Kenneth Carllile
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Ray Carllile better known as Thumbs Carllile, was an innovative American country music
guitarist and songwriter known for his fingerstyle playing, sitting with his guitar in his lap while fretting, picking and strumming with his fingers and thumbs. He performed with Little Jimmy Dickens at the Grand Ole Opry
in the early 1950s, and was a member of Roger Miller
's band from 1964 to 1972.
and grew up on his impoverished father's tenant farm in Harrisburg, Illinois
. At age eight he began playing a Dobro
resonator guitar
won by his sister Evelyn, and after she hid the steel bar, Carllile began using his thumbs. When his father gave him a Silvertone
guitar, his small thumb and fingers were too short to make it around the neck, so he played it on his lap like the Dobro.
, and he later made his debut playing "Sweet Georgia Brown
" at a Ferlin Husky
concert at the Music Box Club in East St. Louis
. He was expelled from high school at 16 for refusing to shave, and instead performed with Husky until he was discovered by Little Jimmy Dickens in 1949 during a St. Louis appearance. He joined Dickens' Country Boys after demonstrating he could play both parts of Dickens' twin guitar lines. Dickins gave him the nickname Thumbs, which Carllile never embraced. He played with the group until 1952, including performances at the Grand Ole Opry.
From 1952–54, Carllile served in the US Army, performing with its Special Services division. He was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany where he met and married another servicemember, singer-songwriter Virginia Boyle, in 1955. After his discharge, Carllile regularly appeared on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee
in Springfield, Missouri
from 1956–57, both as a soloist and with Bill Wimberley's Country Rhythm Boys. They released Springfield Guitar Social on Starday in 1958. In the late 50s, he and Virginia performed in Billings, Montana and appeared on KOOK-TV
.
In 1961, Carllile met guitarist Les Paul
, who was impressed by Carllile's skill and his wife's songwriting, and they recorded enough tracks for two albums at Paul's home studio in Mahwah, New Jersey. Later that year, Carllile released a duet on Epic
with Ginny O'Boyle, "Indian Girl, Indian Boy".
's band, where he stayed until 1972. He appeared on Miller's 1966 NBC-TV show
, and performed with him five times on NBC's Tonight Show
during the 1960s. He also appeared at the Grammy Awards when Miller swept the country categories in 1964 with "Dang Me
", and in 1965 with "King of the Road
" (1965), for which Carllile provided the song's signature finger snaps.
Miller helped him sign with Smash Records
, where he released two albums, Roger Miller Presents Thumbs Carllile and All Thumbs in 1965. He released several singles for Smash, including "My Bossa Nova/Candy Girl" (1966). Several tracks he recorded for the label were popular but did not chart, including "Let it Be Me", "Caravan", "No Yesterday", "Theme from Picnic", "Blue Skies", "Stranger On The Shore
" and "Hold It". In 1968, Carllile signed with Capitol
and recorded the album Walking in Guitar Land.
to Decatur, Georgia
, where Virginia worked in a factory making springs. Carllile underwent surgery that year for colon cancer, which, despite fundraisers, left the family bankrupt. After recovering, he played with his trio, The Indecent 3; performed on Sagebrush Boogie, a weekly program on Atlanta's WRFG-FM; and was a regular at such venues as the Freight Room in Decatur and The Point.
In late July 1987, Carllile suffered a mild heart attack while driving back to Decatur from Chattanooga with his newest release. He was preparing to perform as the regular opening act for guitarist Michael Hedges when he died on July 31. He was buried in Decatur Cemetery.
singer in Atlanta, Georgia
who once led Kathy Carllile and Tabasco, and had a minor hit with "Stay Until the Rain Stops" in 1986 on the Frontline
label. She and Carllile were once winners on The Gong Show
.
Tammy Carllile sang in the Cowboy Boogie Band in Las Vegas
and won Nashville's Hall of Fame singing competition; and also sang vocals on albums with her father. Her two sons, Joseph Carllile and Daniel Guidry, are musicians and aspire to make a career of it.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
guitarist and songwriter known for his fingerstyle playing, sitting with his guitar in his lap while fretting, picking and strumming with his fingers and thumbs. He performed with Little Jimmy Dickens at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
in the early 1950s, and was a member of Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
's band from 1964 to 1972.
Biography
Kenneth Carllile was born April 2, 1931 in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and grew up on his impoverished father's tenant farm in Harrisburg, Illinois
Harrisburg, Illinois
Harrisburg is a city and township in Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansville, Indiana, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The 2010 population was 9,017, with a township population of 10,790. It is the county seat of Saline County...
. At age eight he began playing a Dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
resonator guitar
Resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
won by his sister Evelyn, and after she hid the steel bar, Carllile began using his thumbs. When his father gave him a Silvertone
Silvertone (instruments)
Silvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand by Sears in 1915...
guitar, his small thumb and fingers were too short to make it around the neck, so he played it on his lap like the Dobro.
Early career
In 1941, Carllile's family moved to Granite City, IllinoisGranite City, Illinois
Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. At the 2010 census, the population was 29,849, making it the third largest city in the Metro-East and Southern Illinois, behind Alton and Belleville...
, and he later made his debut playing "Sweet Georgia Brown
Sweet Georgia Brown
"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...
" at a Ferlin Husky
Ferlin Husky
Ferlin Eugene Husky was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes...
concert at the Music Box Club in East St. Louis
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
. He was expelled from high school at 16 for refusing to shave, and instead performed with Husky until he was discovered by Little Jimmy Dickens in 1949 during a St. Louis appearance. He joined Dickens' Country Boys after demonstrating he could play both parts of Dickens' twin guitar lines. Dickins gave him the nickname Thumbs, which Carllile never embraced. He played with the group until 1952, including performances at the Grand Ole Opry.
From 1952–54, Carllile served in the US Army, performing with its Special Services division. He was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany where he met and married another servicemember, singer-songwriter Virginia Boyle, in 1955. After his discharge, Carllile regularly appeared on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
from 1956–57, both as a soloist and with Bill Wimberley's Country Rhythm Boys. They released Springfield Guitar Social on Starday in 1958. In the late 50s, he and Virginia performed in Billings, Montana and appeared on KOOK-TV
KTVQ
KTVQ is the CBS TV affiliate in Billings, Montana, USA. It broadcasts on channel 2 and is owned by the Evening Post Publishing Company...
.
In 1961, Carllile met guitarist Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
, who was impressed by Carllile's skill and his wife's songwriting, and they recorded enough tracks for two albums at Paul's home studio in Mahwah, New Jersey. Later that year, Carllile released a duet on Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
with Ginny O'Boyle, "Indian Girl, Indian Boy".
With Roger Miller
In 1963, Carllile joined the Wade Ray Five, and Ray's Las Vegas band, but left the following year to join Roger MillerRoger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
's band, where he stayed until 1972. He appeared on Miller's 1966 NBC-TV show
The Roger Miller Show
The Roger Miller Show was an American music variety television show hosted by Roger Miller. The NBC program aired on Monday nights from 8:30–9 p.m. ET from September 12–December 26, 1966. The house band was the Eddie Karam Orchestra....
, and performed with him five times on NBC's Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
during the 1960s. He also appeared at the Grammy Awards when Miller swept the country categories in 1964 with "Dang Me
Dang Me
"Dang Me" is a 1964 song by American country music artist Roger Miller, and that year's Grammy Award winner for Best Country & Western Song. Miller's first major country hit and first Top Ten pop music hit, it was a novelty song whose "jazzy instrumental section" helped make it "the quintessential...
", and in 1965 with "King of the Road
King of the Road (song)
"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.The lyrics tell of a hobo who despite being poor revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road"...
" (1965), for which Carllile provided the song's signature finger snaps.
Miller helped him sign with Smash Records
Smash Records
Smash Records is an American record label. It was founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966...
, where he released two albums, Roger Miller Presents Thumbs Carllile and All Thumbs in 1965. He released several singles for Smash, including "My Bossa Nova/Candy Girl" (1966). Several tracks he recorded for the label were popular but did not chart, including "Let it Be Me", "Caravan", "No Yesterday", "Theme from Picnic", "Blue Skies", "Stranger On The Shore
Stranger on the Shore
"Stranger on the Shore" is a piece for clarinet written by Acker Bilk for his young daughter and originally named Jenny after her. It was subsequently used as the theme tune of a BBC TV drama serial for young people that was also called Stranger on the Shore.The track, performed by Bilk "Stranger...
" and "Hold It". In 1968, Carllile signed with Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and recorded the album Walking in Guitar Land.
Later years
In 1986, he moved from Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
to Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
, where Virginia worked in a factory making springs. Carllile underwent surgery that year for colon cancer, which, despite fundraisers, left the family bankrupt. After recovering, he played with his trio, The Indecent 3; performed on Sagebrush Boogie, a weekly program on Atlanta's WRFG-FM; and was a regular at such venues as the Freight Room in Decatur and The Point.
In late July 1987, Carllile suffered a mild heart attack while driving back to Decatur from Chattanooga with his newest release. He was preparing to perform as the regular opening act for guitarist Michael Hedges when he died on July 31. He was buried in Decatur Cemetery.
Family
Carllile's two daughters are also musicians: Kathy Carllile is a bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
who once led Kathy Carllile and Tabasco, and had a minor hit with "Stay Until the Rain Stops" in 1986 on the Frontline
Frontline Records (1980s)
Frontline Records was a Christian record label founded in 1986 by James Kempner. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, and hip-hop...
label. She and Carllile were once winners on The Gong Show
The Gong Show
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
.
Tammy Carllile sang in the Cowboy Boogie Band in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
and won Nashville's Hall of Fame singing competition; and also sang vocals on albums with her father. Her two sons, Joseph Carllile and Daniel Guidry, are musicians and aspire to make a career of it.