1953 Test Press 78 Harry Belvins & Steel City Playboys WVOK Birmingham Alabama

$

30

This is PART 2 of the Dan Brennan estate. He was owner and manager of local radio stations. These radio show LPs and REELS came from the station. Items were stored in climate controlled section of his home. Numerous radio show LPs will be listed.

VG condition. Label has ink bleeding. Background noise and some pops. 78 rpm. Test pressing. 6/6/53. Broken Hearted, Alone with the Blue.

The image of Harry is from the internet.

Harry Blevins
and the Steel City Playboys

Born:  September 12, 1935

Died:  February 11, 1970

WVOK Dixie Jamboree

WVOK

Birmingham, AL

Harry Blevins was part of the WVOK Dixie Jamboree radio show in Birmingham, Alabama. Harry was born in Bibb County, Alabama and his family lived there until the beginning of World War II. The family then moved to Birmingham. An old article notes he started his musical journey when he was just three years old, playing an old broom, singing tunes to anyone that would listen.

When he attended West End High School in 1949, he learned to play the ukulele and later the guitar. Upon graduation, he attended the University of Alabama in 1953 and 1954.

The Dixie Jamboree appears to have went on the air when the station began around 1947. The shows emcee and host was Dan Brennan. Othell Sullivan and the armless steel guitar player, Ray R. Myers, were stars on the show in the 1955 time frame.

One of the members of Harry's band wrote to share his memories of that time and era, Floyd Lowery.

Floyd was playing with the Ace Plunkett and the Dixie Drifters when he first met Harry Blevins. He was just 16 years old at the time. The WVOK Dixie Jamboree aired on Saturdays. Floyd indicated they got no pay for their radio efforts, but the radio work led to personal appearances.

The Dixie Drifters group broke up when their guitar player was drafted and the fiddle player was called to active duty with the Naval Reserve. Harry talked with Floyd and asked him to join his band and play steel guitar for him. At the time, the two only lived about two miles apart, but attended different high schools.

Harry would tell the audiences the band was available for personal appearances. Folks would write the station and hire them in some instances. The band would get a per cent of the admissions for their shows or dances. In some of their best arrangements, the band got about 60 or 70 per cent of the admissions and it was split evenly among the band members.

August 19, 1930 — December 19, 2020

Vestavia Hills

Longtime Birmingham radio personality, Dan Brennan, whom locals recall him on WVOK, the "Mighty 690,” as "Dan the Music Man,”

Dan was part of the Great Brennan Broadcasting dynasty. He, along with his brothers Bill and Cyril, built WVOK in Birmingham, WBAM (The Big BAM) in Montgomery, WAPE in Jacksonville, FL, and WFLI in Chattanooga into the powerhouse radio stations of the south in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brennan became station manager of the new formed K-99 brought to Birmingham its first fulltime "album rock" format (or, as it's known in radio industry lingo, AOR - Album Oriented Rock) when it began broadcasting for the first time on December 6, 1976.

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