About Patty Lou Peters
The Story of Patty Lou Peters
Patty Lou Peters (November 29, 1925 – March 2, 2002) was a female American Western Swing musician and bandleader active in the 1940’s and 1950’s. In 1947 performing at the three-day Texas Electric Show in Odessa, Texas – Patty Lou was dubbed “Queen of Western Swing” as she and her band returned to Texas from Hollywood and other West Coast cities. Patty Lou was born with a given name of Frenchie Jewel Peters in Dallas, Texas during the depression. She was the youngest of seven siblings, and the last one left at home during her teenage years.
Her Texas Sweethearts
With musical talent in the family from her half-brother and her father, Patty Lou taught herself to play the guitar at age 13 or 14, and at age 19 she began performing in person at theatres across Texas with Richard Bills and His Radio Texans. Many Southwestern swing performers relied on touring venues and radio broadcasts rather than commercial recordings.
1945
In 1945, they performed live on stage at the Ideal Theatre in Corsicana, Texas, at the Plaza Theater in Paris, Texas, at the Ritz Theater in McKinney, Texas, and at the Queen Theater in Abilene, Texas. These performances were also aired every morning over radio station KGKO, the Blue Network for Dallas and Fort Worth. Floy Case reports on their performances in The Mountain and Broadcast and Prairie Reporter in December 1945.
1946-1947
In 1946 Patty Lou joined the Professional Musicians Association; Local 72-147 of the American Federation of Musicians. At this time Patty Lou was a member of an all-girl band named Billye Gale and the Hollywood Cowgirls. According to “Floy Case Reports” The Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder in January 1947, they were the Nation’s No. 1 all-girl western and hillbilly band. “After spending five weeks in Hollywood and participating a stint in pictures with Roy Rogers, they toured and made appearances with show dates in eleven states through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, and Idaho for Century Fox".
Billye Gale & The Hollywood Cowgirls
The members of the group consisted of Billye Gale (fiddle), Mary Leito (accordion), Bertie Keisel (vocal and guitar), Veda Mae “Marge” (steel guitar), Olive E. “Polly” Nixon (bass fiddle), and Patty Lou (electric standard lead guitar). In March 1947, they signed a six month option with Columbia Records to record four of their songs. While back in Fort Worth, Texas they played in various clubs around town before returning to perform at Crabby Joe’s Big Barn, in Oakland, California for an 18 week engagement. A March 1947 item in ''Billboard'' placed the group in Oakland, California, discussing their engagement of 18 weeks at Crabby Joe’s Barn.
The Start of Patty Lou & the Texas Sweethearts
In May 1947, Patty Lou broke out on her own and formed her own band, Patty Lou and the Texas Sweethearts. With many of the same band members (Margie Mason, Bertie Keisel, Polly Nixon, and Mary Leito), the all-girl band went on tour to Hollywood and the West Coast, where they were promoted by the Johnny Robinson Agency of Hollywood California.
During their first tour of Hollywood, their band recorded an album and were highly promoted as the “All Girl Band” performing on the heels and with Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, Hank Thompson, Hank Snow, and other male dominated Western Swing groups.
Patty Lou and her Band traveled from gig to gig across the country. Back in Texas in June 1947, her band performed at the Texas Electric Show in multiple cities including, Midland, Odessa, and Wichita Falls, Texas.
Following a Texas stint, she and her band performed in Lewiston Idaho, and then in Decatur Illinois on WTAX. Again, back to Texas in September of 1947, the Billboard announced her performance at the new Bistro – the Ole Top Rail night club outside Dallas.
“Metro Music”
The development of Western swing in Texas radio networks is described in ''Metro Music'' by Gene Fowler and William Williams, which includes a photographic reference to Peters’ group amongst many others that emerged from Fort Worth radio stations.
Performances
1948
In the Spring of 1948, Patty Lou and her Sweethearts performed at the Star Club in Dallas, Texas followed by performances on KCNC, in Fort Worth, Texas and KFDX in Wichita Falls, Texas. In late 1948, and on New Year’s Eve they could be found performing at Murray’s Nite Club in Amarillo, Texas.
1949
In September 1949, Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts were featured live nightly at the Club Fireside and on radio station KOOS in Coos Bay, Oregon. From there, the trio (Patty Lou; Jerry Ray; and Rose Mary Davis) went on to perform for an eight week engagement in Anchorage, Alaska.
Performances
1948
Back to Texas in January 1950, they were performing at the Village Bar at the Fort Worth Stockyards during the Fort Worth Rodeo along with several other venues in Fort Worth, including the Northside Coliseum.
In September of 1950, Patty Lou left Dallas in her convertible Buick with Cleo Landholt and Jerry Ray (born Ida Mazell Glover) (her Sweethearts Trio) and headed out to Havre, Montana to play at the K-G Club promoted by her agent Johnny Robinson.
After playing in Montana, they were asked if they wanted to go to Anchorage, Alaska and perform for the military in the clubs there as Patty Lou and Her Texas Jailbirds. They said “sure” and stored her car in a garage in Montana and flew to Alaska!
From there, Patty Lou and her Trio (who became interchangeable throughout these years – typically an accordionist, a fiddle player, and Patty Lou on lead guitar) - played in other gigs in Idaho, as well as Wells, Nevada, and Elko, Nevada (at Bing Crosby’s place), and became “fitted” for a movie with Dean Martin called – “The Singing Mandolin” -where she was going to play the mandolin behind Dean Martin, but the movie was then cancelled.
In the early to mid 50’s – Patty Lou was promoted by Gene Schuler in Fairbanks, Alaska. She performed individually at the Silver Dollar in Fairbanks, and was presented as “One of America’s Finest Musician Cowgirl Entertainers”, Patty Lou Peters, “a Real Texas Sweetheart!”
Back in Dallas
Returning back to Dallas, in the mid to late 50’s – Patty Lou played all over Dallas in gigs at the Bob Wills’ Ranch House which eventually became the Longhorn Ballroom, the Sportatorium, the Big D Jamboree, and played on various radio shows including WBAP and KRLD. It was during this time that Patty Lou played with many musicians as they were building their careers, such as Hank Snow, Pee-Wee King, Ray Price, Bob Wills, Hank Thompson, Tommy Duncan. In the early 50’s, Tommy Duncan recorded a rework of “Milk Cow Blues” and Cindy Walker’s song, “I was Just Walking Out the Door”, both of which were songs Patty Lou continued to play and sing for her family.
In 1956 Patty Lou married Coleman Looper and shortly thereafter moved to Santa Monica, California. Not completely ready to give it all up, Patty Lou Looper transferred her membership in the AFM to Local 47 in Los Angeles, CA, where she began to perform again in local venues in Downtown LA as well as the Santa Monica Pier Ballroom. In August, 1956 she performed as Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts with Ruthe Moore and Betty Collins as the “Trio” at the Ranchinn' and Monte Carlo Casino Stage in Elko, Nevada for Bing Crosby’s event.
Personal Life
In 1957, Patty Lou decided to retire from her music career to become a housewife and mother. After piecing together the features of her career, and understanding the trail she blazed as a young woman and the courage she had during such an incredibly hard “war” time in our country, it is understandable why she never really spoke of the details – only the highlights of what her musical career entailed. She literally packed everything up in a box (including their acetate records) and stored it in her sister’s attic. She did keep her guitar and her amplifier that she performed with, and she sang and played for all the family get-togethers with a friend of Coleman’s from the navy, Buddy Hudson. They continued to sing and play until she was about 71 years old.
Although they played for every major holiday get-together, it wasn’t frequent enough for her fingers to callus. She never complained about this or any of the many hardships and challenges she encountered as a young woman pioneering her way all over the country in her unprecedented professional music career in an industry dominated by males.