Glenn Thompson Collection, 1944-2002

ArchivalResource

Glenn Thompson Collection, 1944-2002

Glenn Thompson Collection, 1944-2002

http://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/t/Thompson,Glenn.html

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.

About 70 items

eng,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection.