Inventory of the Glenn Thompson Collection, 1944-2002

Collection Number 20341

Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:

Manuscripts Department

CB#3926, Wilson Library

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890

Phone: 919/962-1345

Fax: 919/962-3594

Email: mss@email.unc.edu

URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/

Processed by

Burgin Mathews

Date Processed

October 2002

Encoded by

Burgin Mathews

Date Encoded

October 2002

Descriptive Summary

Repository

Southern Folklife Collection

Creator

Thompson, Glenn, 1921- .

Title

Glenn Thompson Collection, 1944-2002

Call Number

20341

Extent

About 70 items

Abstract

During the 1940s and 1950s, country music singer and guitarist Glenn Thompson was a popular bandleader, radio personality, and recording artist, performing first with the Burlington, N.C.,-based Blue Ridge Entertainers and subsequently with his own Dixie Playboys. Thompson continued to perform regularly and released several recordings as both soloist and bandleader until his retirement in 1985. The collection includes photographs and sound recordings documenting Thompson's musical career. Photographs feature Thompson, his bandmates, and associates during the 1940s and 1950s, and include several promotional shots of Thompson, the Blue Ridge Entertainers, and the Dixie Playboys. Photographs also document Thompson's involvement with Danville, Va., radio station WDVA and his performance at a number of venues, including the WDVA Barn Dance, the Carolina Theatre (Burlington), a voting rally, a WTOB (Winston-Salem) television show, and several radio stations. Also included are photographs of comedians who performed in Thompson's stage show, most commonly long-time bandmate Sleepy Johnson and WDVA personality Homer T (Thomasson). Other performers include Charlie Monroe; armless musician Ray R. Meyers; and the Louvin Brothers. Sound recordings include CD copies of commercial 78 rpm records and LP records; original 45 rpm records; and cassettes and compact discs issued privately by Thompson or by the Greensboro-based Skatter label. A taped interview, in which Thompson comments on the collection's photographs, provides anecdotes about Buck Owens, Bill Monroe and Charlie Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the Louvins, Ray Meyers, Thompson's bandmates, and Thompson's musical experiences in Danville and Burlington.

Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access

Use of audio materials may require production of listening copies.

Provenance

Received from Glenn Thompson of Burlington, N.C., in April 2001 and May 2001.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Blue Ridge Entertainers.

Country music.

Country musicians.

Danville (Va.)--History.

Flatt, Lester.

Homer T.

Johnson, Sleepy.

Louvin Brothers.

Monroe, Bill, 1911- .

Monroe, Charlie.

Meyers, Ray R.

Musical groups--North Carolina.

Musicians--North Carolina.

Owens, Buck, 1929- .

Radio programs--United States.

Radio stations--Virginia.

Scruggs, Earl.

Thompson, Glenn, 1921- .

Glenn Thompson and his Dixie Playboys.

WDVA (Radio station : Danville, Va.).

WDVA Barn Dance (Radio program).

Biographical Note

Glenn Thompson was born in Moore County, N.C., on 16 October 1921. His radio career began in 1941 at station WGH in Newport News, Va. In 1943, he moved to Panama City, Fla., working briefly at station WDLP with John King and his Drifting Cowboys. In 1944, after serving for about a year as a tank driver in Fort Knox, Ky., Glenn moved again to Burlington, N.C. His band, the Blue Ridge Entertainers, performed daily on Burlington radio station WBBB; the band, with some personnel changes, changed its name in 1946 to Glenn Thompson and his Dixie Playboys. From that year to 1948, they released five 78s on Thompson's own label, recorded at the Nelson Teal Studios in Burlington. In 1947, the group began extensive touring with the Wilby Kensey Theatre circuit, performing in thirteen eastern states from Maine to Florida. In 1949, Thompson and the Playboys moved to Danville, Va., where they recorded three 78s and were featured performers on radio station WDVA. That June, the station started its very popular Saturday night Barn Dance, held at the Danville Fairgrounds, with Glenn as its main attraction. In addition to headlining that weekly program, Thompson frequently entertained school and church groups, traveled with his own tent show, and coordinated a shifting pool of considerable talent for his shows. For a short period in 1950, the Louvin Brothers joined the Barn Dance, acting as Thompson's band and appearing uncredited on his 78 recording of "Lovers Lane" and "Trouble Keeps Hanging Around My Door."

Thompson returned to Burlington and WBBB in 1953 and recorded two LPs and a final single during the 1960s, with a number of the LP tracks released additionally as 45s. In 1983, he married his third wife, Wilma Martin, the widow of country entertainer Slim Martin. Thompson retired from the music business in 1985, but continued to make occasional personal appearances.

Collection Overview

The Glenn Thompson collection includes photographs and sound recordings documenting Thompson's musical career. Photographs feature Thompson, his bandmates, and associates during the 1940s and 1950s, the most active years of his career, and include promotional shots of Thompson and his bands, the Blue Ridge Entertainers and the Dixie Playboys. Photographs also document Thompson's involvement with Danville, Va., radio station WDVA, and feature Thompson and the Playboys in performance at a number of venues, including the WDVA Barn Dance, the Carolina Theatre (Burlington, N.C.), a voting rally, a WTOB (Winston-Salem) television show, and several radio stations. Also included are photographs of comedians who performed in Thompson's stage show, most commonly long-time bandmate Sleepy Johnson and WDVA personality Homer T (Thomasson). Other performers at some point affiliated with Thompson and featured in the collection include Charlie Monroe, armless musician Ray R. Meyers, and the Louvin Brothers, who filled in briefly for Thompson's backup band and were regulars on the WDVA Barn Dance in 1950. A taped interview, in which Thompson comments on the photographs in the collection, provides anecdotes about Buck Owens, Bill Monroe and Charlie Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the Louvins, Ray Meyers, Thompson's own bandmates, and, more generally, Thompson's musical experiences in Danville and Burlington.

Sound recordings include CD copies of commercially recorded 78 rpm records and LP records; original 45 rpm records; and original cassettes and compact discs issued privately by Thompson or by the Greensboro-based Skatter label. Two additional cassettes, recorded in 2001 with the acquisition of Thompson's photograph collection, contain an interview in which Thompson describes the photographs.

Organization of Collection

1. Photographs
2. Sound Recordings
2.1. 78 rpm Records
2.2. 45 rpm Records
2.3. LP Records
2.4. CDs
2.5. Cassettes

Detailed Description of the Collection