LEON'S LONE STAR COWBOYS – I'm Serving Days (Decca, 1937)
A resident of Shreveport from the 1910s to the 1960s, the
life of Leon Chappelear included both dismal tragedies as well as fortuitous
connections. The high points involve
playing in a popular band responsible for sizable hits in the 1930s (“Deep Elm
Blues” and “Just Because” -- the latter covered by other musicians including
Elvis Presley in 1954) and playing guitar on Jimmie Davis’s first recording of
“You Are My Sunshine.” The low points
include a debilitating car wreck and suicide.
For those curious about Chappelear, there’s a rich amount of
information already compiled and accessible thanks to music researchers and reissue
record labels. There are two CD
compilations with extensive 20-page liner notes – Western Swing Chronicles, Vol. 2 (Origin Jazz Library OJL-1001) and Automatic Mama (Bear Family BCD 16254). Also, here a couple
online biographies – "Leon Chappel" by "Leon Chappel" by Kevin Carey.
Between 1935 and 1937, his band recorded over 50 songs,
which range stylistically from western swing, to sentimental country, to
blues. Most of Leon’s really great
recordings appeared on compilation CD’s issued during the last decade. In an effort to highlight one of his band’s less
circulated songs, here’s their recording of “I’m Serving Days” from my scratchy
copy. The group’s fiddle player, Lonnie
Hall, composed the song. Hall was Leon’s
close friend in life and cemetery plot neighbor in the hereafter. Notice the song’s similarity to another
popular tune coincidentally recorded in Shreveport eight years prior – “Sitting On Top Of The World” by the Mississippi Sheiks.
While much of Leon’s music, biographical information, and
photographs are readily accessible to those interested in picking up his CD’s,
here are a few rare items I’ve run across over the years:
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| It’s 11:55, do you know where your Lone Star Cowboys are? Left to right: Slim Harbert, Buck Fields, Chris Herrington, Leon Chappelear. (Photo postcard postmarked April 16, 1935.) |
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It’s 1937, turn your dial to KRMD at 1:30pm to catch the
Lone Star Cowboys. Don’t miss the
Sunshine Boys and the Range Riders on KWKH, either. (Shreveport
Times [Shreveport, LA], January 22, 1937.) Note: for legible display size, try this link.
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“‘There’s not much to add to what we’ve already reported,’
Chappelear said.”
(Lee Travis, “Hand-Picked For Plunder,” Startling Detective [January 1945.])
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“The end and the reward of toil is rest.” (Leon Chappelear
tombstone, Eppes Cemetery, Shreveport, Louisiana, summer 2006.)
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For those curious about Leon’s life, but lacking the
motivation to seek out and read 25-page liner note booklets, here are some of
his biographical highlights:
- grew up in East Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana (1910s and 1920s)
- joined Bob and Joe Attlesey to form the Lone Star Cowboys, who are hired by KWKH radio station in Shreveport (circa 1930)
- recorded solo for Gennett Phonograph Company in Indiana (1932)
- Lone Star Cowboys travel to Chicago with their local musical pal Jimmie Davis; they serve as Davis’s backing band on a few of his recordings; they also make a few recordings of their own (1933)
- Lone Star Cowboys split and form two groups: Leon’s Lone Star Cowboys and the Shelton Brothers (1934)
- Leon’s Lone Star Cowboys begin making records for Decca (1935)
- Leon’s Lone Star Cowboys in car wreck, Leon suffers head injury (1935)
- Leon’s Lone Star Cowboys participate in more recording sessions for Decca (1936-1937)
- Leon’s Lone Star Cowboys break up (1938)
- plays guitar on Jimmie Davis’s first recording of “You Are My Sunshine” (1940)
- revives recording career, releases records by “Leon Chappel” for Capitol Records (1950-1953)
- dies as a result of a self-inflicted shotgun blast (1962)
- resides in Eppes Cemetery (1962-present)
*According to Shreveport city directories, Leon’s employment
includes these listings: musician (1935-1936), patrolman for Shreveport Police
Department (1943-1945), salesman (1953-1955), pound master at the Shreveport
Dog Pound (1956-1960), foreman at the Caddo-Shreveport Health Unit (1961-1962).