Starday Custom Series: STARDAY RECORDS 676

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

STARDAY RECORDS 676

AL RUNYON

Nov 57 (BMI Clearance on 31st January 1958.)

45-676-A - The Day Before The Night

(Florence Wilson / Ray Baker) (Starrite BMI)

45-676-B - Baby Please Come Home

(Al Runyon / Jimmie Skinner) (Starrite BMI)

STARDAY RECORDS 676
(Unknown location - possibly KY)

Source: Terry Gordon

It’s odd to consider that for all of the recordings this artist managed to have issued pre 1958, it’s this one that he’s best remembered for.

Clairborne county was established on the 29^thOctober 1801 and named after William Clairborne who became one of the first Tennessee Superior Court judges, and one of the first representatives in the US Congress from the state of Tennessee. By the time Al was born (Christened Albert Benton Runions), the county boasted a population of approx. 23,000 hard working souls in an area large enough for people to only know their close neighbours.

Al was born on the 29^thAugust 1918 in Little Sycamore Valley near Yellow Springs and east of Tazewell, the county seat. Life was hard for the farmers and sharecroppers in that area and Al didn’t have it easy being brought up in rural poverty. By the age of 14, in the midst of the Great Depression, Al left home and joined a few travelling circuses where he would sing and do comedy. The outbreak of war saw him enlist, but a breathing problem called for a quick medical discharge. So Al decided to entertain the troops overseas instead in several USO shows.

After the war, he moved to Cincinnati, OH and found work on live shows, Radio and a smattering of TV appearences. Whilst trying to scratch a living as an entertainer, he came across Carl Burkhardt – the owner of Gateway / Kentucky Records (amongst others), jukebox operator and slightly later – owner of the famed Rite Pressing Plant. Carl’s jukebox operations was the key here – he would get local artists to cover hits of the day and install them onto the jukeboxes dotted around Cincinnati and the outer areas, including some in West Virginia and Indiana. Like Delbert Barker (who covered mainly Hank Williams tunes), Al did many covers of Hank Snow and Jimmie Rodgers and once paid for their sessions, Carl would put them on his various labels and slot them into the jukeboxes. (After a couple of beers probably none of the bars’ patrons noticed the tunes they picked were not by the original artists.) By this time, Al has respelled his surname as Runyon as it was easier to pronounce for DJ’s.

Various releases was hatched from these session and were mainly issued on Big 4 Hits – One of Carl’s labels and a few on Alcar, Kentucky and Gateway (or Gateway Top Tunes as some of them were called.)

Eventually Al got a shot at Coral records in 1954 and saw “Icicle Tears” / “Bonita Chiquita Senorita” issued (Coral 64187), (leaving two unknown titles in the can.) Back to Burkhart’s set up, he continued to record tracks issued on the above labels, but now was also doing covers of Presley and Johnny Cash to add to his repertoire.

By 1958, Al had a song called “The Day Before The Night” , written by Ray Baker and Florence Wilson, that he was eager to record. Spending most of the studio time getting this side just right, he realised he needed a flip side. A quick 15 minutes of scribbling lyrics alongside Jimmie Skinner (possibly the producer of the session, and a singer / songwriter / record store owner in his own right), run-throughs and an final practice, he cut “Baby Please Come Home” and either Al or Jimmie Skinner sent the recordings off to Don Pierce for custom pressing. (Why he didn’t go to Carl Burkhardt is a mystery.) Don thought the A side had potential and custom pressed it on Starday records (686), pressing 300 copies on 45rpm (with a possible further 200 re-run) and Al waited patiently for stardom to come knocking on his door.

….and waited …and waited a bit more…..

Although getting some local airplay, it never really broke out of the Ohio Valley area, so Al continued to play festivals, night clubs, bars and country picnics – and also appearing on the Corn Huskers Jamboree which was broadcast over WCPO TV in Cincinnati.

(The other version of this story has Starday offering Al a contract and issuing the 45 in the hope it sold enough to warrant a contract extension and extra songs. Either Al, Jimmie Skinner or Starday paid for the session.)

“The Day Before….” is a nice enough song and I can see it had the potential for Al to get a taste of fame out of it, but it’s the flip – the gutsy, guitar driven rocker that deserved all of the plaudits. In fact, if you took away the beat from the song, it could still be a great up-tempo country record. Not bad for a guy just shy of 40 years of age!

He did many fine recordings – had a great voice and had entertainment riffing through his veins at an early age. It’s slightly sacrilegious to hark on about one record when he made so many fine recordings, but once you hear “Baby Please Come Home” at a volume which would wake the neighbours, you’ll understand!

Al passed away on 24^thDecember 1998. Rusty York (a long-time friend) sang at his funeral.