Homer And Jethro Article Index for
Homer
Limousines in
Homer
Website Links For
Homer
 

Information About

Homer And Jethro




Guitarist Henry D. "Homer" Haynes ( July 27 , 1920 - August 7 , 1971 ) and Mandolin player Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns ( March 10 , 1920 - February 4 , 1989 ) were both born around Knoxville, Tennessee , and met on a Radio audition when they were 12 years old. Previously known as 'Junior' and 'Dude', they were mis-introduced during a 1936 Broadcast and adopted the names Homer and Jethro.

Signed to the RCA Victor label in 1949 , their parody of "Baby It's Cold Outside" , recorded with June Carter , became a hit. The song's composer Frank Loesser gave them permission to parody the tune with the condition that the label read, "With apologies to Frank Loesser ". This lead to a spot on WLS radio in Chicago in 1950 , a tour with bandleader Spike Jones , and a number of successful albums.

They won a Grammy in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", their parody of Johnny Horton 's major hit "The Battle Of New Orleans ." The majority of their recordings were similar parodies of famous old and new popular songs. One example was their treatment of the old romantic song "When You Wore A Tulip " (''When you wore a Tulip--/A sweet yellow Tulip--/And I wore a big red Rose ''). While keeping that line of the chorus intact, the duo's version of its verse told of two lovers having to sleep out in a Greenhouse , removing their clothes due to the heat and humidity within it, and then having to escape when the building began to burn. Thus, to cover up their nakedness, the couple had to resort to using the aforementioned flowers.

Over time, their Patter became more sophisticated, giving them access to mainstream audiences on network television and in Las Vegas .

Homer and Jethro were inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1985 . Jethro's brother-in-law was guitarist and producer Chet Atkins . Haynes died in 1971 , Burns in 1989 .


ALBUMS

  • Barefoot Ballads (RCA),

  • The Worst of Homer and Jethro (RCA),

  • Life Can be Miserable (RCA),

  • At the Country Club (RCA),

  • Songs My Mother Never Sang (RCA),

  • At the Convention (RCA),

  • Fractured Folk Songs (RCA),

  • Tenderly (RCA),

  • Zany Songs of the 30's (RCA),

  • Go West (RCA),

  • Old Crusty Minstrels (RCA),

  • Cool Crazy Christmas (RCA),

  • Something STupid (RCA),

  • Wanted for Murder (RCA),

  • Ooh, That's Corny (RCA),

  • Cornfucius Say (RCA),

  • Nashville Cats (RCA),

  • Any News? (RCA),

  • Homer and Jethro's Next Album (RCA)

  • Playing It Straight (RCA) ( 1962 ) (reissued on CD by RCA Japan) instrumentals

  • It Ain't Necessarily Square ( 1965 ?) (reissued on CD by RCA Japan) instrumentals



EXTERNAL LINKS