STARDAY RECORDS 673

BILLIE and GORDON HAMRICK with Red Farrell

Oct 57  (Billboard Review on 23rd November 1957.) 
(BMI Clearance on 27th December 1957.)

45-673-A - Cruel Jealous Heart

(Nell Palmer)   (Starrite BMI)

45-673-B - Gypsy Waltz

(Nell Palmer)   (Starrite BMI)
STARDAY RECORDS 673

B Side notation reads “ . . with Red Farrell with Smokey Joe Ellis and Frank Addis, twin fiddles”.

Gordon B. Hamrick born November 18, 1917 in Douglasville, GA, died December 30, 2001. He served in the U.S. Army in the Panama Canal Zone in the 1930s and continued military service in the Coast Guard through WWII on the USS Savage as a Chief. He also managed grocery stores in Jacksonville and performed gospel music with wife Billie in Charleston, SC on a television show called The Old Country Church in the 1950s and 60s. Billie and Gordon continued performing gospel music up until his retirement in 1998.

Source: Lars Lundgren

STARDAY RECORDS 626

BILLIE and GORDON HAMRICK with the Low County Gospel Band

Apr 57   (BMI Clearance on 26th April 1957.)

45-626-A - Gonna See My Lord Someday

(Nell Palmer)   (Starrite BMI)

45-626-B - Jesus Is The Name

(Nell Palmer)   (Starrite BMI)

STARDAY RECORDS 626

Another slice of Gospel heaven from the talented Billie and Gordon Hamrick.

A side is a torrid Blue Grass / Gospel number with nice harmonies. Very nice banjo solos, accompanied by a fiddle player. B side is slower with a Dobro more to the fore. Perhaps this is my favourite 45 by the artists so far. Almost makes me want to go to church! (except, in England, we'd have no music like this being performed.) (MC)

Label Shots: Phil Tricker


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STARDAY RECORDS 522

BILLIE and GORDON HAMRICK with the Low Country Gospel Band

Jul 55 (BMI clearance 24th June 55)

522-A - Our Prayer

(Donna O Smook) (Starrite BMI)

522-B - When I Feel The Spirit (Brother) I'm Gonna Shout

(Bernice Jennette) (Starrite BMI)
STARDAY RECORDS 522

Considering the fact that we have almost no info on the majority of the artists who graced a Starday Custom waxing, the cup on the Hamricks (husband and wife) is literally overflowing! They first appear on my radar as early as 1949 with a snippet of info in a billboard magazine - (Dec 31st 1949) "Billie and Gordon Hamrick, formerly on the "Dixie Barn dance" have moved to WSOB, Jacksonville, FL. Billie is Mrs. Gordon Hamrick in private life." I'd certainly like to know if they were recording around this time. Then, I find them again in Billboard (Aug 9th 1952) "Billie and Gordon Hamrick, formerly at WJHP, Jacksonville, FL have moved to WHAN, Charleston, SC. They recently inked with Hill and Range Publishers." Fifteen months later, they grace the pages of Billboard once again with this :- (Dec 19th 1953) "Billie and Gordon Hamrick have moved from WHAN to WCSC, Charleston, SC and still sponsored by Old Fort Packing Company." (By now I'm wondering if they actually came from Florida originally - they certainly seem to move around between radio stations quite a bit.) And again :- (13th August 1955) "Gospel singers Billie and Gordon Hamrick are now being heard over WUSN-TV, Charleston, SC. Their sunday afternoon "Old Country Church" program has had its time boosted from a half hour to an hour. Their latest on the Starday label is "Our Prayer." So, at this point we present our second gospel offering from the Hamricks, now featuring their Low County Gospel band (which may well have been uncredited on the RANGELAND 506). There is a feeling amongst collectors that the first disc sold well enough for a reprint, so Starday issued their second offering on their own label hoping to garner a bit more interest for the disc. (Others think the Hamricks paid extra for it to be issued on Starday.) Anyhow, it's a mandolin led country gospel for the A side. Bernice Jennette gets another slice of writers credit on the B side, which is a fast, fiddle led exhortation on the joys of having God in your heart. Kinda makes you wanna jump up in the aisles and yell “Hallellulah!” Finally, after ruining my eyesight slowly reading through yet more Billboard offerings, I come across a final snippet of info :- (Sept 3rd 1955) "C and W spinner Clarence Jackson of WJOT, Lake City, SC is now also doing a stint over WUSN-TV, Charleston, SC. Jackson plays steel guitar with Billie and Gordon Hamrick on their "Old Country Church" program." (Gee, after this, I almost feel like I know them personally :-) )

Any additional info or correspondence, please email me at: malcychapman@mac.com

so I can reply if necessary. If you send a message via Blogspot, it comes up as anonymous.

Label Shots courtesy of Kent Heineman and Lars Lundgren

B and G Hamrick (Unk date) (Source: Marty Hamrick)

Gordon Hamrick (1957/8) (Source: Marty Hamrick)

RANGELAND RECORDS 506

BILLIE AND GORDON HAMRICK - "The Honey Hill Sweethearts"

Jul 54

PD-506-A - He Is My Guide

(Bernice Jennette)    (Golden State Songs)

PD-506-B - He's Gonna Take His Children Out

(Bernice Jennette)   (Golden State Songs)
RANGELAND RECORDS 506
601 Park Ave, North Charleston, SC

B and G Hamrick present themselves here with a pleasant mandolin led gospel coupling, with the B side being the faster of the two. Both sides were written by Bernice Jennette. The only info I have on the Honeyhill Sweethearts is they had at least two previous releases on Rangeland (which may have been their own label), both pressed by RCA in 1953 (“My Dream Of The Old Rugged Cross” / “My Savior’s Train Of Life” - RANGELAND No.# // “Married People Out Of Place” / “Pocotaligo Waltz” - RANGELAND No.#). At present I have no other info of any other subsequent recordings, apart from the three other Starday customs listed on this site (Starday 522, 626, 673). The B side was reissued on a 6 track Dixie 78rpm with a fade out roughly halfway. Honeyhill is located approx 30 miles outside Charleston. Billboard magazine (14th March 1953) mentions that their steel guitarist who played on on the RCA pressed Rangeland discs was Bob Bratcher, who died in Jacksonville, FL in early 53. (MC / Phil Tricker / Flyright CD 64 - Hillbilly Gospel - notes by Bruce Bastin)

Additional Info (2 Feb 2011)

"Billie and Gordon formed a gospel bluegrass duet. Together,they wrote and recorded songs in the 1950's for both the Rangeland label and the Starday label. They hosted a gospel variety show , The Old Country Church. The gospel bluegrass variety show ran for over 12 years on WUSN-TV channel two in Charleston, SC. Billie played this Martin guitar and Gordon played mandolin on the show and numerous personal appearances throughout the Southeast. Their career spanned over 30 years. Ms. Hamrick passed away in 2002,"  

HAMRICK - Gordon B. Hamrick born November 18, 1917 in Douglasville, GA, died December 30, 2001. He served in the U.S. Army in the Panama Canal Zone in the 1930s and continued military service in the Coast Guard through WWII on the USS Savage as a Chief. He also managed grocery stores in Jacksonville and performed gospel music with wife Billie in Charleston, SC on a television show called The Old Country Church in the 1950s and 60s. Billie and Gordon continued performing gospel music up until his retirement in 1998. He was a member of Biltmore Baptist Church and is survived by daughter, Sharon; son Marty; and grandchildren, Jade, Siminitus, Amanda, and Lauren Hamrick, all residents of Jacksonville.  (Michel Proost)

Any info? malcychapman@mac.com

Source: Phil Tricker

Photos from Marty Hamrick

45 rpm from Doug Brown ("SCP 506 Bllie & Gordon Hamrick but, pressed as a 45, the dead wax ties with COAST pressing matrix suggesting it was stamped around the same period of time.")