Texas Ruby
Encyclopedia
Texas Ruby born Ruby Agnes Owens, was a pioneering country music
female vocalist of the 1930s through the early 1960s.
, near Decatur
. When she was three years old she started to sing, often together with her two brothers. Her career began when a Kansas City radio station owner heard her sing in Fort Worth, Texas
. In early 1937, she recorded for Decca Records
. Later that year, she met Curly Fox
in Fort Worth. They were married in 1939.
Ruby was dubbed "radio's original cowgirl". The husky voice star was something of a cross between Sophie Tucker
(whom she was often compared to) and Dale Evans
and with her husband, fiddler Curly Fox
was an enormously popular radio and personal appearances star in the 1940s although she failed to have any hit records. Her best-known song, "Don't Let That Man Get You Down" predates Loretta Lynn
's famous stand-up-to-your-man hits by twenty years. This sassy persona was adopted on most of Ruby's recordings, "Ain't You Sorry That You Lied" and "You've Been Cheating on Me", songs perhaps too trailblazing to have been record hits in that very conservative era of country music. Most of Texas Ruby's recordings were done for the King Records
and Columbia Records
labels. Her first sessions were for Decca Records
in 1937.
Texas Ruby made her first breakthrough in the music industry working with country bandleader Zeke Clements
but by the mid forties she and husband Fox had developed their own stage act and were much in demand, including a stint as regulars on the Grand Ole Opry
from 1944 to 1948. The Foxes left the Opry and in late 1948 moved to Texas, where most of their concert dates were. The move seemed to push national stardom further away from the duo, who in the early 1960s moved first to Los Angeles (appearing on the Town Hall Party country music television series) and then back to Nashville in attempts to return to the limelight.
Fox, widely considered one of country music's greatest fiddlers, worked the Opry more frequently as background instrumentalist than as a star. As he was appearing on the Opry on March 29, 1963, Ruby fell asleep smoking in their mobile home and was killed in the resulting fire. It was the most grim month in Opry history as Ruby was the fifth Grand Ole Opry star to die that month, following Patsy Cline
, Hawkshaw Hawkins
, Cowboy Copas
, and Jack Anglin
. Fox was reinstated as an official Grand Ole Opry member shortly afterward but he retired by 1970.
Ruby was the sister of Tex Owens, who composed Eddy Arnold
's hit "The Cattle Call
."
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...
female vocalist of the 1930s through the early 1960s.
Biography
Ruby was born on a ranch in Wise County, TexasWise County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,793 people, 17,178 households, and 13,467 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 19,242 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, near Decatur
Decatur, Texas
Decatur is a city located in Wise County, Texas, United States. This city was named after Stephen Decatur, Jr. The population was 5,201 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 6,432. It is the county seat of Wise County...
. When she was three years old she started to sing, often together with her two brothers. Her career began when a Kansas City radio station owner heard her sing in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
. In early 1937, she recorded for 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....
. Later that year, she met Curly Fox
Curly Fox
Arnim LeRoy Fox , better known as Curly Fox, was an American fiddler and country musician.-Biography:...
in Fort Worth. They were married in 1939.
Ruby was dubbed "radio's original cowgirl". The husky voice star was something of a cross between Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
(whom she was often compared to) and Dale Evans
Dale Evans
Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...
and with her husband, fiddler Curly Fox
Curly Fox
Arnim LeRoy Fox , better known as Curly Fox, was an American fiddler and country musician.-Biography:...
was an enormously popular radio and personal appearances star in the 1940s although she failed to have any hit records. Her best-known song, "Don't Let That Man Get You Down" predates Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
's famous stand-up-to-your-man hits by twenty years. This sassy persona was adopted on most of Ruby's recordings, "Ain't You Sorry That You Lied" and "You've Been Cheating on Me", songs perhaps too trailblazing to have been record hits in that very conservative era of country music. Most of Texas Ruby's recordings were done for the King Records
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
and Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
labels. Her first sessions were for 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....
in 1937.
Texas Ruby made her first breakthrough in the music industry working with country bandleader Zeke Clements
Zeke Clements
Zeke Clements was an American country musician often dressed in a Western outfit. He was known as "The Dixie Yodeler."-Biography:...
but by the mid forties she and husband Fox had developed their own stage act and were much in demand, including a stint as regulars on 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...
from 1944 to 1948. The Foxes left the Opry and in late 1948 moved to Texas, where most of their concert dates were. The move seemed to push national stardom further away from the duo, who in the early 1960s moved first to Los Angeles (appearing on the Town Hall Party country music television series) and then back to Nashville in attempts to return to the limelight.
Fox, widely considered one of country music's greatest fiddlers, worked the Opry more frequently as background instrumentalist than as a star. As he was appearing on the Opry on March 29, 1963, Ruby fell asleep smoking in their mobile home and was killed in the resulting fire. It was the most grim month in Opry history as Ruby was the fifth Grand Ole Opry star to die that month, following Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Hawkshaw Hawkins
Hawkshaw Hawkins
Harold Franklin Hawkins , better known as Hawkshaw Hawkins, was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 60s known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk...
, Cowboy Copas
Cowboy Copas
Lloyd Estel Copas , known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry.-Biography:Copas was born in 1913 in...
, and Jack Anglin
Jack Anglin
Jack Anglin was an American country music singer best known as a member of The Anglin Brothers, and later Johnnie & Jack with Johnnie Wright....
. Fox was reinstated as an official Grand Ole Opry member shortly afterward but he retired by 1970.
Ruby was the sister of Tex Owens, who composed Eddy Arnold
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...
's hit "The Cattle Call
The Cattle Call
"The Cattle Call" is a song written and recorded in 1934 by American songwriter and musician Tex Owens. It became a signature song for Eddy Arnold....
."
External links
- http://www.rootsweb.com/~txrober2/TexasRubyCurlyFox.htm