The Haden Family with Doc Martin & Zed Tennis

Poster adverstising the Haden Family, Springfield, MO. ca. 1956. Center photo, standing rear (l-r) Zed Tennis, Doc Martin, Charlie Haden, Virginia Haden, Mary Haden, Jim Haden, Carl Haden, Jr., Carl Haden, Sr. Standing front: (l-r) Tom Haden, Sharon Haden.

In search of better-paying radio opportunities, Carl Sr. moved his family to Omaha, NE. It was 1951. Charlie was 14 years old.

They were joined by fellow KWTO alumni fiddler Zed Tennis and pedal steel player Doc Martin, for regular Omaha radio and TV performances, along with occasional concert gigs.

These recordings are from 1952, the same year Charlie’s father took him to see Jazz At The Philharmonic featuring Charlie Parker and Lester Young. Also, the same year Charlie contracted bulbar polio. By 1953 the family, along with Zed and Doc, were back in Springfield and radio station KWTO.

Each program runs about 10 minutes. I present two of them here. They are contained on two CD-Rs. I have over two hours of this material.

To my best recollection, I’ve never heard these tracks before. Carl Sr. is the Master of Ceremonies. Lead vocals by Mary, Jim, and Carl Jr. I’m especially moved by Jim’s beautiful singing voice. It’s unclear to me whether Charlie is present in these particular recordings. He may have been recovering from his bout with polio.

The Haden Family with Doc Martin and Zed Tennis

Radio Show, Omaha, NE., 1952

Program 1

1. Haden Family Theme Song

2. There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight (Hank Williams) Lead Vocal: Mary

3. Pins And Needles (Hank Williams) Lead Vocal: Jim

4. There’ll Be No Storms In Heaven (traditional) Harmonica: Carl Sr. Lead Vocal: Carl Jr.

Program 2

1. Hurry Home To Me (Bernie Wayne, Teddy Powell) Lead Vocals: Carl Jr. and Mary

2. It Made You Happy (Walter Donaldson) Lead Vocal: Jim

3. Dark Eyes (traditional) Fiddle Solo: Zed Tennis

4. Rocky Mountain Express (Charles Tobias, Harry Tobias, Albert Von Tilzer) Lead Vocals: Carl Jr., Jim, Mary

Doc Martin: Pedal Steel

Zed Tennis: Fiddle

Fun facts: “Hurry Home To Me” co-writer Bernie Wayne is the co-composer of the song “Blue Velvet”. Albert Von Tilzer, co-writer of “Rocky Mountain Express”, also co-wrote “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”. “Dark Eyes” is a traditional Russian tune popularized by guitarist Chet Atkins, who was a regular on the Ozark Mountain Jubilee TV program circa 1957. Charlie frequently played bass on the Jubilee before moving to L.A. the same year. Solid, Jackson.

In this Substack podcast I listen to albums and cassettes from the collection of my father, the late jazz bassist Charlie Haden. If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing. I’m writing a book of Memoires about life, death, jazz, slowcore, and survival. The address is joshhaden.substack.com.

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