Big Slim, The Lone Cowboy

b. Harry C. McAuliffe, 9 Might, probably near Bluefield, Mercer Region, Western Virginia, USA, d. 13 Oct 1966, NY, USA. The entire year of his delivery remains obscure, because of what continues to be politely referred to as ‘his personal convenience of contradictory claims’. (He gave it at different times as 1899, 1903, 1904 and 1905.) He also stated that he was created on the 750-acre plantation but on additional occasions said it had been Bluefield, and there possess even been statements that he was created in Pennsylvania. He might well possess, as he usually stated, worked both like a cowboy and on the railroad, before getting radio function in Pittsburgh in 1929. He certainly experienced substantial skill with horses, which he later on utilized to great impact in his stage take action. It has additionally been alleged that he done the boundary radio train station at Eagle Move, Tx. On 17 Dec 1936, in NY, as Big Slim Aliff and with just his very own guitar, he documented four edges for Decca Information, including the initial saving of ‘Footprints In The Snow’, a tune that is today a country regular. In 1937, he became a member of WWVA, initial as an associate of Doc Williams’ music group but he shortly became among the Wheeling Jamboree’s most liked superstars. Although, on events, he produced some performances on other channels, he spent the vast majority of his profession at WWVA. He possessed a solid deep tone of voice and his renditions of traditional western songs, such as for example ‘Strawberry Roan’ and ‘Patanio, The Satisfaction FROM THE Plains’, endeared him to radio listeners and live viewers alike. Together with his equine, Golden Adobe flash, Slim’s skill having a bullwhip was a part of his stage take action. He copyrighted some tunes including ‘On The Sunny Part Of The Hill’, even though some of his statements for authorship have already been disputed. In the past due 40s, he produced recordings for Dixie and Web page plus some years later on, he previously three albums released from the Canadian Arc label. Encircled with what was without doubt his personal carefully spun combination of truth and fiction, he was a significant contributor to nation music, not merely through his personal insight but certainly for the actual fact that both Hank Snow and Hawkshaw Hawkins owed too much to Big Thin for his assist in the early phases of their professions. Snow relates a great deal of information regarding their association in his autobiography. Big Slim passed away in 1966 and it is buried at Wheeling, Western Virginia.