The Foggy River Boys was the name of two related American male singing quartets from southern Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 specializing in spiritual

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

 and country music

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...

 in the 1940s and 50s.

1940s group

The original Foggy River Boys traced their lineage to the early 1940s, when Bill and Monty Matthews, joined by brothers Jack and Matt, formed the Matthews Brothers in Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. As of the 2000 U.S...

. All were ordained ministers for Disciples of Christ. They had two daily live shows on KWTO-AM

KWTO

KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....

 in Springfield, Missouri.

In 1947, they appeared with Red Foley

Red Foley

Clyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....

 on The Prince Albert Show, the nationally-broadcast portion of 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 Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

. Matt and Jack left in 1948 to become full-time preachers and were replaced by Bob Hubbard, also a minister, and bass singer Cully Holt. They first called the new group the Melodizing Matthews, but changed the name to The Jordanaires

The Jordanaires

The Jordanaires are an American vocal quartet, which formed as a gospel group in 1948. They are best known for providing vocal background for Elvis Presley, in live appearances and recordings from 1956 to 1972...

, after the Jordan River. They signed with RCA Records

RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

, and recorded secular music under the name The Foggy River Boys (after a nickname for the Cumberland River

Cumberland River

The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...

). In 1952, Hoyt Hawkins replaced Hubbard and Neal Matthews, Jr.

Neal Matthews, Jr.

Neal Matthews, Jr. was an American vocalist who achieved fame as part of The Jordanaires, one of country music's premier backup groups; most notably with Elvis Presley.-Biography:...

 (no relation) replaced Monty Matthews, forming the version of the Jordanaires who went on to back Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

.

1950s group

The second iteration of The Foggy River Boys formed 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...

 about 1954 with Charlie Hodge

Charlie Hodge (guitarist)

Charles Franklin Hodge , better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and associate of Elvis Presley.- Early music career :...

 as lead vocalist, with brothers Bill and Monty Matthews and one other member. Hodge was replaced by Les Robertson in 1956. They were signed to Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 and also recorded on the Mercury

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

, Starday and Foremost Records labels. They backed Fess Parker

Fess Parker

Fess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...

, Homer and Jethro

Homer and Jethro

Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. Haynes and Kenneth C. Burns , popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs...

, Red Foley and Bobby Lord

Bobby Lord

Robert L. Lord , better known as Bobby Lord, was an American country music artist popular in the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...

.

George Richardson, replacing one of the Matthews brothers, joined in 1957. That year they changed their name to The Marksmen, which by then consisted of Robertson (lead), Richardson (baritone) Earl Terry (tenor) and Don Taylor (bass). Robertson, Richardson and Terry were from Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

; Taylor was from Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...

. They were regulars on ABC-TV

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

'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...

from 1955 to 1960, and also appeared on The Eddy Arnold Show

The Eddy Arnold Show

The Eddy Arnold Show is the name of three similar American network television summer variety programs during the 1950s hosted by Eddy Arnold and featuring popular music stars of the day...

in 1956 and NBC's Five Star Jubilee

Five Star Jubilee

Five Star Jubilee was an American country music variety show carried by NBC-TV from March 17–September 22, 1961. The live program, a spin-off of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA, was the first network color television series to originate outside New York City or Hollywood.From March 17 to May 5, the...

in 1961. In May 1957 they performed on NBC-TV's Tennessee Ernie Ford

Tennessee Ernie Ford

Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...

 Show and Cliffie Stone

Cliffie Stone

Cliffie Stone , born Clifford Gilpin Snyder, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California’s thriving country music scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades...

's Hometown Jamboree

Hometown Jamboree

Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...

in Los Angeles.