When we think of country music, we often think of Nashville. However, Athol too has made contributions to the genre including those made by Yodeling Slim Clark and the Red River Rangers. “He was the first homegrown regional famous cowboy singer from that region of Massachusetts,” said Clifford Murphy, author of Yankee Twang, Country and Western Music in New England.
In the 1930s, Clark started playing shows on what was known as the Kerosene circuit, according to Clark. “This circuit included gigs at grange halls, town halls and churches where there was no electricity and no sound systems. Instead, kerosene lanterns were used and he would get on stage and belt out his songs,” said Murphy. Clark was born in Springfield, and eventually moved to Petersham where his mother, Mary Clark, brother and sister lived, said Clark’s daughter Jewel, who also yodels.
Among the yodelers who inspired Clark were Wilf Carter and Jimmie Rogers. “My father always loved Jimmie Rogers and Wilf Carter, who both yodeled,” according to Clark. She continued she read a book entitled “Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World,” by Bert Plentenga. In the book, Plentenga described Clark as the “spiritual stepchild of Jimmy Rogers and Wilf Carter. That would have honored him to be described in that way,” said Clark.
Clark formed the Athol-based band the Red River Rangers in the late 1930s. The group played on WARE in Ware and WKNE in Keene, New Hampshire. “They would play a live set on the radio then people would write letters asking them to play in their town, then they would go play in their town,” Murphy said.
Other well-known Red River Ranger group members included Kenny Roberts, another famous musician and yodeler who lived in Athol and attended Athol High School. Rogers dropped out of high school in his junior year and joined the Red River Rangers singing and playing his mandolin, Murphy said, adding that he interviewed Roberts for his book. “Kenny Roberts said his dad was not happy that he dropped out of high school to play music.” Roberts eventually was recruited by another group called the Down Homers, who in 1943 moved to Iowa. In 1944, Roberts was drafted into the Navy. Before Roberts left the group he had to train his replacement, Bill Haley, later of Bill Haley and the Comets, said Murphy.
The Red River Rangers’ live shows were four-hour shows, according to Murphy. “The first part was a concert with people sitting listening to cowboy and folk songs. Then the chairs would be moved out of the room and there would be two hours of dancing to old time traditional country and fiddle tunes,” he said. “Slim Clark was known for singing songs about cowboys and hobos and heartbreak. Stuff that makes you cry and wants to make you ramble, hop on a freight train and have an adventure while all the while incorporating yodeling into his music,” said Murphy. The Red River Rangers continued performing until sometime in the early 1940s, said Murphy. Yodeling Slim by the end of the 1940s had formed another local band called the Trail Riders, he said.
Clark said she learned how to yodel by growing up surrounded by yodeling. “I didn’t start yodeling consciously until the mid to late 1990s. I realized how beautiful it is. I love to perform in town halls and grange halls,” she said. Her brother, Wilf Clark, has also performed and founded Wilf Clark and the Misty Mountaineers.
More information about Yodeling Slim Clark can be found at www.yodelingslimclark.com
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.