Born June 16, 1913, near Arthur, Kentucky, William S. Carrier ("Billy") was a guitarist, later attending the James D. Vaughan School of Music in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Graduating in 1936, he performed in a quartet, the Vaughan Four, that later changed names, becoming the Swanee River Boys.
The popular Swanee River Boys, playing white southern gospel as well as traditional folk songs and Negro spirituals, were featured on a variety of radio programs around the southeast. In 1941, the group was added to the already-large roster of acts on the WSB "Barn Dance," broadcast from Atlanta. Carrier and the Swanee River Boys also broadcast on WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina, WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, Purina Feed Company's "Checkerboard Time," and Western Auto's "Circle Arrow Show." In 1947, the Swanee River Boys took second place on the NBC Radio talent show "The Big Break." In 1952, Carrier left the Swanee River Boys, but he continued to perform in the Landmark Church Quartet until May 1956. Billy Carrier and his wife Willene Daniel Carrier were married in 1941. The couple had five children. Carrier's brother Joseph, known as Cotton (ca. 1919-1994), also became a well-known country musician and emcee for WSB Radio's "Barn Dance."
From the description of Billy Carrier papers, circa 1935-1957 (Georgia State University). WorldCat record id: 263869514
