Some of you may remember (PattyKay will) 4 or 5 months ago I mentioned on the Racing Through History (Goat Rodeo) chat that back in the mid 60s at Richmond, Virginia's Southside Speedway I had heard an old 78 RPM record played on the trackP.A. to the tune of Hank Snow's " I'm Moving On ," but with a Stock Car Racing theme. Nobody was familiar with it and I never heard it again after that night in the 60s.
This past weekend at the Occoneechee / Orange Speedway Celebration function I ran into my old friends Joe and Ruth Kelly of Richmond. 75 year old Joe actually did the trackside interviews of the drivers strapped in their cars at Occoneechee Saturday. Joe isthe outstanding historian of stock car racing in the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially regarding 1950s era racingand actually rode motorcycles at Occoneechee back in the day. Joe and his lovely wife, Ruth have hosted a racing radio show and sometimes a tv show in the Richmond area called Let's Talk Racing for several decades and was brought to Occoneechee by ourtreasured RR photographer Ray Lamm.
In the early 1980s Joe promoted Southside Speedway and introduced NASCAR Late Model Stock Cars and Grand Stock cars to the Richmond area. However, before he promoted at Southside, Joe was the track P.A. Announcer along with the late Eddie Anderson for the legendary promoters JM Wilkinson and Emanuel Zervakis - the Golden Greek .
On Saturday at Occoneechee I asked Joe Kelly if he remembered such a song as the one I described. "Sure I do," said Joe. "It was sung by Crazy Joe Maphis on Richmond's Old Dominion Barn Dance on WRVA Radio about drivers in the Richmond Racing Association and atRoyall Speedway (predecessor to Southside) to the tune of Hank Snow's song 'Moving On' around 1950-1951. I have a copy and will make you a CD if you like."
I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Joe Kelly is the MAN!
A while ago I looked up Joe Maphis and found an old E-Bay auction item... the very record I remembered. If this copies, I will post a picture of the 78 and the E-Bay info. I am ecstatic and can't wait to hear this again after 45 years or so. FYI, Joe Maphis used to sing with Red Foley out of Chicago on the National Barn Dance before coming to Richmond and singing with the Carter F amily.He went on to fame in Nashville and Bakersfield, California before giving a young California singer named Barbara Mandrell her big break. Sadly, Joe Maphis is no longer with us. I am just so happy I went to Occoneechee, saw Joe & Ruth again and discovered that there is indeed a treasure of a racing record out there.
CRAZY JOE MAPHIS rockabilly RACING record '50s RICHMOND
End price:
USD
150
End date:
2009-08-18
Auctioned at:
ebay
Country:
USA
a
play tested
78rpm
~ Crazy Joe Maphis ~
Racing Record
one-sided private press and uncredited record but has been
identified as being by Rockabilly Guitar legend Joe Maphis
from around 1950 or 1951 at the latest and appears to pre-date
Maphis' first official recordings and his move to California
and possibly recorded from or for the legendary Richmond, Va
WRVA radio program the Old Dominion Barn Dance
or for the Richmond Stock Car Racing Association
privately released 78rpm or possibly even a test pressing
with the words "Racing Record" hand-written on one label with
deep groove rings and has grooves cut just into one side
and is a very obscure and possibly one-of-a-kind record
features a song set to the tune of the 1950 Hank Snow hit
"I'm Moving On" but with sound effects and racing themed lyrics
related to the legendary Richmond Stock Car Racing Association
weekly racing in Richmond, Virginia at Royall Speedway (which later
became the better-known Southside Speedway) & this song is a cool
old-time country number with Rockabilly Guitar licks along with piano
harmonica and maybe accordion with Emcee / Vocalist "Crazy Joe" Maphis
mentioning Royall Speedway & Richmond Stock Car Racing Association
by name and he describes what is likely a fictitious race in progress
while mentioning various Stock Car drivers from the area including the
following (some spelling may be wrong as some words aren't clear)
Little Joe Jernigan
Cal Johnson Pat Ford
Buck Mason / "Ol' 99"
Sonny Hutchins / "Ol' 91"
Little Runt Harris
Jimmy Dunn (Jimmie Dunn ?)
Al Williams (?)
Buddy Truman (?) aka "Old Tarheel"
~ record condition ~
in Very Good condition with some light visual wear
but no serious damage and still has a good bit of original
shine and has been fully play tested and sounds very good
with no bad noise and only mild surface noise and
plays fully through with no skips or repeats
if this record is as rare as we believe it to be
it would be worthy of transferring and cleaning up
the recording as it may not exist anywhere else
comes with a generic plain vintage sleeve
~ matrix #'s ~
side one : RS-101
the above is 'scrawled' into the dead wax
~ Crazy Joe Maphis ~
Joe Maphis was one of the flashiest guitarists in Country music
and was known as "The King of the Strings" for his ability to play
many stringed instruments including guitar, banjo, fiddle & mandolin
but he specialized in dazzling guitar virtuosity & some credit Maphis
as the man who created guitar flatpicking back in the 1930s when the
fiddle was the lead instrument in country & old-timey music & Maphis
was also one of the first people to take fiddle solos & transpose them
into guitar licks & by the end of the '40s his revolutionary style had
been copied by Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant & many other
hotshot guitar pickers & Maphis is best remembered for his outrageous
electric picking on a custom made Mosrite Doubleneck guitar
he became a star on his own after 1951 when he moved from
Richmond, Va area out to Bakersfield, California with his hits like
"Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)" & his signature
tune "Fire On The Strings" and he also played & recorded with greats
like Johnny Burnette, Doyle Holly and Eddie Cochran & the Collins Kids
Wanda Jackson and Rose Maddox and Ricky Nelson and Johnny Bond
Jimmy Boyd and Don Deal & Bob Denton and Terry Fell as well as
Ernie Freeman, Laura Lee Perkins, Jimmy Walker and many more and
was a regular guest on the Jimmy Dean television show in the '60s
Joe Maphis served in World War II and after his discharge he
went on to be a popular entertainer on the Old Dominion Barn Dance
in Richmond, Virginia which was broadcast over WRVA where Maphis
appeared along with artists such as Bill & Arline Wiltshire, Benny & Curly
Little Robert, Slim Idaho & his triple-necked steel guitar. Joe Maphis was
also known as 'Cousin' Joe Maphis when he sang / emceed & was also known
as as 'Crazy' Joe Maphis when he did a comedy routine. Joe spent 6 years
on The Dominion Barn Dance & met his future wife & recording
partner Rose Lee while on this program
Joe's guitar hero was Mother Maybelle Carter, matriarch of the
Carter Family. Her daughter June Carter Cash and husband Johnny Cash
so admired Joe's guitar playing that Joe is buried in a Hendersonville, TN
cemetery next to Maybelle & her husband Ezra Carter (A.P.'s brother)
~ Royall Speedway ~
the Richmond Stock Car Racing Association initiated
weekly racing in Richmond, Virginia at Royall Speedway
(which later became Southside Speedway) in 1950 with
Bud Wamsley often cruising down victory lane
~ "Little Joe" Jernigan ~
mentioned in the song on this record is legendary
Virginia Stock Car racer Joseph "Little Joe" Jernigan who
ran just four races in his NASCAR career. The Norfolk, Virginia
driver died in his final start at the Royal Speedway in Richmond, Va
when he turned over on the backstretch of the Richmond track as
was facing oncoming traffic and another race car struck his
vehicle and Jernigan was killed instantly
the mention of "Little Joe" in the song helps date
this rare recording, as the Royall Speedway opened in
1950 and "Little Joe" died at that speedway in '51
~ "I'm Moving On" ~
the song on this record features Stock Car Racing
references set to the tune of the 1950 song "I'm Movin' On"
by legendary country artist Hank Snow
--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
