A Followup On My Drink With Hank...

I got to thinking about my drink with the immortal Hank Williams (it was in 1951) and I found this picture of him with Chester Smith on either the same day before Hank played the Riverbank Clubhouse that night or the day before Hank appeared.

This picture was taken at radio station KTRB in Modesto.

When Chester had guests there, some of us kids would often go to the station and sit in an enclosed area separated by glass from the broadcast booth and listen in on the radio show.

I remember seeing at least two other singers there. I seem to remember seeing Lefty Frizzell on the air with Chester once.

I didn't see this radio show with Hank but I saw one there with a very good singer as well as comedian called Terry Preston. Terry put on a pantomine style show (with sound) about a motorcycle rider who wore a baseball cap backwards. Baseball caps weren't worn much in those days and to see one on a mans head backwards was comical.

If I remember right, Terry introduced his own guest, the man with the backward hat and motorcycle, as Simon Crum, his very funny alter-ego.

It was an excellent show, a very funny pantomine type presentation and everyone applauded loudly when it was over. Strangely, no one heard a whole lot about Terry Preston after that.

However, I saw an interview with a famous country singer some time later and heard the interviewer ask the star why he used the name of Terry Preston instead of his own name when he was younger and playing a lot of music.
His answer was, "In those days I didn't think anyone would buy a record recorded by someone with a weird name like 'Ferlin Husky'."

Boy, was he wrong!

Later...