HUGH JARRETT
2004 Non Performer
Nashville, Tennessee native, Hugh
Jarrett, grew-up in a musical family. In his early teens he formed or
participated in local barbershop quartets that competed regularly on the
programs at Centennial Park in that city. He began his music career in radio
with a brief stint in Greeneville, SC, moving to Jackson, TN where he worked
with Wink Martindale, then WKDA, Nashville and WHIN in nearby Gallatin. It was while at WHIN that he staged his
first “record hop.” He continued to
sing with various groups in Nashville.
In the early 1950s Jarrett joined The Jordanaires, then members of the
Grand Ole Opry, as their bass singer. They toured and recorded with various
artists and appeared with Eddie Arnold in a series of weekly television shows
from Chicago. It was at an Eddie Arnold
concert at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, that Elvis Presley told Jordanaires
member, Hoyt Hawkins, that if he ever became as famous as Eddie Arnold he wanted
them as his back-up singers. With his meteoric rise to fame, Elvis’s wishes
were granted and The Jordanaires became an integral part of his recordings and
appearances for the next several years.
The
Jordanaires first Atlanta appearance with Elvis was as part of six acts booked
at The Fox Theater on March 15-16, 1956.
Hugh served as emcee for this and subsequent Elvis shows. They returned
to Atlanta with Elvis for a show at the Paramount Theater June 22-24, 1956.
The
Jordanaires appeared with Elvis on most of the now famous TV shows, in the movies
“Loving You” and “King Creole” and on the soundtrack for “Jailhouse Rock”. Hugh’s bass voice is heard on over 50 of
Elvis recordings including the ten-plus million selling “Don’t Be Cruel.” He
left The Jordanaires about the time Elvis was drafted into the Army.
Together with Buzz Cason and Richard Willliams, Hugh formed
The Statues. They produced the hit
“Blue Velvet” for Liberty records. By
1960 Hugh was back into radio when he joined WLAC in Nashville, and the famous
nighttime lineup of Herman Grizzard and John R. While at WLAC he resumed his “record hops,” but on a much larger
scale. The “Big Hugh Baby Hops” became
a major outlet for artists such as Connie Francis, Bo Diddley, Ben E. King,
Jimmy Reed and Brenda to promote their records to crowds of 1,500-2,300 at the
National Guard Armory.
Hugh then
moved to Atlanta where he joined WPLO and then WFOM with Jimmy Davenport. WFOM
supported his successful “Big Hugh Baby Hops” in the Atlanta area. Then Hugh
was off to KBBQ in Burbank, CA, the leading country music station in the LA
area. During his three years there he
started the Hugh Jarrett Singers and was the singing emcee at the famous
country music club, The Palamino.
In 1970 Hugh
settled permanently in Atlanta. He has worked at WPLO, been emcee for
Lanierland, served as Artist Relations Manager for Bill Lowery Music Group,
hosted local television and radio shows, been voice talent for commercials and
documentaries, and starred in “Heat of the Night” with Carroll O’Connor and
“Murder in Coweta County” with Johnny Cash.
[LINKS]
The Jordonaires, 1954-1958
(Top L to R)
: Hoyt Hawkins, Gordon Stoker
(Bottom L to R): Neal Matthews, Hugh Jarrett