From:  "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Aug 24, 2004  1:34 am 
Subject:  This Is My Story : Wiley Barkdull
 
WILEY BARKDULL

Born circa 1927, Forest Hill, Louisiana

The musical career of singer / pianist Wiley Barkdull is virtually
inseparable from that of the brothers Rusty and Doug Kershaw,
both of whom have had their separate bios in this feature:

http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/dougkershaw.txt
http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/rustykershaw.txt

Barkdull's main instrument was the piano, but he may have played
rhythm guitar as well, possibly at his live performances. A deep
voiced Lefty Frizzell soundalike, he performed over Crowley's KSIG
alongside Jimmy Newman, Jim Toth and the Kershaws. Rusty, Doug
and Wiley all started recording for legendary Crowley producer Jay
(or J.D., if you prefer) Miller's Feature label in 1953 or 1954. Very few
of these recordings were issued at the time, but most of them (plus
some KSIG radio transcriptions) finally appeared on the UK Flyright
label between 1981 and 1991. Barkdull's record for Feature was "I'll
Give My Heart to You" (soon to be rerecorded for Hickory)/"Living a
Life of Memories" (Feature 2006), which appeared in early 1955. It
was the last release on the label, crediting the backing to Rusty &
Doug and the Music Makers.

After Feature was wound down, Rusty and Doug were signed by Hickory
Records in Nashville and Barkdull was also signed as an artist in his own
right. Wiley's deep bass voice contributes to many of Rusty and Doug's
recordings and so much so that his name was credited on almost all of
the Rusty & Doug sides on which he appeared as a vocalist. In some
cases, these harmonies are downright spectacular ("Kaw-Liga", for
instance). These fine Hickory recordings benefited in no small measure
from a first-class accompaniment by the Nashville A-team, sometimes
enhanced by the fiddle of Rufus Thibodeaux.

Barkdull's solo recordings for Hickory (8 singles altogether) are a mixture
of country in the Lefty Frizzell style, western swing and rockabilly. Songs
in the latter category include the great two-sider "Hey Honey"/"I Ain't
Gonna Waste My Time" (Hickory 1074) and "Too Many", which was
covered by Ocie Smith (whose version got a UK release on London,
while the original went unissued in the UK). "Too Many" (written by
Boudleaux and Felice Bryant) was my first Barkdull experience, in the
mid-80s. It features a great guitar groove by Hank Garland and Ray
Edenton, fine percussive sounds by Buddy Harman and Lightnin' Chance
and a piano solo by Floyd Cramer. Most of Wiley's Hickory material was
written by J.D. Miller, with just one Barkdull co-writer's credit.

Rusty and Doug scored five country hits between 1955 and 1961, but
for Barkdull's solo recordings there was no chart success, in spite of
their quality. His final Hickory release was a nice up-tempo treatment
of Melvin Endsley's "Keep A-Lovin' Me Baby". After this last Hickory
session Barkdull moved to Houston, and started to record for the All
Star label in 1961, gaining seven releases by the time the label closed
in 1964. The last anyone heard of him was that he was residing in
Nederland, Texas, still playing the beer joints.

Recommended listening:
Rusty and Doug Kershaw with Wiley Barkdull, Louisiana Men : The
Complete Hickory Recordings. Ace CDCH2 992 (2 CD-set, 56 tracks).
Released June 2004. Informative liner notes by Dave Sax.

Rusty & Doug with Wiley Barkdull, The Legendary Jay Miller Sessions.
Flyright FLY CD 35. Issued in 1991. 21 tracks.