Buddy Shaw, Snyder

BUDDY SHAW - No More b/w The Breath of Life (Starday 618)

Located one hour south of Lubbock, Texas the community of Snyder got its legs as a trading post in the 1870s with buffalo hides being a big commodity. As the settlement grew and the buffaloes disappeared ranching and farming began to drive the economy. Then oil was found north of town in 1948 and for the next few years Snyder absolutely boomed and though ranching and farming were important, so was petroleum exploration. Snyder grew from a small south plains city of 4,000 to almost 16,000 during the boom period. When the boom busted a lot of folks left. And a few thousand stayed on as oil became a new Texas tradition, alongside the old traditions of ranching and farming.

And with the booms come the honky tonks and the late 40s and early 50s were an incredibly fertile period for both activities. With all those roughnecks and tool pushers pulling in the folding money, drinking establishments popped up all over from Hobbs to Kermit to Odessa to Lamesa to Big Spring. I have little doubt that Snyder was home to more than a few such establishments, and a breeding ground for a few local honky tonkin' hopefuls. Radio station KSNY and dj's like Mark Johnson and Wink Lewis kept listeners' toes a'tappin' with the latest releases in the country & western field. Lewis even gave a few locals the opportunity to issue their own recordings on his Queen label.

By the time local Buddy Shaw started recording Wink Lewis had moved on to his next deejay gig back east.

There is little info about Buddy Shaw. But what do we got besides the 45s? An advert in an old hillbilly rag allowed folks with a spare buck to join a fan club based out of Snyder. And then there's a handful of mentions in Billboard.

I first heard "Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" and "No More" on Ace's Rarest Rockabilly & Hillbilly Boogie release some 15 years back. It was easy to hear Buddy's sound and immediately, peg him as some sorta rotund inveterate singer straight outta some unnamed Kentucky hollow. "Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" sounded almost rockabilly led on by a couple of hep guitar breaks, but the accompaniment still lent itself to an older hillbilly style. One listen to that voice and the Kentucky guess wasn't too hard to imagine. Lucky for ol' Westex Buddy wound up being a local boy.

The first half of 1957 appears to have been a busy a time for our boy. Billboard notes three releases, all custom pressings on Starday, coming out in rather rapid succession, each sharing songwriting credit with a Ruth Snider. Though Billboard's reviews didn't quite lead to a Buddy Shaw boom it must have been at least heartening for him to see that despite a lukewarm review or two his efforts weren't completely panned. As the singles were released so quickly it seems likely that all 6 sides were cut in one single session, most likely in the winter of 1956, the where's and who's probably long forgotten.

"No More" b/w "The Breath of Life" was Shaw's second release and reached Billboard in April. "The Breath of Life" is a rather standard weeper saved by the steel guitarist who shines as he makes the strings cry and moan. "No More" was Buddy's first uptempo number and mayhaps the chuggin' rhythm was inspired in part by the sounds of the Roscoe, Snyder, and Pacific rail line which carried its cargo through Snyder. The backing reminds me a bit of the Miller Brothers' "Loco Choo Choo" which had been released by 4 Star just a few months prior (Stomped HERE).

"Don't Sweep That Dirt On Me" came out in July and was Buddy's third and final release. I don't believe there to have been any more recordings issued under the Shaw name. Perhaps he drifted to the background and finished his days backing up some other local hopefuls.

Where'd ya' go Buddy?

____________________________

Snyder Postcard from the Texas Genealogy Web Project...

Thanks a million to Malcolm Chapman who gave me permission to use the Buddy Shaw picture from his posting on Buddy over at his EXCELLENT Starday Custom blog. Make sure you check that out HERE.