Starr, Frank "Andy"

Singer, songwriter, singer

Johnny Cash and Frank "Andy" Starr died on the same day. They never met, but had a few things in common. Both were from the state of Arkansas, made music that reflected the visceral impact of blues and early rock 'n' roll, recovered from lives of excess to become somewhat spiritual men, and both released new albums shortly before their respective deaths. However, Starr was never really able to find his way out of the wilderness of obscurity, although the rockabilly sides he cut in the mid-to-late 1950s still delight archivists with their shuddering, greasy vitality.

Born Franklin Delano Gulledge on October 21, 1932, in Combs, Arkansas, and the youngest of eight children, Starr was raised in abject poverty. In an interview for Original Cool he remembered, "My father, bless his heart, he was a rounder—a roustabout. He was hardly ever home; he always went off to Kansas, Missouri, and different places working in the mines and oil fields. He'd come home just long enough to get my mother pregnant again then he was gone again. My father, he drank a lot, and he liked to gamble. I guess that's why he never had any money."

Music Provided Diversion

"If I had not of had an old-fashioned Southern Christian mother to get us all through, I wouldn't even be alive today," he said in the Original Cool interview. "She had to raise and garden without hardly anything to farm with. I have nothing but good to say about mother, she was the one thing that held the family together. We had no money. Once in a blue moon, somebody'd get a hold of a dollar or two, buy a sack of flour, sack of meal, bucket of lard or something like that. It was always a survival game. If it wasn't for rabbits, squirrels, opossums, and raccoons, we'd have never made it."

Starr's brother Bob Gulledge confided that music provided a needed distraction from their sometimes dire circumstances. "For as long as I can remember, our family was a musical one. Mother played an old pump organ, Dad was an accomplished fiddle player, and all the children played an instrument, fiddle, guitars and banjo. I was 7 years old and Frank was 5 when Dad showed us the chords C, D and G on the guitar, and from then on we were hooked. Frank and I sang constantly, and were ever learning new songs, many from listening to the Grand Ole Opry on the battery radio." Inspired by such performers as the Skillet Lickers and the Fruit Jar Drinkers, the Gulledge family musicians played raw hillbilly music at local house parties and barn dances.

Serving three years in the Army during the Korean conflict, Starr was a sharpshooter on the front lines who rose to the rank of sergeant. Later he would claim to be the first Korean War veteran to be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Although he seemed initially unaffected, the problem would come back to severely haunt him in later life.

An Arkansas Plowboy

After his discharge from the armed services, Starr wanted to make a life in music with his brothers Bob and Chuck. "In 1953, Frank was living with Chuck in Los Angeles, so I joined them there," recalled Bob Gulledge. "We went to one club and asked for an audition, and the manager agreed to let us sing a couple of songs during the current band's intermission. We got a standing ovation, and when the night was over, the manager fired the band he had, and hired us." Billed as the Arkansas Plowboys, the brothers played at several California nightspots including The Chit Chat, Vaughan's Alibi, and George's Round Up.

Although work was steady, the band would not stay together very long. "Sibling rivalry began to surface and Frank demanded to be the front man," explained Gulledge. "He soon quit the band and formed another band, still playing in the area. Chuck and I continued for awhile, but it was never the same, so I packed up and took my family to Idaho. I formed a band in Wallace, Idaho, and was playing at Brownie's Corner. A few weeks later Frank showed up and wanted to play with me. At this time, he played lead for the songs he sung, and I played lead for the ones I sung."

The reunion wouldn't last long, because Starr just couldn't settle down. "Frank soon got restless and feeling the urge to get back into music," recalled Gulledge. "He headed to L.A., and later on to Idaho again." By this time he was beginning to sing a new kind of music—rockabilly.

MGM's Answer to Elvis Presley

"I had a fella go with me who played rhythm guitar. We just took off playing in joints at night and driving through the day," Starr explained to Original Cool. "I was just looking for a break; trying to make some records, find a recording contract. I got off in Denison, Texas, and got a job playing on the radio [KDSX]—no money in it, but it was a chance to be heard. So, I cranked up my own little radio show with just me, my guitar, and my buddy. The station manager liked me well enough and he called me in his office and said, 'Frank, I'm going to send you over to Gainesville, Texas, to see Joe Leonard. I believe on my recommendation, you can make records with him.' That's what happened. Joe Leonard had a small label he was trying to make something out of and he signed me to a recording contract. I made my first recordings for him."

Leonard, a canny packager and promoter, dubbed his new artist Frank Starr, and put his debut single, "Dig Them Squeaky Shoes," on his new Lin label. Knowing that his new singer-songwriter was fueled by the same type of talent that drove Elvis Presley, Leonard began shopping Starr to other labels, resulting in another name change. Explained Starr, "When they put me on MGM Records, I got a letter from a lawyer in New York City saying, 'Your new name is now Andy Starr.' That wasn't my idea, I never did like the name Andy Starr, but it's legendary stuff, part of my life."

Billed as Andy Starr and backed by the Texas-based band The Strikes, the singer fashioned some of the best records of the original rockabilly era for MGM: "Rockin' Rollin' Stone," "She's A Goin' Jessie," "Round and Round," and "Give Me a Woman." The latter proved especially popular in Pasadena, California, where a disc jockey reportedly crowed, "You've heard of Elvis the Pelvis, well this is Andy the Dandy."

Despite some hot tunes, a major label, and crowd-inciting appearances on the Ozark Jubilee and the Big D Jamboree, Starr never scored with anything remotely close to a national hit record. As a result, he spent most of the 1950s working at KWAL radio in Idaho, and grinding away in honky-tonks at night. He told Original Cool, "Joe Leonard got me on a few big shows here and there, but I was pretty much on my own. I did my own booking and just went from town-to-town and club to club and played every knock down drag-out hole-inthe-wall joint from the Mississippi River to the West Coast. ... Of course, I did play in a few real nice clubs, but they were few."

For the Record . . .

Born Franklin Delano Gulledge on October 21, 1932, in Combs, AK; died on September 9, 2003, in Fayetteville, AK; son of Grover Cleveland (a railroad worker, oil field laborer, miner, and logger) and Tennie (Faubus) Gulledge; married and divorced at least three times; children include: Linda and Teena Gulledge, Jonas Starr.

Played the guitar by age five; joined Army, served in Korea, 1950-53; formed the Arkansas Plowboys with brothers Bob and Chuck, 1953; hosted daily radio show on KDSX in Denison, Texas, 1955; recorded for Joe Leonard's Lin label as Frank Starr and the Rockaway Boys, 1955; as Starr, hosted his own radio program on KWAL in Wallace, ID, 1956; Starr's recordings leased to MGM, who renamed him "Andy Starr," 1956-57; Starr's recordings leased to Kapp and Holiday Inn labels, 1957-62; last single leased to Lin records, 1963; played in California as Frankie Starr and The Blue Notes, 1956-69; returned to radio station KWAL, c. late 1960s; recorded independent releases as Frank Starr, 1972-93; Bear Family released the definitive collection of his early Lin, MGM, and Kapp material as Dig Them Squeaky Shoes, 1996; contributed recordings to independent label projects by Bobby Wayne and Don Weise, 1998; recorded for Wild Oats label in Nashville, 2002; full-length posthumous release issued by Wild Oats, 2004.

Awards: Inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, 2000.

Addresses: Record companies— Spitfire Records, 2436 N. Astor, Spokane, WA 99207. Wildfire Records, 2012 West Montgomery, Spokane, WA 99205. Wild Oats Records, P.O. Box 210982, Nashville, TN 37221, website: http://www.wildoatsrecords.com.

Top Attraction in Alaska

Eventually Starr caught a break in 1960 that kept his family fed. "Well, I peaked out in Alaska," he recalled in Original Cool. "I was hired to go there on a club date [at the Hi Hat Club]. I signed a six-month contract and stayed five years! I was the bandleader, in charge of entertainment, making real good money. Then I flew back to Nashville and recorded every once in a while for Joe Leonard again."

Leonard leased Starr's music to Kapp and Holiday Inn before putting him back on Lin in 1963. But once out of the music mainstream, Starr's recording career suffered. Worse, being a name performer in Alaska provided Starr with an excuse to succumb to the twin demons of drugs and alcohol. He told Original Cool, "Playing music six, seven nights a week, you've got to have something to keep you going. People don't care whether you're sick or not, they want you to get up there and entertain. ... I got into that real bad and had to get out of it."

Starr left Alaska in 1965, and tried to make another go of it in Los Angeles, where he played as Frankie & The Blue Notes. By then, the British Invasion had made him a pop music anachronism. After a recording deal and movie offer fell through, he departed for the Pacific Northwest, where he worked in a sawmill and played music on the weekends for the better part of 18 years.

Took Erratic Path

In 1972 the singer legally changed his name to Frank Starr because "I got tired of being called one thing and signing my name as something else." A short time later he formed the "Church of America" and began giving religious testimony to prisoners while cutting a live album for his own label. During that period he released the 1973 LP Frank Starr Sings Patterson & Starr. Recorded with co-writer Harry Patterson, its simple acoustic approach showed what a fine country and blues singer Starr could be under the right circumstances.

Rollin' Rock's Ron Weiser released an EP of some of Starr's unreleased Lin masters to the delight of rockabilly aficionados in 1975, but if the singer took any notice of the growing rockabilly revival, he didn't act upon it. Making increasingly unusual decisions, he announced he was a candidate for the state senate in Idaho in 1974, and ran as a protest candidate in the U.S. Presidential race in 1978. In 1996 he again declared himself a candidate for the land's highest office. During this time Starr also released a cassette of poorly crafted salacious songs titled Good Stuff (Rated XXX), and a protest album called Uncle $am $ucks.

Although Starr's early records—compiled on Bear Family's 1995 release Dig Them Squeaky Shoes —were loved by rockabilly enthusiasts the world over, the artist himself never reaped the benefits of the genre's revival. Erratic and in constant poor health, he seldom performed outside of Arkansas, and when European promoters came calling, he would ask for exorbitant fees. During the late 1990s he leased some sides to old friends and fellow cult rockers Bobby Wayne and Don Weise. By then Starr wanted to make a comeback, but his penchant for making unrealistic demands had caught up with him and there were no takers.

A Final Moment in the Sun

Married again and with his health on the rebound, Starr caught a break when Steve Haggard's Wild Oats label in Nashville came calling. Haggard's wife, artist Gail Lloyd of the rockabilly/swing combo Gail & the Tricksters, had admired Starr's early sides and wanted to work with him. It took some doing, but Haggard got Starr up to Nashville, put a solid roots band behind him, and recorded eleven songs, one a duet with Lloyd. Four of those tunes were released on the 2003 compilation album Starr Struck, which also featured performances by Lloyd and another group, the Haywoods. For a few precious moments during each song he demonstrated the bluesy spark that made his early records so good.

A few months before his death, Starr wrote a letter to the editor of a local Arkansas newspaper. With justifiable pride, he told of being called to Nashville to record an album. His final words provided his epitaph. "My message to the public is this: Don't ever give up on your dreams and your ambitions. Especially you young people. Stay in school. Get a good education and believe in yourself."

"I never went looking for Nashville," Starr continued. "Nashville came looking for me. Why? Because of 50 years of hard work and dedication I had given to the music industry. I am now 70 years of age and it looks like a whole world of opportunities have opened up for me. Respectfully, Frank Starr." Frank "Andy" Starr died from complications of a staph infection on September 12, 2003.

Selected discography

Singles

"Dig Them Squeaky Shoes," Lin, 1955.

"Rockin' Rollin' Stone," MGM, 1956.

"She's a Goin' Jessie," MGM, 1956.

"Give Me a Woman," MGM, 1956.

"One More Time," MGM, 1957.

"Do it Right Now," Kapp, 1957.

"Knees Shakin'," Holiday Inn, 1961.

"Pledge of Love," Lin, 1963.

Albums

(With the Wilson-McKinley Band) You Can't Disguise Religion, Starr, 1972.

In Concert at the Idaho State Penitentiary, Starr, 1973.

Frank Starr Sings Patterson & Starr, Starr, 1973.

Frank Starr Live at Wanda's Club, Starr, 1973.

Good Stuff (Rated XXX), Starr, 1990.

Uncle $am $ucks, Starr, 1992.

Dig Them Squeaky Shoes, Bear Family, 1995.

Don Weise: Hillbilly Cat—Special Guest Andy Starr, Spitfire, 1998.

Starr Struck: Frank "Andy" Starr, The Haywoods, Gail & the Tricksters, Wild Oats, 2003.

The Rockin' Return of Frank "Andy" Starr, Wild Oats, 2004.

Sources

Books

Morrison, Craig, Go Cat Go: Rockabilly Music and Its Makers, University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Periodicals

Goldmine, September 8, 1989.

Kicks #7, 1992.

Original Cool #44, December/January 2001.

Online

"Andy Starr," RCS Artist Discography, http://www.rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/artists/s/star5500.htm (January 8, 2004).

"Frank 'Andy' Starr," Rockabilly Hall of Fame, http://www.rockabillyhall.com/AndyStarr.html (February 4, 2004).

Additional information was obtained through phone interviews and e-mails with the artist's brother Bob Gulledge, sister-in-law Mildred Gulledge, and Starr's daughter Linda Hone.

—Ken Burke