The Arkansas Travelers were, oddly enough, not from Arkansas at all. Instead, the popular Illinois country band originated from the Champaign-Urbana area.
Ben Cooley of Seymour, Illinois was the band's leader and guitar player. His brother, Ken Cooley, was also in the group along with Bill McManners and Lyle Dillman.
By 1963, Tommy Morgan had replaced Dillman. Ron Riddle of Bloomington also joined the group on pedal steel at some point.
In the 1960's the Travelers were regulars on WHOW radio in Clinton as well as Uncle Johnny Barton's "Corn Belt Country Style" television show on WAND-TV in Decatur. The popular program was broadcast across several stations in the Midwest and lasted for nearly six years. As a result the group had their own fan club at the time and even released a newsletter, Travelers Trails.
The band performed regularly at festivals, fairs and hillbilly jamborees around the state alongside Barton and other local country and bluegrass groups. They were often on the bill when stars of the Grand Ole Opry and other country performers came through central Illinois.
In 1960, the Arkansas Travelers opened up for a 15-year-old Brenda Lee at the Champaign County Fair. Also performing that weekend was Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, Red Sovine and Stonewall Jackson.
In 1964, the Travelers shared the stage with a young John Hartford at the Le Roy Fall Festival. Hartford, who had been a DJ at WHOW, would have been well known to the group and country fans in the area, long before "Gentle On My Mind."
In a 1996 article, Ben Cooley mentions that the band in its heyday performed on shows with Loretta Lynn, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, Smiley Burnett, Porter Wagoner and Billy Walker.
In addition to playng live, the Travelers produced more records than nearly any other country act from downstate Illinois in that era. Between 1958 and 1964 the group recorded and released at least 10 singles on three different labels.
Their first record, "My Blue Eyed Baby" b/w "The Sun Shines Brighter," was released in 1958 under the name Bill & Ben and the Arkansas Travelers. It was a Starday Custom pressing (#715) released on their own Traveler Records. The address on the label was 601 E. University, Champaign, Illinois.
The second 45, released in 1960, was also a Starday Custom pressing (#878) on Traveler Records. This time they were credited simply as the Arkansas Travelers. The address given was P.O. Box 61, Seymour, ILL.
"You Ask Me" was written by Ben Cooley, while "Just One More" was written by Bill McManners.
Next the Arkansas Travelers recorded at least four singles for Ben Baldwin Jr. and his Benz Record Company in Champaign. The label produced primarily records for square dancing.
Between 1961 and 1963, the group also released three 45s on the Nashville label, which essentially consolidated the Starday Custom pressings under a single label name. The recordings were done at the Starday Studios in Nashville, TN. It was very likely during one of these trips to Tennessee that the Travelers performed at the Grand Ole Opry as well as Ernest Tubbs Record Shop.
5013 Ben & Bill and the Arkansas Travelers - "My One Mistake" / "Monkey See Monkey Do" 1961
(Some later pressings list the artist as Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers. )
"My One Mistake" was written by Ben Cooley. "Monkey See Monkey Do" was written by McManners.
For the next few releases, the group dropped "Arkansas" from their name and were simply known as the Travelers, at least on record.
5110 The Travelers - "Make Believe World" / "Lips That Do The Talking" 1963
"Make Believe World" was written by Ben Cooley and Tom Morgan, with vocals by Cooley. "Lips That Do The Talking" was written and sung by Bill McManners.
5154 The Travelers - "Most Of The Time" / "Passions Over Conscience" 1963
Ben Cooley handled the vocals for both sides and wrote "Passion." McManners penned "Most Of The Time.
The group's last known release was in 1964 on the Midwest Record Company out of Champaign. Other central Illinois artists on the label included Marvin Lee (Flessner) from St. Joseph, Junior Garner from Decatur and Jack Reno who was a radio personality that worked at WHOW at the time.
4004 The Travelers - "I Even Fooled Myself " / "Keep Your Money (And Save Your Breath)" 1964
Both songs were were written by Tom Morgan. Vocals for "I Even Fooled Myself" by Ben Cooley while Morgan sang "Keep Your Money."
Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers continued to perform live until at least 1975. However, there is no evidence that the band recorded anything after 1964.
The Arkansas Travelers at WHOW circa 1963: Bill McManners, Ben Cooley, Ken Cooley, Tom Morgan
In the summer of 1942, country music performer Red Foley and his wife Eva Overstake (aka Judy Martin) operated a "dude ranch" at Mackinaw Dells near Congerville, Illinois.
For one brief season, from the end of May until Labor Day weekend, the couple hosted a series of weekly concerts while also offering pony rides, roller skating and concessions.
Foley, who grew up near Berea, Kentucky, was a rising star in country music at the time and a featured performer on the WLS National Barn Dance which was broadcast on Saturday nights. He hosted his own show, along with his "Saddle Pals," during the week on the Chicago station.
Overstake had been a regular on WLS, along with her sisters, since she was a teenager. Eva, Evelyn and Virginia Lucille (aka Jenny Lee Carson) were originally known as the Three Little Maids. The Overstake sisters had grown up in Decatur, Illinois.
Ramblin' Red Foley's bio in the 1943 WLS Family Album referenced the new business venture this way: Last year he and his wife, the former Eva Overstake, bought a farm in Illinois, which they plan to make into a "dude ranch."
In truth, Foley had only leased the pre-existing facilities at the Mackinaw Dells. Situated halfway between Peoria and Bloomington, the area was a well-established recreation spot. The park, which included a pavilion and a roller rink, had been hosting dances, picnics and celebrations for decades.
In fact, in the 1930's the WLS Barn Dance booked a number of shows at the Dells including a "monster celebration" on the 4th of July, 1934. It is possible that Foley had even performed there during those years and was already familiar with the area when he decided to put his name on the place.
How involved Foley was with the day to day operations of the park is however unclear. Foley and Overstake, who lived in the Chicago area with four children at the time, did not appear to relocate to the Mackinaw Dells even for the summer.
Instead, as reported in the Woodford County Journal, Foley was renting a room at a residence in nearby Eureka on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for the season.
On the radio that summer, Foley was on hiatus from the Saturday night Barn Dance show on WLS but kept his Tuesday morning slot with the Saddle Pals which suggests he was returning to Chicago early every week.
The stage shows at the Dude Ranch ran for 14 weeks, always on Sunday, rain or shine. Admission was 30 cents including tax. (Free for children under 10 and men in uniform).
Foley, often listed as "Foreman," was naturally always on the bill along with Eva. Here is a list of additional musical performers and novelty acts:
May 31
Hoosier Hot Shots, Jolly Joe Kelley, Texas Tommy and his Wonder Horse Baby Doll, Tex Atchison’s Lone Star Ramblers
June 7
Pat Butram, Prairie Ramblers, Bolores & Her Bulldog, Bob & Jean in Skating Thrills, Ruth Baxter
June 14
Dezurik SIsters, Rusty Gill, Al Verdi & Co., Bento Bros, Rita and Farm Dance Band
June 21
Mac & Bob, Maple City Four, Eric Filmore & Co (Acrobats on a Perch), Ted & Flo Vollet (Balancing and Juggling), Mary Joe & The Lumberjacks
June 28
Arkansas Woodchopper, Patsy Montana and Her Partners, Ted & Flo Vollet, Mary Joe & The Lumberjacks
July 4 & 5
Cousin Emmy & Her Kinfolks, Farmer Bill, Polly and Her Bunkhouse Boys, Alma Deane, Grace Wilson
July 12
WLS Rangers, Pepper Hawthorne, Hubert Dyer, Billy Woods
July 19
WJJD Supper Frolic: “Red” Belsher, Paul Grove, Don White, Millie and Marge, Frontiersmen
August 2
Poppy Cheshire, Skeets & Frankie (of Radio Station KMOX St. Louis), Beehler’s Hollywood Animals
August 9
Lulu Belle & Scotty, Texas Tommy and his Wonder Horse Baby Doll, Lumber Jacks (from WJBC)
August 16
Chuck Acree, Bill O’Connor (Irish Tenor), Screw Ball Club (from WDZ), Lumber Jacks (WJBC), The Noonans
August 23
Cumberland Ridge Runners, Karl & Harty, Doc Hopkins, The Blue Eyed Boy, Coco & Teddy, Baker’s Trained Mule
August 30
Whitey Ford (The Duke of Paducah)
Sep 6 & 7
Prairie Ramblers (WLS), Parker Bros., Carl Thorson, WDZ Screwball Club
On Saturday June 27th, Red Foley and Patsy Montana were guest performers on the WLS National Barn Dance which was broadcast from McCormick Gymnasium at Illinois State Normal University in Normal, in cooperation with the McLean County USO Committee and the McLean County War Board. The price of admission was 50 pounds of rubber or 100 pounds of scrap metal.
Patsy Montana detailed the show and her time at the Dude Ranch in her autobiography, The Cowboy's Sweetheart:
"Illinois can be terribly hot in the summer, and that day was no exception. They held the show in a gymnasium and with a big crowd it was stifling. I was to go on last, and I waited in the heat. It was like old times having Salty, Jack and the rest of the Ramblers there.
It just got too hot in the gym so they decided to move everything outside. I finished the show with "I'd Love To Be A Cowboy" and "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart."
After the show we loaded up and drove back to our hotel in Bloomington. The next morning we gathered for breakfast and went over the previous night's show, then we loaded up and headed out to Red Foley's Dude Ranch.
We arrived, unloaded and set up for that evening's show and we drove to a nearby town and had supper. That evening's show was good, and it was hard to leave Red and Eva Foley. You would think, being on the road so much and running into all of our friends, we could manage more time to visit. It seldom happens that way. You arrive in time to set up for a show, do the show and just as quickly head to another town to repeat the process."
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The Red Foley "Dude Ranch, " a wartime experiment, didn't last. Foley would soon move on to bigger and better opportunities.
The Mackinaw Dells pavilion and roller rink changed hands many times in the decades that followed and the spot was eventually converted into horse stables. The final remnants of the Dells pavilion was razed in the 1990's after years of disuse.
Psychedelic rock group Maximus was formed in late 1968 by Bloomington, Illinois native Jack Ross. Prior to Maximus, Ross had played in one of the last incarnations of the popular Bloomington-Normal band, The Shattertones.
According to this 1969 ad, Maximus consisted of "four guys and a girl." Timothy P. Irvin, a founding member of The Shattertones, briefly played in Maximus. Except for Ross and Irvin, the other members of the group have not been identified.
The short-lived group released two singles on two different labels in 1969 but broke up before the end of the year.
The first Maximus single was recorded at Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois and released on the Golden Voice label: "A Better Mind" b/w "Somebody To Care." Both songs were written by Jack Ross. The address printed on the record was Ross' home address.
The second single was released on Galico Records out of Macon, Georgia. It included a re-recording of "Somebody To Care," now titled "Need Somebody" (erronously credited to Jack Frost). The a-side was a cover of Delbert McClinton's "If You Really Want Me To I'll Go," originally released by the Ron-Dels in 1965.
An April 12, 1969 article in the Daily Pantagaph mentions that the group was currently recording in Nashville. It unclear if that recording session became the Galico single or remains unreleased material.
After Maximus, Ross formed another local band, Woof, in 1970. The group, described as a six-piece combo, played regularly at the Alley Club in Bloomington. Jeris Hughes, a young female singer living in Bloomington-Normal, soon joined the group. Hughes, originally from East Alton, Illinois, was a student at Illinois State University at the time.
Woof released one 45 in 1971 on Lelan Rogers' label House Of The Fox. The mostly instrumental "This Is All I'll Say" written by Ross & Hughes was backed with "Gotta Get Home To You" which is credited to just Ross. Both songs were very likely recorded at Golden Voice Recording Co. given that studio owner Jerry Milam is credited as a producer.
By 1971, Jack and Jeris got married and left Illinois for Nashville. Doug Hauseman, a member of Woof, also moved to Nashville at the same time.
An article in the Alton Evening Telegraph from 1972 mentions that Woof were originally signed to Liberty United Artists by a California promoter. Jeris explains, "They promised us the world but nothing came of it. The contract was dissolved after three months and the band broke up. The organ player and Jack and I went to Nashville."
While in Nashville, Jack Ross initially went to work for Lelan Rogers Enterprises. Ross is given songwriting credit on at least one other single released on House of the Fox. By 1972 he began to work more as a session bass player around Music City.
The article in the Alton Evening Telegraph mentions that Jack, in addition to guitar, could play piano, organ, trombone and saxophone. It also mentioned that he was a former student of guitarist Johnny Smith and had played at Carnegie Hall with the NORAD Band while in the Air Force.
While Jack settled in as a session player, Jeris was developing a solo career in country music as a singer.
She started out recording jingles and radio commercials but with Jack's studio connections was able to land a contract with Cartwheel Records. Her first single was a cover of Melanie's "Brand New Key." It reached #39 on the country charts.
Over the he next few years, Jeris released several singles on several different labels including one song written by Jack - "I Wonder How The Folks Are (Back In Kansas)." In late 1972, Cartwheel Records was absorbed by ABC-Dunhill and Jeris would eventually sign with the parent label.
In the May 31, 1975 issue of Cash Box, Jeris was named Country Artist of the Week. That same year she released a self-titled full length album on ABC-Dot.
One of the singles, "Pictures On Paper," was a top 15 country hit. The album also featured a single with one of the the all-time great country titles, "I'd Rather Be Picked Up Here (Than Put Down At Home)."
In 1978, the couple were featured in a story in Bloomington's Daily Pantagraph. It mentions that Jack had become one of the top session bass players in Nashville. His resume, at that time, already included recordings with the Kendalls, Freddy Fender, Jeanie C. Riley, Don Gibson, Stella Parton as well as an album by Webb Pierce & Carol Channing.
In addition to his studio work and managing his wife' career, Jack owned his owned his own production companies, Crystal Blue Music and Crystal Blue Productions.
By the early 1980's however, Jeris' country career had fizzled out. Jack and Jeris eventually divorced.
Less than a decade later, Jeris (now Jeris Ford) revived her singing career as a member of an oldies group from Tulsa, OK called Bop Cats.
Jack spent the rest of his career as a studio musician in Nashville and was a lifetime member of the Nashville Association of Musicians #257. He passed away on Nov. 2, 2013.
Bill Warren and the Country Wildcats from Tiskilwa, Illinois. The group, also known as the Tiskilwa Wildcats, recorded just one single in 1960 for Fire Records.
The a-side, "Heart Stepping Stones," was written by Warren. The b-side, an instrumental track called "Redwing Bongo," was arranged by Warren and the group. Both songs were published by Poll-Bart Music of Glendale, CA which appears to have been the publishing company of country singer-songwriter Billy Barton.
The Fire record label, which was based in California, appears to have been closely associated with Barton. All of the known singles on the label have some connection to him including two released by Barton himself.
In a March 30, 1960 article in the Wyoming (IL) Post Herald, Warren's single is mentioned as being released by B & B Enterprises. Again, this suggests a possible connection with Barton.
How exactly Warren and the Wildcats ended up being in business with Barton is however still a mystery. Curiously, another north-central Illinois group, the Nite-Caps from LaSalle, also released a single on Fire Records around the same time. Their single was produced by Barton.
As for Warren and the Wildcats, they performed in and around Bureau County and western Illinois throughout the first half of the 1960s. For several years in a row the group provided the entertainment at the "Annual Kentucky Reunion & Picnic" held in Wyanet, Illinois.
If you have any more info, photos or memories of Bill Warren and the Country Wildcats please reach out to us at:downstatesounds@gmail.com
