| "WALTER BAILES 17 January 1920 - 27 November 2000"
WALTER BAILES, OF THE "ORIGINAL BAILES BROTHERS" FROM THE "GRAND OLE OPRY" AND "LOUISIANA HAYRIDE" BORN. JANUARY 17,1920 IN WEST VIRGINIA, DIED NOVEMBER 27, 2000 IN THE SEVIERVILLE CO.HOSPITAL NEAR HIS HOME IN SEVIERVILLE, TN. WALTER HAD BEEN IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TENN. HOSP. IN KNOXVILLE, TN. AFTER SUFFERING A HEART ATTACK, BUT HAD BEEN TRANSFERED BACK TO SEVIERVILLE CO. HOSP. TO RECOVER. THE TIME OF DEATH WAS "CALLED" AT 4:10 A.M. E.S.T. NOV. 27 WALTER'S BODY WILL BE AT THE ATCHLEY FUNERAL HOME, 118, EAST MAIN ST. SEVIERVILLE, TN. PH. NO. (865) 453-2835 AND (865) 429-3500, AND THE TIME FOR FRIENDS TO VIEW THE BODY WILL BE FROM 7-9 P.M. E.S.T. WED. NOV. 29TH. AND THE FUNERAL WILL BE AT 2 P.M. E.S.T. THUR. NOV. 30TH. 2000 AT THE CHAPEL, BURIAL WILL FOLLOW IN THE SHILOH CEMETARY. WALTER IS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE, FRANKIE BAILES, THREE SONS, AND HIS BROTHER HOMER BAILES OF DOWNSVILLE, LOUISIANA. HOMER REMAINS THE LAST OF THE ONCE POPULAR, WORLD REKNOWNED, BAILES BROTHERS. THE BAILES BROTHERS WERE THE NUMBER TWO ACT, SECOND ONLY TO ROY ACUFF THE "KING" OF COUNTRY MUSIC, THE ENTIRE TIME THEY WERE ON THE GRAND OLE OPRY AND REMAINED THE NO. TWO ACT UNTILL THEY LEFT TO GO TO THE "LOUISIANA HAYRIDE" IN SHREVEPORT, LA. IN THE LATE 40'S AND EARLY 50'S IN THOSE EARLY DAYS OF "REAL COUNTRY MUSIC" THE BAILES BROTHER'S WERE BOOKED WITH SUCH "PACKAGE SHOWS" AS ROY ACUFF, EARNEST TUBB, EDDIE ARNOLD, PEE WEE KING, KITTY WELLS, JOHNNY AND JACK, HANK WILLIAMS SR. WEBB PIERCE, AND BILL MONROE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS UNIQUE ABOUT THE BAILES BROTHERS WAS THAT WALTER WROTE NEARLY ALL THEIR SONGS. "DUST ON THE BIBLE" IS IN THE SMITHSONIAN INST. SONGWRITERS MUSEUM ALONG WITH SOME OTHER OF HIS SONGS. MANY OF KITTY WELLS TOP HITS WERE WRITTEN BY WALTER, ONE OF WHICH WAS A NO. ONE CHRISTMAS SONG FOR MANY YEARS, "THERE WON'T BE ANY TREE THIS CHRISTMAS" DONE BY KITTY WELLS. SOME OF THE SUPER STARS OF TODAY WHOSE LIVES WERE TOUTCHED ON THEIR WAY UP THE "LADDER TO SUCCESS" BY WALTER BAILES WERE DOLLY PARTON, PAUL OVERSTREET, AND EVEN ELVIS P. WHEN AT THE "LA. HAYRIDE" WALTER WROTE OVER 300 SONGS THAT WERE RECORDED BY VARIOUS ARTISTS (BESIDES THE BAILES BROTHERS) THAT TURNED OUT TO BE TOP HITS OF THEIR DAY. WE HERE AT THE BAILES BROTHERS WEB SITE WOULD LIKE TO THANK DICK SHUEY AND "TWANG TOWN" FOR WHAT HE IS DOING TO HONOR WALTER BAILES MEMORY, AND WE URGE YOU TO LISTEN IN TO THE LAST PROGRAM WALTER MADE FOR TWANG TOWN AND THE GOSPEL GOLD PROGRAM, THAT DICK IS NOW RUNNING. WE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO VISIT THE WEB SITE (BAILESBROTHERS.1FX.NET, OR LINK FROM THE EARNEST TUBB RECORD SHOP RELATED LINKS PAGE) AND LEAVE MESSAGES OF INCOURAGEMENT FOR THE FAMILY AND ESPECIALLY CLEVE AND JEAN BURNS WHO WERE SO FAITHFUL TO WALTER, FOR MANY YEARS THEY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO DO ALL THE THINGS THAT HE WAS ABLE TO DO IN HIS FINAL YEARS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE WEB SITE IN HIS HONOR AND PLAN TO ADD MORE. ANY MESSAGES SENT, I WILL COPY AND SEND TO THE FAMILY AND JEAN BURNS. THIS WORLD HAS LOST ANOTHER ONE OF IT'S GREAT CONTRIBUTORS TO "REAL" COUNTRY AND GOSPEL MUSIC BUT HEAVEN HAS A NEW STAR UP THERE NOW! AGAIN, THANK YOU "TWANG TOWN " FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING. BOB AND JANE BENNETT ....30.... |