"Okie" Paul Westmoreland

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 4 Oct 2002 5:07 pm

Please tell me something about Paul Westmoreland and His Pecos River Boys. Who played steel guitar for him. My Mother recently gave me the 78 rpm record, by him, that I used to wear out as a child in the 50's. It is on San Antonio Records. The A side is "Texas Steel Guitar", and the B side is "Oklahoma Bound" Thanks, Larry

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 5 Oct 2002 3:21 am

Larry, my apology for not seeing this sooner, but I don't remember knowing the gentleman you asked about. Gene www.genejones.com

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 5 Oct 2002 4:03 am

Thanks for your reply Gene, maybe Jody, Jason Odd, or Mitch Drumm knows something about him.

Larry King · Post by **Larry King** » 5 Oct 2002 5:02 am

Sacramanto had a DJ named "Okie" Paul Westmoreland some time around 1963. He had quite a following, did grand openings for his sponsors, performed locally along with his singer wife, etc. His major claim to fame however was that he wrote "Detour" and that helped pay the bills don'tcha know.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 5 Oct 2002 8:08 am

Thanks Larry, you don't happen to know who his steel player was do you?

Larry King · Post by **Larry King** » 5 Oct 2002 9:55 am

Just talked to my buddy Ivan Ward...he tells me that mrs westmoreland was named Ola Louise and that Okie Paul owned the Detour Inn at Sacto and that he played his own stand up steel..purty good player...and futher that he was from a little wide spot called Procter, Ok, just 15 mile south of my place. See what you can learn hanging around some of us old salts.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 5 Oct 2002 2:17 pm

Larry King, thanks so much for the info. Now, I need a record player with 78rpm speed to play it.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 5 Oct 2002 5:48 pm

Okie Paul Westmoreland was active in the 1940s into the 1970s, I'm sure the Sacramento Western Swing Society would have info on him.

"Tell 'em Okie Paul sent ya" was one of his catch cries when he did advert announcements on KRAK.

I believe that San Antonio Records goes back to the 1940s, I'm sure that many of his band members also had their own releases on the label.

Mitch will most likel;y have more to add if he's around and sees this topic.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 6 Oct 2002 4:56 am

Thanks Jason, Come in Mitch!

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 7 Oct 2002 2:42 pm

Probably should have used Paul's name in the topic, I'm sure guy like Joe Casey and others who came from Nothern Ca. might have something to add.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 8 Oct 2002 2:55 am

Jason, I requested that b0b change the name of the thread to "Okie" Paul Westmoreland (by the way, what a wonderful excuse to bump up)

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 8 Oct 2002 4:02 am

"Okie" Paul did indeed play his own steel.My first encounter with the gentleman was at the Bell avenue Corral Next to Mclellan AFB.Where he was a co-owner. Between Paul and old Charlie Marshall they were radio icons, Charlie later on KFBK TV.Billy Jack Wills was on KCNW Sacto's first FM "True"Country station. Man did you stir up some great old memories.

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 10 Oct 2002 11:46 pm

Larry:

"Texas Steel Guitar" by paul westmoreland dates from 1946 or 1947. i think it is the 3rd of 4 78s that paul had on that label.

i haven't played it in 8 or 10 years, my only memory of it being that i thought it was undistinguished on first hearing it. i had high hopes considering the title and the era in which it was recorded, but was let down as i recall--hoping for something like joaquin. may have to go dig it out and re-evaluate.

i read somewhere on the web that okie paul celebrated his 80th birthday in sacramento about 3 or 4 years ago. as far as i know, he is still with us.

undoubtedly he is known to more people as a radio personality for his ads which were rampant in sacto for many years, pitching a wide variety of products. not many people have any memory of "detour", and those that do are likely to associate it with spade, patti page, duane eddy, or even jimmy walker--the guy who did the vocal on paul's version.

hell, he would be in my personal hall of fame if all he did was write that one song, never mind any connection with steel.

i suspect he hasn't had a band since the 60s--as far as i can tell he recorded only once after the mid-1950's--and that was in the mid to late 60s, when he would have been in his late 40s.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 11 Oct 2002 2:43 am

Thanks Mitch great stuff.

my only memory of it being that i thought it was undistinguished on first hearing it.

my only memory of it from 1957 as a 5 year old was what is that sound I sure like it...I ran a needle through it!

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 11 Oct 2002 6:13 am

The Andrews sisters had a "little Gigantic" hit of it and I believe Jimmy Wakely also.....

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CJC

Kenny Yates · Post by **Kenny Yates** » 11 Oct 2002 9:34 am

As far as I know Paul is still living in Burney California, I haven't talked to him in a while but I do still keep in contact with Ola Louise, send me an email if you would like her email address.....she could probably answer most of your questions or find out from Paul any of the other ones.

He would come into the detour and play the last set of the night some times depending on who was playing at the time and was still playing the dobro the last time I talked to him.

Larry, is that the same Ivan Ward that did the TV special about bigfoot, if so tell him I said howdy.

Paul played Steel for Ted Daffin way back there and I believe he was in the same running crowd as Jaquin Murphy in the forties.

Ken[This message was edited by Kenny Yates on 11 October 2002 at 10:37 AM.][This message was edited by Kenny Yates on 11 October 2002 at 10:41 AM.]

Larry King · Post by **Larry King** » 11 Oct 2002 12:10 pm

Kenny...I doubt this Ivan Ward had anything to do with bigfoot...he was born back here but lived a good portion of his working years at Ceres, Cal after a short few years in Dallas. A great guy and very good player.Wow, this gets more wild..Okie Paul in Burney????I was just there in June looking at the wreck of a car my wife survived in....with the help of the man upstairs I might add...Hwy 89..beautiful drive while it lasted.

Bill Bailey · Post by **Bill Bailey** » 11 Oct 2002 9:52 pm

I used to play in Redding California at a place called the Oak Grove Club, which was burned down by it's owner over a divorce settlement in the early eighty's I beleive. Oakie Paul used to come in set in and sing with my band once in a while. I was invited to come up to his cabin and do some fishin with him and his sidekick, who I think was some kind of a real artist with the paint brush. I am sorry I missed the chance to really get to know him better. He was a real enjoyable man to be around. He had a lot of charisma when he came into the room. Thanks for listening.
Bill Bailey

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[This message was edited by Bill Bailey on 11 October 2002 at 10:54 PM.]

Robert Williams · Post by **Robert Williams** » 16 Oct 2002 8:52 pm

Okie Paul played Steel Guitar and I was priveleged to work with him on occasion here in the Sacramento area where he was owner of the Detour Inn, a successful western dance club. He wrote the songs "Detour" wich was a mega hit for Patti Page and "Can't win, Can't place, Can't show" wich was a B side for Eddy Arnold in the early 50's. He also wrote the song in question "Texas Steel Guitar" and many others by the way. He was {is} a real talent and a very nice man. I had many hours of good times with him and I'm glad to see his name is not forgotten.
Bob Williams.....

Mylos Sonka · Post by **Mylos Sonka** » 22 Oct 2002 8:48 am

Okie Paul is still kicking as far as I know. I spoke with him three or four years ago. He was getting pretty hard of hearing.

I believe that he was a disc jockey for a time. I have a photo of him sitting at a table in a studio with Vance Terry.

I also came across a Billy Jack Wills Radio Show from KCRA Sacramento and "Okie Paul" appears on it as a guest. Vance is on steel so it has to be sometime before January of 1954.

Mylos Sonka