Merl Lindsay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Merl Lindsay
Birth name Merle Lindsay Salathiel
Born 1916
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died October 12, 1965
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genre(s) Western swing
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter, Bandleader
Instrument(s) Vocals, Fiddle
Years active 1930s-1960s
Label(s) Four Star - Bullett - MGM - Mercury
Associated acts Merl Lindsay and the Oklahoma Nightriders
Ozark Jubilee Band

Merl Lindsay (1916-1965) was one of the premier Western Swing musicians from the 1930s to the mid 1960s.[1] Lindsay was born Merle Lindsay Salathiel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and died there from complications with cancer on October 12, 1965.

Lindsay began his music career in 1936 playing fiddle in his father's (C.E. Salathiel) ballroom— Salathiel's Barn. In 1937 he formed his first band, the Barnyard Boys. In 1947 he created a larger band and added a female singer. The new band he called Merl Lindsay & The Oklahoma Night Riders. During the 1940s, Lindsay owned a ballroom in Compton, California, and broadcast over a four station radio hookup in Hollywood and Long Beach.

In 1957 he joined Red Foley's television show, Ozark Jubilee, for a few months taking over the house band—the Ozark Jubilee Band.

During the later years he toured the US and performed at his ballroom, Lindsayland, in Oklahoma City.

Many famous Western Swing musicians performed with Lindsay's bands over the years. Two of his female singers were Wanda Jackson[2] and Norma Jean (Beasler)[3]. Doyle Salathiel (1920-1976), his brother, played with Lindsay's bands as well as others and was himself a composer. Doyle wrote the words for the band's signature song, Water Baby Blues. His nephew, Max Salathiel (1935-2006), an accomplished Oklahoma City guitar player, also worked with his band in the 1950s.

[edit] Songs

Lindsay wrote many songs that became hits both for himself and other Western Swing artists. Among them:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boyd, The Jazz of the Southwest, p. 177: "... the famed Merle Lindsey [sic], whose big western swing band out of Oklahoma City was one of the best in the Southwest. ..."
  2. ^ Wolfe, Country Music Annual 2002p. 193: "Jackson first performed on KLPR radio in Oklahoma City at the age of fifteen. She also joined the Merle Lindsay[sic] and Hank thompson bands while in high school in Oklahoma City."
  3. ^ Tribe, Country: A Regional Exploration, p. 102: "... Merle Lindsey [sic] and the Oklahoma Night Riders, which did well in the early and mid-50s, furnishing a place of apprenticeship for country girl Norma Jean Beasler (b. 1938), who as 'Pretty Miss Norma Jean' became one of the new breed of female countrystars in the 1960s."


[edit] Bibliography

  • Boyd, Jean Ann. The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing. University of Texas Press, 1998. ISBN 0-292-70860-2
  • Coffey, Kevin. Merl Lindsay and his Oklahoma Nite Riders (Krazy Kat KKCD 33, 2005) insert.
  • Tribe, Ivan. Country: A Regional Exploration. Greenwood Press, 2006. ISBN 0-313-33026-3
  • Wolfe, Charles K.; James E. Akenson. Country Music Annual 2002, University Press of Kentucky, 2002. ISBN 0-8131-0991-4


 This article about an American musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.