Here’s a good story. Back in 1999 I went to work on my second album for HighTone Records. I had a little bit of a budget and I wanted to use it in creative ways. I spent some money hiring guest stars to appear on the record, including Billy Barty, Hadda Brooks, and Comets sax player Joey D’Ambrosia (Ambrose). Then I had this brainstorm—what if I could get Jerry Scoggins, the original voice of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, so rerecord the Beverly Hillbillies theme, with lyrics about me? The concept literally made me feel so lightheaded and dizzy, I knew I had to see if I could make it happen.
Jerry Scoggins was about eighty-eight years old at that time and living in a retirement area in Los Angeles. I managed to track his number down and I pitched my idea to him on the phone. I think I said I’d give him $250. He said yes, and the next day I went out to Westlake Village to meet him.
Now, Jerry Scoggins had a long history. He was from Texas and had a three-piece group in the early 1940s called The Cass County Kids. They became pretty famous in Dallas and eventually got cast as Gene Autry’s vocal backup group because of their tight three-part Western harmonies. They became The Cass County Boys and appeared with Gene Autry in a ton of movies and TV shows in the 1940s and 1950s. In the early 1960s, he was contacted by the Beverly Hillbillies show to record his deep voice for the theme song of this new show they were producing. Jerry did the song and had no idea he would become famous without becoming famous. I mean, everybody knows THAT VOICE and all the words to “Come and listen to my story ‘bout a man named Jed…” but few actually knew who Jerry Scoggins was.
Anyway, I wrote some goofy new lyrics to the song, “Come and listen to my story about a man named Deke…” and went over to his house with my old RCA 44 microphone, my guitar, a little Mackie mixer and a DAT recorder. Other than Jerry’s false teeth whistling a little bit, he did the new recording like a total pro. And what an honor it was to hang with the guy! He had that old West Texan class about him, just a total gentleman, still looked like a million bucks, and his incredible voice was intact. I would have paid him money just to sit around and listen to him talk all day. He showed me his 1940s blonde Gibson L-5 guitar (the same one in the old photos) and it was MINT. Just a beautiful guitar.
He saw my old RCA 44 microphone and he said, “So, you like all this OLD stuff, huh? Well, I’ve got an old microphone I’m going to GIVE YOU.” Slowly, he rose to his feet (he was pretty feeble), and slowly, slowly, he shuffled out of the living room and down the hallway of his large ranch home. He was gone about twenty minutes, and finally, I heard him shuffling back down the hallway. Slowly, slowly, he emerged, with something in his hand. I got so excited! What was it, another RCA 44? Maybe an RCA 77? maybe it was even a Western Electric or Altec microphone? Finally he got close enough and he held it out. “I want you to have this,” he said….
I still have his precious gift! Just came across it today while digging in my garage!
