Glen Campbell and Dick Bills in Albuquerque

[dee2]

Bringing this popular topic back up to the top of All Things Glen again.

[dee2]

Coming Soon ... vintage press photographs as well as a few ads and articles I have purchased and collected over the years relating to Glen Campbell and Dick Bills and the Sandia Mountain Boys. Recently, I had shared some of these photos with a few of Mr. Bills' family members as well as fans of Bills on a public facebook page. They appreciated seeing the pictures, so much so that I realized I should probably scan my memorabilia and post the images here under this existing topic for all fans to enjoy as it relates to Glen Campbell's history.

Glen's forums have long been a platform for "Glen and Dick Bills". Below are posts from as far back as 2010, that have been stored in the forum archives.

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Posted by Michel on Monday, January 25, 2010 - 04:11 pm:
Hi all,
not so long ago I came across two songs on internet by Dick Bills (Glen's uncle in Albuquerque) that I hadn't seen or heard before:

Beggars Can't Be Choosers / I'm Feeling So Lonely

Dick Bills_Beggars Can't Be Choosers.jpg (19.74 KiB) Viewed 184 times

(image added 5.5.2018 dee2)

After some research it turned out that these songs were released by "Dick Bills and his Arizona Drifters" on a single in June 1954, which would be around the time that Glen was part of Dick Bills' band (usually called the Sandia Mountain Boys). The single was released by 4 Star records on their custom OP series (OP stands for Other People). These series allowed artists without a recording contract to press their own records for promotional and commercial purposes. The artist could also choose their own custom label name to be printed on the record. Dick Bills used his daughter's name Vicki, so the single was released on Vicki Records!

The big question of course is: does Glen play guitar on these recordings. The answer is: I don't know! "Beggars Can't Be Choosers" does have quite a lot of guitar playing that sounds like it definitely could be Glen. But I guess we will never know for sure. If anyone's interested in hearing these recordings, please let me know by email.

Posted by windbag KOA on Monday, January 25, 2010 - 07:21 pm:
Dick Bills also recorded a 1953-ish 78 on Morgan Records, issued, out of all places, Fresno, California (Cultural Center of the Universe, says the Platypus Brothers). Style is much like Bob Wills or Ol' Rasmussen. Ask Hair about that one.

Posted by Michel on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 09:41 am:
Yep. Here are the covers for that Morgan 78 by Dick Bills and his Sandia Mountain Boys (discovered by Hair).

Dick Bills 78 on Morgan Records - Old Dusty Sun - Vocal Buz Burnam

Dick Bills_Old Dusty Sun.jpg (13.05 KiB) Viewed 184 times

Dick Bills 78 on Morgan Records - Lost Without You - Vocal Dick Bills

Dick Bills_Lost Without You.jpg (13.48 KiB) Viewed 184 times

Bills switched from 4 Star to Morgan Records in February 1952 according to Billboard Magazine, though I have not been able to find earlier recordings on 4 Star yet.

If Glen is playing on these recordings, then it's not recognizable. Pedal steel, fiddle (no doubt by Fiddlin' Red Herron (King) who according to Billboard Magazine recently joined the group) and accordion are the most prominent instruments on these two sides. Note that both are Dick Bills compositions, but "Old Dusty Sun" is sung by Buz Burnam.

[Cowpoke]

No actually he's one with the hat.

[Mike Joyce]

Great picture Cowpoke. I haven't seen that one before. Is Glen the one wearing the hat ?

[Cowpoke]

Fantastic "colorized" photo of Dick Bills and His Sandia Mountain Boys, including a young Glen.

Post by We the People Restoration & Colorization.

[Cowpoke]

Arlw thanks so much for your information. Please say thank you to your Dallas DJ from me too!

I actually found out about this single in 2009 and posted about it on the old forum early 2010 (see: https://web.archive.org/web/20100211171 ... 1264948892" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). But the other day I found that link and decided to post it again because a lot of people might have never heard about it. Also in 2009 I corresponded with a music researcher called Al Turner who wrote a complete article about the 4Star OP (stands for Other People) custom series in American Music Magazine (Nr. 86, December 2000) of which I have a copy. It contains a complete discography with dating based on either BMI copyright registration dates and / or Billboard Magazine review dates if available. The single that was released just before Dick Bills' single, A Mansion Without Love (OP-314) / I Married Another (To Forget You) (OP-315) by Ernie Oleachea & His Blue Mountain Boys (OP-196) has a BMI registration date of June 26, 1954. That is where the date of 1954 comes from. The OP-series started around 1950 and continued until 1961. So some of those records were probably 78s but later ones where no doubt 45s. I will see if I can contact Al Turner again to ask him.

Now as to the question if Glen is playing guitar on "Beggars Can't Be Choosers", there is no way to say for sure. But, in my humble opinion, 1954 does fit the timeline perfectly. Glen I think started with Dick Bills in either 1953 or 1954. (I will share the timeline of Glen's early career I have been working on for the last few years in another post). Then the question becomes... does the solo guitar SOUND like Glen? Well in the end that's up to everyone individually. My old penpal, the late Richard Price, who researched Glen's music for most of this adult life, put it like this:

I went back and listened to both tracks again. I do think it could be Glen on "Beggars." The "noodling around" during the verses does sound like him. Oddly enough, the solo part in the bridge doesn't sound like him to my ears.

A definite maybe???

So that seems a nice conclusion to me: a definite maybe. But I am very curious to hear what all the other members think about it! Do you think it's Glen or not?

Here's that link again (it appears that I posted the wrong link earlier in this topic, sorry!):

http://www.bopping.org/four-star-op-cus ... e-1950-58/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[arlw]

Another reply from my DJ friend and quite interesting--wanted to pass this onto all of you about Dick Bills:

Because the record has the matrix code OP- that’s a clue that it was a 4-Star Records custom press, something an individual had the 4-Star plant out in California press up for them. If you can find other indie records that have adjacent numbers, you might be able to get closer to a date. (A real date for those that want it).

There is a site where you can search labels - perhaps looking for little labels from California, looking at the label pix and seeing if there is an OP- code on the record.
That’s the in-the-trenches research I do from time to time.

As you can see, this record by Jimmy & Duane is from June of 1955, and bears the number OP-356 That’s after yours so I would guess that the 78 is earlier that year or perhaps 1954.
The record is not posted but this is his email once again. I thanked him for his help--I know him 40 plus years!

[arlw]

Cowpoke,
If you and others like Dick Bills--this one is on ebay--Glen is not on here, but it is nice to have!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Songs-From-The- ... 1009009442" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[arlw]

Cowpoke,

The DJ friend of mine just emailed me so will post what he said--remember it's just his research like mine. Because he is in the Dallas area, he and I were able to chat on the phone. I wanted his opinion on this record so I value what he said and wanted to pass it onto you. Below is what he emailed me!


I’ve never seen this one, but if its a 78rpm, which it appears to be, it would be mid ’57 or prior and can't find anything to back up that "Glen Campbell" is on here!

Can’t find anything on this release anywhere. If it came from a Forum, sometimes they are not accurate, just my opinion. Glad to hear from you-interesting record-my opinion-"No Glen on here, as it's a little to early by a year or two."

[arlw]

Cowpoke,
Not quite sure that is Glen Campbell- and I even listened to it----In doing some research, there are many places that say it could be, and that is only because Glen is the nephew of Dick Bills. Other sources disagree as they claim that 1954-55 is too early. My 45's date back to 1958-59 and are signed by Glen. I emailed my DJ guy here in the Dallas area. I am hoping for a reply and if he does, I will post it for sure. One way or the other, we will know! If Glen was on an early recording, like that and that would make him 17-18 years old, they used Glen for background guitar only but have to remember, they didn't release it! Thanks for the post--interesting!