kid
shoved a gun shaped cigarette lighter into the old man’s back
shouting “Okay mothersticker!
This is a f**k up! Get your ass over your head before I blow your
hands off!”. Now I didn’t see this
go down, (I was in the men’s room) but I heard that poor old man dropped everything! His clip board, his glasses, his teeth, and
more than likely crapped his pants for good measure. That
routine nearly got him fired on the spot! The only reason they let him stay was with the proviso that I would keep him under control for the rest of the tour. And lemme tell Ya’, I rode his ass
like a rented scooter til the tour was over. So yeah, when I look back on it all, I had a damned good time traveling around the country, playing music, and having a lot of fun with the young
ladies too. Not bad for a fat old
blind man wouldn’t you say?
“..Fat old blind guy..”? I’d say what a way to live, Ken Carney. What you’ve done in your life so far is the dream of so many that never make their way even to the back showroom door let alone having an icon handing you the stage. And your malaprop guy sounds very much like Norm Crosby!
You should seriously write this all down-it would make for fascinating reading IMO.
Kudos, sir.
Ken, I presume you have heard of the great Australian country star Slim Dusty??? He played not only the big concert halls, but also small outdoor gigs in the Aboriginal villages of the Outback. Do a You Tube search for him, there are over 400 songs in his play list. His video of “The Pub’s Got No Beer” was taken at an outdoor concert in Broken Hill, NSW,AU with the song’s writer, Gordon Parsons in duet with Slim, and big trucks in the audience. And Howard he also cut a 4 disc box set of nothing but trucking songs.
Thanks to all who responded, I haven’t heard from Bill McKoskey, our resident Packard expert, time does march on. While this car didn’t have the glitz of the “full classic” ones, make no mistake, I’ve driven a LOT of vehicles, and the Packard just stood out as being superior. It rode like a tank, although I’m not sure what a tank rode like, and had a special steering setup, and even without P/S, it was easy to turn. Brakes were marginal, but for no assist, they were adequate. My grandfather was a simple man, bought everything at Sears, but he knew a great car. I think my old man was impressed and I know why. I suppose you could “ask me” but that saying is horribly out of date, and I’m sure many ladies knew just as well what great cars they were.
@ Nevedahalftrack: Thank you for that kind reply. My folks always told me that I could do most anything I set my mind to and they were right too. With a lot of work and adaptation, and the grace of God, I was able to make a good life for me and my
family. The eye condition I have
sounds devastating but really isn’t. It’s called Bilateral Atrophy w/astigmatism. In short, my optic nerves never developed properly. It’s very rare and not too
many ophthalmologists ever get to see it. In short, I have just 25%
vision in my left eye alone. And I
can only see things at 20 yards,
where you would see them at 400
yards. So no, I can’t drive a car,
but I used to be able to do basic
tune ups, oil changes and the like.
And while the ladies cleaned the
church we went to, I was outside
repairing the partitioners cars when they needed it. Our church
was mostly working class folks
that couldn’t afford to take their
cars in for servicing. And so that
job went to your’s truly. You might find me changing a thermostat in a ’61 Chevy Biscayne or tuning up a ’56 Pontiac 870 sedan. I didn’t think
anything special of it– just good clean fun. I wish you could’ve seen me walking into the church
on Sundays, my large print Bible in one hand, my toolbox in the
other. What a sight that must’ve
been! Never made a lot of money
doing it. But that wasn’t the reason at all. The reason was to
help my friends when they needed it. And then came the music. I was playing in bars at 14 and on a radio program called
The Breakfast Jamboree when I was 15. It aired from 5-9 am
Monday through Friday with the first two hours being live so that I
could get to school on time. There was a science teacher at my highschool that had a family
band and they played on that show every morning. He let me
ride down there and play with them so long as I kept my grades
up. That was the same with touring too. My parents insisted
that I keep at least a B average in
school before even letting me do
a tour. In short, I was given a rare
opportunity and I just ran with it.
Nowadays, I work at the West
Melbourne McDonald’s keeping the store clean and mentoring the
young people who work there. And as Angel and Wayne would tell you, I’m already working on my third life.
Hi Brocky! I have indeed heard of Slim Dusty. Although I didn’t know that he was that prolific of a performer. And as a performer,
you always hope that you have the fan base for a nice long run in
the music business. And from what you told me at the ’54 Dodge post a month or so back,
he enjoyed a nice long run at the
top. I’m also fond of The singing
Kettles and Brian Coll as well. I had no idea that country music
was so big in the UK til I started
poking around on YouTube and found those guys. Do you have a
country music show like the Grand Ole Opry there in Australia?
And if you do, I’d sure like to see it. Used to listen to the Opry on
Saturday nights while touring. WSM was a clear channel station
that you can pick up as far away
as Texas after dark. WWL and
WBAP used to be the same way.
I.listenef to guys like Bill Mack,
Charlie Douglas, and Dave Nimo
on what most folks called the
Graveyard shift. Now that was some of the best listening I ever
had! We had one of those old tube radios from the ’30s and man that thing was huge! Dad and I patched it into the TV antenna we had on top of a 30 foot tower and my God the stations that thing pulled in! We
heard all kinds of stuff from all over the world. We used to get the soccer scores on the BBC in
London, Radio Free Europe, and a
whole slew of stations including
Radio Havana and Radio Hanoi!
And John Michael, you haven’t seen anything here til you see the
gas powered pogo stick they had
here a few months back. And yeah, I’m still waiting for them to
post a guitar up here so I can comment about it the way that
Howard and Geomechs talk about trucks. Now that pogo stick was out there!
Ken, Not sure of your location?? I am an American, now living in South Carolina. I first became exposed to Slim Dusty thru the Aussie members of several Antique / Historical hobby websites that I participate in. In August 2015, I participated in the “ATHS Down Under Tour” spending 2 weeks touring Australia and attending their National antique truck show and several private truck collections as well as visiting several “normal” tourist sites. I can not answer your question about Australia having a “Grad Ole Oprey” type radio program. I presume they do as Slim’s autobiographical movie shows him performing on a local radio station as a young teen. Although he passed away at age 73 of cancer he had cut 104 albums in his lifetime.
I would LOVE to own and drive this Packard, if only I could. These also are unusually immune to the tin-worm: here in the southern Adirondacks, I saw lots of 1948-1950 Packards in daily use — even the woody-wagons — right into the 1970s, and not an one rusted-out, despite running through autumn, winter, and spring snow with salt-slushed roads. Some of them had ridiculously high mileages for 1940s cars, threadbare driver’s seats with blankets spread over their exposed springs, and they kept right on soldiering on. But paying for this one, and bringing it across the country, would be too much for me now, I’m afraid. Though still… I’m TEMPTED. This Packard is not particularly “a thing of beauty” to look at, not being the top premium “dressy” model; but it happily has FOUR DOORS, and is utterly beautiful AS A STRUCTUALLY SOLID AUTOMOBILE. And have you ever tried a Packard radio of this era? If you want to tune to a major station, and then drive 500 miles without losing it, THIS is the radio built for that!!! motoring in Cincinnati at noon, you can listen to KMOX-1120 kcs. in St. Louis, should the spirit move you. And sitting in supreme comfort behind that steering wheel, what do I care if the outer body-style looks a bit dowdy? Or the front presentation rather resembles the face of a parakeet? The 1951 Packard is prettier — but the 1948-1950 models somehow look more “substantial”, and they definitely lasted in daily usage on the roads far longer!
Harrison, I know about those radios as my ’50 limo had one. We’d start picking up WSM just after sundown and listened to the
Opry all the way to wherever we were playing that evening. And after our show was over, (Usually
1 AM) we’d load up the trailer and
head home (Maybe 2:30-3:00AM)
and we still had WSM on the radio for the drive home. On Friday nights, we listened to either Bill Mack on WBAP out of
Dallas, or Charlie Douglas on WWL out of New Orleans. And that was the soundtrack of our
trips there and back again. I can
still recall today being blown away hearing Glen Campbell play
The William Tell Overture on the
Charlie Douglas show on the way
home from a show we played at this little bar and grill in Mattoon
Illinois in ’71 or ’72. And man, the
Lone Ranger theme song never sounded so good!
I never cared for Glen Campbell all that much. I liked “Gentle On My Mind” (I preferred John Hartford’s version, but Glen Campbell was good on that one). And I liked Glenn Campbell on “Turn Around, Look at me” and his other records on the CREST label. But I could not stand his later style in “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and “Wichita Lineman”, and others.
I REALLY MISS Charlie Douglas and The Road Gang on WWL-870, which I listened to regularly up here north of Albany, New York. And his “Me and Dammit Ray” was hysterical! Charlie Douglas invented overnight radio specifically designed to keep truckers awake and entertained on those long overnight runs. And I still recall the [Umull?] Singing Convention ads for Chuck Wagon Gang records on WWL every night.
And of course we get WSM-650 and “The Grand Old Opry” up here, too. I will never forget how they pronounced Roy Acuff’s name as “Rowey Acuff”, and records such as “Wreck On the Highway”. WSM always has always been the stop for really traditional old Country music, before “The Nashville Sound” transformed Country into a branch of pop Top 40 music. It’s really “Old School”. WHCU-870, down southwest of here in Ithaca, new York, unfortunately got a power increase and a licence to operate all night, so I no longer can listen to WWL.
The F.C.C. has mangled those old clear channels which once faithfully served nationwide audiences at night. I once used to be able to get 1200-WOAI from San Antonio, WBAP-820 out of Dallas, KSL-1160 from Salt Lake City, KOA-850 from Denver, and KFI-640 from Los Angeles, up here in the Northeast. The radio landscape was very different 70 years ago when I listened so intently. Back then also, a great many 5,000-watt and lesser stations in smaller markets signed-off some time between 10:00 and midnight, remaining silent until 6:00 A.M., allowing you to hear even 5,000-watt stations cross-country (such as 590-WOW from Omaha).
Harrison, WHCU!! The call letters stood for the Home of Cornell University.. My parents listened to it every morning for the breakfast news and also for the evening news. In the morning they had a “Swap Shop” section and my mother bought a piano bench from it. I also remember listening to the Grand Ole Opery on Saturday nights.
Hello, Brocky! WHCU is a very old station, started by Cornell University, and always heard (however faintly) up here during the day on better radios. But in more recent years, WHCU became an independent commercial station, and had their licence modified for an increase in power and 24-hour operation. Tragedy for WWL. Even KMOX, WLS, WHAS, and WHAM have not escapred the interference from stations that SHOULD be OFF THE AIR after sunset (or at least operating with 25 watts or less after dark!). And, POOR WOWO!!!
Like you Harrison, I thought Charlie Douglas was the best overnight host out there. His Dammit Ray Ferguson skits were
so popular that he was able to make an album of them which he sold on WWL during his shows.y favorite skit of his was “The Talking Outhouse”. Laughed at
it so hard I almost pissed my pants! Bill Mack? Yeah, he was good too. I recall that he and Wanda Conklin had a regional smash with a song called Somewhere Between in 1971. There were nights that he’d play
repeats of The Health And Happiness Show with Hank Williams Sr. I still recall Linda Plowman singing I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry. She was
only 15 when she had a huge hit
with that song in ’71. We opened
for her in ’72 and she had a voice
like an angel. You can find Bill Mack’s Somewhere Between on
YouTube if you wanna hear it. I
played it our highschool talent show as a duet with a young lady
named Debbie Miraglia.. We didn’t win, but we had a really good time doing it. Boy do I miss
that old time radio!
Bill Mack was also aa prolific songwriter. I know he wrote a couple of Patsy Cline’s hits.. Crazy???
You’re right on that one Brocky. Bill Mack was a very prolific song
writer who did write many hits for
Patsy Cline and many other artists as well. He wrote the song “Blue” for her and “Drinkin
Champagne” for Pee Wee King.
But the song “Crazy”.was written by none other than Willie Nelson with a little help from Harlan Howard (I think). I was 7, maybe 8 years old when that song came out and that tune was everywhere! Turn on your radio,
pick a station, and BAM! it was there! It was a monster hit. Even
in my hometown of Bloomington
Illinois it was played quite often.
Even today, I can still recall the 3
things you did every Sunday. You
went to church, your Mom would
make a great a Sunday lunch, and
you listened to the Top 50 Show
on WHOW out of Clinton Illinois.
Gary Carlson spun the hits every
Sunday from 2-6 PM. You got the
top 50 songs of the week with some older stuff sprinkled in from the request lines. WHOW was a small market country station listened to by farmers,
ranchers, and small town folks who liked their radio live and local. And they were what radio
IS NOT these days. They even
promoted local artists who had a record out by adding these folks to their playlists. There was a young man I recall named Mark Dalton that had a 2 state smash
about a little boy going to see his
father in prison. He was 9 years old when he recorded that song on Illini Records out of Champaign Illinois in 1968 ot ’69
and the public ate it up! He followed that up with a song called “My Daddy Was A Preacher And My Mama Was A Go Go Girl”
And yeah, it really happened! You
can’t make this stuff up! Neil Jones produced both records and
they were both smash hits–in.Illinois and Kentucky at least.
And if you had dealings with him,
he’d eff you over if you didn’t watch him. I joined the cast of the Breakfast Jamboree when I
was 15 years old. My highschool
science teacher Bob Adams had a family Bluegrass band called the Adams Family. He told me that if I brought my grades up, he
would get me on the show. I worked my ass off to get a B average just to get on that program. I joined the cast in March of 1970 and stayed with them til I graduated in 1973. They set it up to where I could still tour in the summer and do their show while school was in
session. I got up about 3:00 AM,
showered, got ready for school,
gathered my stuff, and waited for Bob to show up. We got there about 4:30, tuned up, maybe practiced a song or two before we went on at 5:00 AM Monday through Friday. The first 2 hours
were live so that we could play our bits and get to school on time. After that, the host, Uncle
Johnny Barton would play recorded music, read the news,
and give the opening market quotes from the Chicago Board Of Trade. And to top it all off, I played one nighters with my friends on weekends. So was I
busy? You bet I was! Over-achieving? Maybe. A ferocious competitor? All that and then some! If you were disabled back
then, you were competing against
almost everyone for everything just so the powers that were saw
you and gave you the chance you
deserved. Do I still compete today? I still do. But I’ve had to
tone it down some so I don’t scare the snowflakes.