Case, Floy, 1911-1988

When Floy Case first began writing about country music, both the genre and the profession of writing about it were rather new. She was born Floy Lorene Jones in the North Texas town of Bowie on April 20, 1911, and grew up there. As a young woman, she heard a country band called Bill Case and his Melody Boys perform in the Bowie area. She became a fan of theirs, and in 1929 she married their mandolin player, J.C. Case, Jr. The couple lived in small towns near Bowie before moving to Fort Worth in the mid-1930s. J.C. was a watchmaker by trade, and actively pursued music as an avocation before and after the move.

Around that time, J.C. encouraged his wife to write about their kind of music and the people who made it. Since her husband's musical activities gave her the opportunity to get acquainted with many performers and their repertory, she was in a very good position to take his advice, and she had a flair for writing. Eventually, Floy wrote a regular column and became an associate editor for the Mountain Broadcast and Prairie Recorder, a newsletter first distributed by radio stations and later widely sold on newsstands. Her popular column was entitled "Down Bluebonnet Way." While that magazine ceased publication after World War II, she contributed articles to a number of other publications as well.

After the war, the Cases moved to Paris, Texas, where J.C. and their sons Jerry and Johnny performed on the Red River Jamboree, a series of shows in the barn dance tradition that was popular at the time. Next the family moved to Garland, but sadly, J.C. died in 1964 shortly after the move. Floy then returned to Fort Worth to be closer to family members.

Throughout her writing career, Floy Case collected memorabilia about her own family and many of the other performers she knew. Her friends and acquaintances included both regional artists and nationally famous ones who starred on such shows as the Grand Ole Opry. Particularly notable was her friendship with country superstar Ernest Tubb, whom she helped and encouraged during his early years in Texas.

In 1984, the Country Music Foundation in Nashville gave its first certificate of recognition to Floy Case. She was recognized both for her pioneering efforts in country music journalism, and for donating significant memorabilia to the foundation. Floy Case died on June 14, 1988.

The Case family generously donated additional memorabilia to the University of North Texas Music Library. This collection includes such diverse material as photos, letters, journals, newspaper articles, and original music written by Floy Case. Numerous items relating to the history of country music in Texas, particularly the Red River Jamboree, offer insight into an area that has not yet been widely researched.