The Farmer Boys from Farmersville

Recently, a good friend Troy Tuggle, made me aware of a man living in our midst who was a pioneer in country music—a musician who helped California earn its rightful place in country music history and one who played a part in developing the “Bakersfield Sound.” Not only is he forever connected to country music, he will always be linked to the town of Farmersville.

Bobby Adamson was born on a farm just outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1933. When he was nine, his family joined the long line of souls heading west in search of opportunity. His family had relatives in Farmersville, so the Adamson's settled there. Bobby attended Snowden School and graduated from Exeter High School in 1951.

While in school, Bobby never considered becoming a singer, musician or song writer. He couldn't read music or play an instrument but yet after high school something led him to Mom and Pops, a small Farmersville café on Visalia Road about a block west of Farmersville Blvd. The little eatery had only a few seats, but it had a jukebox and Bobby enjoyed singing along with the records. Another young man, Woody Murray, also frequented the café and he and Bobby hit it off. They were the same age, both from Arkansas and the boys enjoyed harmonizing together as they sang along with the music.

The boys sounded good together and word of their talent spread. Soon Glen Howard, a local musician, promoter and manager of the Happy Go Lucky dance hall hired the boys. The dance hall was a Tulare County hotspot on the east side of the Visalia-Tulare Highway (Mooney Blvd) near Tulare Ave in Tulare. It wasn't fancy consisting of one big room with a bandstand. Admission was a dollar and the Saturday night dance started at 9pm and ended at 1am.

Bobby and Woody were regulars at the Happy Go Lucky. Bobby sang lead and was the spokesman for the duo during performances, and Woody sang harmony and played the rhythm guitar. One evening, Herb Henson, musician and host of the Cousin Herb Henson Trading Post television show in Bakersfield, saw Bobby and Woody perform. He invited them to be regulars on his show, and they agreed. When Henson introduced them as the Farmer Boys from Farmersville, the name stuck. With the new name, came a new stage look that included overalls, boots and hats, and for two years they played on the TV show.

In 1954, convinced that Bobby and Woody had special talent, Henson arranged for the Farmer Boys to go to Hollywood and audition with Capitol Records. Record executives liked their sound and they were given a three-year recording contract. The first recording session was on January 12, 1955, and they recorded “Onions, Onions,” a song Bobby and Woody had written in their car on the way to Dinuba to do a radio show on KRDU. They also recorded “You're a Humdinger” written by Tommy Collins. That same year Bobby married Ruth Hunt—a union that has thrived for 56 years.

During the Capitol contract period, the Farmer Boys also signed with promoter A. B. Bamford, and as a result were included in three US/Canada tours. The tours included many legendary country music performers like Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, Red Sovine and Hank Locklin. These road trips were exciting for the young performers, but the one with Elvis Presley was especially memorable. Even though Elvis was two years younger than the boys, he clearly was the draw on the tour. Bobby recalls that Elvis was such a gentleman. He had already achieved stardom and yet he always treated his fellow performers with respect. Bobby also remembers the fan's reaction to the king of rock and roll. “I've seen girls faint, fall down and stick their hands through closed car windows trying to get to Elvis. It was unbelievable,” he said.

After the recording contract with Capitol Records ended in 1957 and the tours were over, the Farmer Boys continued to perform. The County Line Club and the Rock-a-Bye Club in Rosamond and the Kork Room in Lancaster were regular performance spots for the boys. Buck Owens even paid them a visit while they performed at the County Line.

In addition to out of the area shows, the Farmer Boys spent considerable time performing at local dance spots like Mills Grove (northeast of Visalia), the Pine Burr (south of Goshen), the Hong Kong Restaurant (Visalia), Hi-De-Ho Club (Tulare), Oak Woods Park (at the Kings River near Kingsburg), and Smokey's Bar (Visalia).

By 1963 Bobby and Woody were feeling the pressure of their performance schedules and decided to go separate ways. Bobby and Ruth had just had their second child, Bobby (who is currently the pastor of the Sound of His Voice World Harvest Church in Visalia), and Terri, their first born, (who is currently a real estate agent) had just turned six. Clearly family considerations played a part in the decision.

After the Farmer Boys split up, Bobby continued to perform occasionally. In 1969, he began working at Real Fresh in Visalia and in 1998 this devoutly Christian man retired as a Quality Assurance Supervisor. Bobby lives in Exeter and enjoys his family including grandchildren and great grandchildren. Woody also stayed in the area, and passed away in 2002.

Art Browning misses his old friend Woody. For a long time Art and Woody would get together every Saturday night and sing. In fact, Art sang at Woody's funeral.

Hoyt “Sonny” Shepard saw Bobby and Woody perform during their ten-year run and said, “They had it together—they knew how to please a crowd.” Art Browning said the two “bonded like the Everly Brothers.”

Fortunately for us, the Farmer Boys left us 16 songs to enjoy on a CD titled The Farmer Boys—Flash, Crash and Thunder. It is available at www.amazon.com. In the search box under music, type in the Farmer Boys and their CD appears and you can listen to samples of each of the songs. You won't be disappointed.

Voices from Four Creeks Country appears in the Valley Voice in the first issue of each month. Terry can be reached at histerry@comcast.net or visit his blog at www.visaliahistory.blogspot.com.

The above story is the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.