In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

74 Getting the Sound Right Bob“Sully”Sullivan, KWKH, and the Louisiana Hayride —Steven Morewood Although he did not make a living as a musician, Bob Sullivan is one of the key figures in Shreveport’s musical history. As a sound engineer, his contributions to radio and recording resonate from the Ark-La-Tex to the broader popular music scene of the 1950s and after. Sullivan for years worked a daily shift at KWKh in Shreveport and operated the broadcasting board during the Saturday night Louisiana Hayride. in addition, he produced records for a long list of nationally famous and local musicians after hours in the KWKh studio, which remained Shreveport’s only viable recording facility for most of the Hayride years. Along the way “Sully,” as he was known, interacted with hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Rose Maddox, and a host of other Hayride artists. As a deeply engaging person with a sharp wit and talent for weaving a good yarn, it is surprising that his biography remains so little known. The memories and anecdotes from these encounters by themselves make a colorful and revealing narrative. yet, even beyond these, Sully’s story opens insight into a vanished era of recording and radio history. it was a comparatively raw and spontaneous time for both media, a character bespoken by Sully’s entry into the profession by way of accidental experience acquired in u.S. Army service and personal connections. Sullivan’s vivid memory for detail and Morewood’s prose make these stories anything but remote. Steven Morewood first met Bob Sullivan in 1995 and has since spent many hours with him, reflecting on and recording his experiences as a KWKh engineer, as well as corresponding from across the Atlantic. This piece is part of a longer biographical project, printed here for the first time. BOB SuLLiVAN, KWKh, AND ThE Louisiana Hayride 75 Of all the thousands of words written about the Louisiana Hayride, famous “Cradle of the Stars,” too few have been devoted to one of its unsung heroes: Bob “Sully” Sullivan, a key KWKh recording engineer. Tillman Franks called him “the best radio engineer i have ever known” and “one of the best kept secrets in country music.”1 he has still to be inducted into the Hayride hall of Fame and does not even warrant a mention in the memoirs of two Hayride luminaries despite being closely associated with them.2 And yet it was Sully who oversaw the weekly live radio broadcasts from the Hayride stage (at their peak second in popularity only to the Grand ole opry) and recorded acts after broadcasting hours, capturing career-launching releases for the likes of Slim Whitman, Jim Reeves, Mitchell Torok, The Browns, and Dale hawkins. he also captured the final recording of hank Williams and cut a demo for Elvis Presley. his is a fascinating story worth telling for the insights it brings to a seminal period of country music’s history which took place not in Nashville, Tennessee, but in Shreveport, Louisiana. Moreover, since he has no axes to grind or an ego to feed, Bob Sullivan’s memories are as close, at this far remove, to what really happened during several critical moments in Hayride history. Finding a Vocation Robert Carl Sullivan was born in Bossier City, Louisiana, on 3 December 1926. his early life was unremarkable except for a growing love of blues and country music.3 his family came through the Depression, not least because his father, Wimberley Parker Sullivan (known as “Wim”) managed to hold down a job in the oil industry. Around the age of twelve the Sullivans moved to a farm in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, owned by Wim. it was here that Robert began attending Rosenwald Baptist Church, a black church just half a mile from his home. At the same time he acquired his first guitar from a Montgomery Ward catalog, a three-quarter size Gene Autry model. An accompanying book showed him the basic chords. Once he mastered the intricacies of “Wildwood Flower” he teamed up with three friends and an older fiddle player and began playing local country dances. here he honed his skills as a musician and eventually added steel guitar and dobro to the instruments he could play. The expansion of the Second World War to the Pacific saw “Sully,” as he became known, conscripted, and in 1944, once past the age of eighteen, he was sent to serve as an infantryman in the Philippines...

Share