Hugh Farr

1903–1980

Early Musical Career * Court Case Over the Name “Sons of the Pioneers” * The Country Gentlemen
Later Years

NOTE: Much of the content for this biography comes from Ken Griffis’ book, Hear My Song: The Story of the Celebrated Sons of the Pioneers, and is used with permission of the copyright holders. It is supplemented here with information from research by Elizabeth McDonald.

During an interview by newsman Walter Winchell, noted conductor Leopold Stokowski was asked whom he considered the greatest natural violinist of the century. Stokowski allegedly replied, "It really must be two musicians: the left hand of Fritz Kreisler, and the right hand of that gentleman who plays the violin with the Sons of the Pioneers—I can't recall his name."

The small central Texas town of Llano was the birthplace of Thomas Hubert Farr on December 6, 1903. His father, Thomas Benjamin Farr, was an independent building contractor and part-time musician. Both Thomas and Hattie Wheatley Farr were musically inclined. While going together, they played for local dances and neighborhood parties, with Tom playing the fiddle and Hattie the guitar.

Hugh would later accuse his father of branding him a fiddler at birth. The doctor, who previously had delivered five sisters—Lyla, Belle, Winnie, Stella, and Maggie—informed Thomas that he finally had a son. Thomas wouldn't accept the word of the good doctor until he had seen for himself. When satisfied, Thomas exclaimed, "Well, I'll be darned. There's my fiddler!" Following Hugh were brothers Glen and Karl.

At age 7, Hugh took up the guitar and, having exceptional natural talent, quickly mastered it, soon joining his father playing for Saturday night community dances. It was not unusual for these dances to last until 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning. Hugh recalled having a difficult time staying awake past midnight. He would doze off, then suddenly come awake when someone would drop a coin in his guitar. Some of the songs requested were “Texas Crapshooter,” “Arkansas Traveler,” “Waggoner," "Kelly Waltz," and "Fire on the Mountain."

When he was around 9, Hugh asked for his father’s permission to remain home from school so that he could practice the fiddle, promising to work real hard at it. When his father returned home that evening, he was astonished to find that Hugh had not only mastered the fiddle, he could also play all of his father's tunes from memory. After that, Hugh did the fiddling and his father played the back-up guitar. Younger brother Karl joined Hugh in playing for parties in nearby communities. Although she rarely joined them in playing for dances, Hugh's sister Belle was considered one of the best guitarists in the state.

The unique fiddle style that was to be his trademark in later years was developing at this time. Hugh said he would sneak out of bed late at night to listen to the Kansas City Nite Hawks, a jazzy-sounding group that he greatly admired. Unquestionably, those non-country sounds had an impact on his styling. He later said, however, he could not recall any contemporary fiddler who might have influenced him.

The Farr family moved to several locations in West Texas before moving to Encino, California, in 1925. Following his father's line of work, Hugh's first job was working in the construction of North Hollywood High School. On his way home from work one evening he stopped off at a bar on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks called Mammy's Shack. A small combo was featured between 8 and 12 p.m. Hugh introduced himself as a Texas fiddler and asked for an audition. The manager, noting that Hugh was still in his work clothes, suggested he go home and change. Returning later that evening, Hugh performed and was hired. This position lasted for about three years. One day he was informed his job had gone up in smoke, quite literally: The nightspot had burned down.

Mrs. Alice McDonald, who had been a waitress at Mammy's Shack, vividly recalled Hugh's appearance at the bar, joined on occasion by brother Karl. According to Alice, Hugh was a very popular entertainer. She reflected on how she had just moved out to the West Coast, had no relatives or friends in the area, and as it was nearing Christmas, she felt alone. Come Christmas Eve, she retired to her home anticipating a lonely evening. Soon there was a knock at the door. Alice opened it to find Hugh, Karl, and the other musicians standing there, and they warmly serenaded her for the next couple of hours. Needless to say, that very pleasant memory was treasured for many years to come.

Farr eventually decided to pursue music as a career. As he told Howard Larman during a 1976 appearance on the Folkscene Radio show:

“I used to work in the daytime and play at night. At one time, my father was a contractor, and I was working with him one time. I just got through shingling a house, you know, the last shingle’s up, you know, on the high part, and I had played the night before until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, and my dad didn’t drive a car, so I had to get up and drive this old model T and take him to work. Well anyhow, I climbed up on the ladder and got my nail apron, and I was puttin’ on shingles up there, the last ones, and, uh, so the sun come out nice and warm, you know, and I began to get sleepy. Well, I didn’t do this purposely, but I just laid my head over and I went to sleep. I woke up rolling off the house! So I went down and pulled off my carpenter overalls, and I told my dad, You gotta get you a partner, I am done as of right now, and I climbed up in the back seat and went to sleep.”

Farr had heard of Len Nash and His Country Boys, a popular group in Southern California. He and Karl went to see Nash at his Hollywood home and were successful in selling their talents. Nash contacted Hal Nichols, owner of Nichols-Warner Radio Station KFOX in Long Beach, suggesting a remote broadcast from a dance hall located at 32 Louise in North Long Beach. This was soon arranged, and a successful program began, called Len Nash and His Country Boys Barn Dance. The show, lasting from 1929 to 1933, while popular with the radio listeners, was less popular with the neighbors. They succeeded in closing the hall, forcing the band to move to Anaheim. The new location proved unsuccessful, and the show soon closed.

While with Nash, Farr appeared on several recordings: Brunswick 354, "On the Road to California/The Trail to Mexico," Brunswick 440, "Going Down to Town/Kelly Waltz." Hugh stated that, of all the tunes he featured, "Kelly Waltz" was his all-time favorite. It was a tune he learned from his father, and Hugh was to record it several times during his career. Hugh and Karl also were working as staff musicians on KFOX, where Karl remained when Hugh left the station in March 1933. Shortly after leaving the station, Nash, joined by Hugh, Karl, and Ira McCullough, formed the Haywire Trio, performing for a short period around Long Beach. Returning to Los Angeles, Hugh joined Jack LeFevre's Texas Outlaws, then appearing on radio station KFWB.

Farr was also performing with Sheriff Lloyd Underwood and his Hollywood Range Riders. According to Farr, it was while he was with this group that he was approached by Len Slye, Bob Nolan, and Tim Spencer about joining their newly formed trio:

“I didn’t have a chance to listen to ‘em because we were too busy. … So anyhow, uh, finally when we got back to KNX, that was the station where we worked out of, the Sheriff and his group. So uh, they come in there one night, and I said, ‘Well, I’ll tell you what to do: Stick around when we get through, and I’ll listen to you, and if I like you I’ll join up with you. And if i don’t—forget it.’ So, I auditioned Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer, and uh, they started out with that three-part harmony yodel that Bob wrote, ‘Way Out There,’ and honest to God when they hit that, my hair just stood straight up. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. When they got through, I says, ‘Count me in, boys. Count me in!’ ”

Slye, Nolan, and Spencer had been calling themselves the Pioneer Trio, but in 1934 they changed their name to the Sons of the Pioneers on a suggestion from radio announcer Harry Hall. As staff musicians at KFW radio, they were performing 20 times a week, not only as the Sons of the Pioneers but with Jack and his Texas Outlaws, the Gold Star Rangers, and the Jack Joy Orchestra.

Farr’s fiddling had a profound influence on Sons of the Pioneers’ sound. Spencer said Farr was the finest fiddler he had ever heard, and from the beginning, he contributed much to the group’s success. Farr said he knew from memory more than 1,200 tunes that were featured by the Pioneers: knew the proper introduction, key, and tempo. That was quite remarkable for a musician who could not read music.

Within a year of Farr’s addition to the group, the Sons of the Pioneers hired their fifth member: Karl Farr, Hugh’s younger brother. Karl joined them in 1935 in time to record the second set of Standard Radio transcriptions, which were instrumental in both introducing the group to a national audience and in solidifying their sound as an ensemble. Karl was a fine musician, strongly influenced by the guitar work of gypsy-jazz trail-blazer Django Reinhardt.

“Hugh Farr was a masterful musician. He claimed no one had influenced his playing, and there is no question he developed a style of fiddling that was completely his own. Yet while Hugh could amaze you with his solos, he never let his playing interfere with the Pioneers’ singing as he provided stylish and subtle accompaniment to their harmonies. Karl Farr’s guitar playing was the perfect complement to his brother’s fiddling. Bringing him into the group made them as strong instrumentally as they were vocally. It was truly as if each of the Pioneers was a part of a musical jigsaw puzzle with each piece fitting together perfectly. Apart each had talent and would have enjoyed some measure of success. Together they formed a group that became the cornerstone of western music.”
—Laurence Zwisohn, Los Angeles, California, March 1998

An interesting insight into the remarkable talents of the Farr brothers was their ability to create music on demand. To fill airtime, they would make up impromptu tunes. Few, if any, were ever repeated or recorded. The announcer would indicate that they should fill a minute or two, and they would make up the tunes as they went along. Hugh would call out the key and indicate the tempo, and what followed was pure genius. Occasionally someone would ask the name of a particular tune, or request that it be played again, only to be informed by Hugh and Karl that they had no idea what tune they were speaking of.

NOTE: Hugh Farr’s musical career is heavily tied to the Sons of the Pioneers’ career as a group. The group’s career is documented in much greater detail in Bob Nolan’s biography pages, beginning here.

Farr remained with the Sons of the Pioneers until late 1958, leaving to form his own group. The decision to leave was brought about by strained relationships between Farr and certain members of the group. There's no question that Farr had a bit of an ego problem and could be cantankerous at times but of course possessed extraordinary talent.

Farr soon assembled a group and began using the name “Sons of the Pioneers.” His decision to use the name was based on his belief that he owned the name. According to Farr, the original quartet of Rogers, Nolan, Spencer, and himself, made an oral agreement that the name belonged to all of them and would pass on to any continuing member. Because he was the last active member of that quartet, he felt he had exclusive rights to the name. His efforts to assemble a successful group did not materialize, and after a few engagements, he disbanded the group, joining the Jimmy Wakely band. While on tour with Wakely in 1961, he received word that his brother, Karl, had passed away from a heart attack during a performance in Springfield, Mass. Shortly after Karl's death, Hugh again assembled a group using the name Sons of the Pioneers, but after a court hearing in which Rogers, Nolan, and Spencer disagreed with his contention, he was ordered to cease and desist from using the name. You can read the full transcription of the lawsuit here.

Publicity photo of Hugh Farr with his own “Sons of the Pioneers.”
From the back center, clockwise: Slim Dossey, Dean Eacker, Bill Choate, Hugh Farr, Jimmy Bryant, and unidentified.
(Courtesy of George Bensmiller)

About four years after losing the court case, Farr joined or helped form a group called The Country Gentlemen, composed of Jimmie Widener, Pat Patterson, and Kenny Baker. They made Lake Tahoe their base. Although they didn't sound like the Sons of the Pioneers, their music was much admired. At one point western star Rex Allen asked the group to accompany him on a tour of Hawaii. To quote Will Osborne, the entertainment director at Harvey's Wagon Wheel in Lake Tahoe, where The Country Gentlemen were appearing:

“During the formative period of The Country Gentlemen, I was fortunate enough to hear the group in rehearsal. A close friend of mine telephoned me one afternoon and suggested that I come over to his home here at Lake Tahoe for a cup of tea and a musical treat. The tea was brisk...the musical treat, exhilarating. The Country Gentlemen were in rehearsal. They had decided to get completely away from Hollywood and its influence and had chosen this garden spot as a base while rehearsing and polishing the group to be known as The Country Gentlemen. 

What I heard that afternoon in early January 1962 took me completely by surprise, not because of innovations or gimmicks, but mainly because I had never heard such quality in voices, such fine musicianship and presentation in a group in the country and western field.

My first thought was to insist that they sign a contract to appear for us at Harvey's Wagon Wheel, but then it seemed ridiculous that such an outstanding organization could possibly be at liberty. On broaching the subject, I was told that they would not be ready to play their first engagement until after some weeks of rehearsal. To shorten the story…five days later, The Country Gentlemen opened at the Wagon Wheel on January 19, 1962. Since that date, they have played six engagements for us in a period of nine months...an all-time record.

Among the many top musicians and celebrities frequenting the performances of The Country Gentlemen, Harry James said, "The most modern sound and the finest musicianship in the western field." Bob Wills, "The first musical thrill I've had in 20 years." Red Norvo, playing on the same bill, spent much of his time between shows "out front" listening. He is a staunch fan of The Country Gentlemen. To quote Red, "They have such good taste and produce a wonderful sound."

I am naturally proud of the boys and of the great strides they have made in such a short period of time. They have made me a fan of country and western music, Country Gentlemen style.”

Due to the illness of one of their members, the group broke up within a few months, but not before recording one fine album, Songs of the Pioneers. Additionally, they placed many recordings on tape, which they hoped to sell for transcription use, but that project never came to fruition.

In later years, Farr made brief public appearances at ceremonies where the Sons of the Pioneers were honored. He demonstrated that he had lost none of that genius that had helped raise the Sons of the Pioneers to the height of popularity.

“The photo [below] was taken the day the Pioneers got their star on Hollywood Boulevard. In addition to the then-current lineup headed by Lloyd (Perryman), Roy (Rogers) and Bob (Nolan) were there along with a gaunt-looking Hugh Farr. Hugh, if I recall, was living in Wyoming and drove down with two of his neighbors. As gaunt as he was, he was clearly recognizable.

That evening there was a show honoring the Pioneers at the Hollywood Palladium. Roy sang with the group, and at one point in the show Lloyd introduced Hugh as one of the original Pioneers who had come back to be a part of the evening. The Palladium was packed since radio station KLAC had promoted the event (they also underwrote the show at the Palladium). Hugh's appearance that evening came as a complete surprise to almost everyone in the audience.

Lloyd introduced Hugh, and although he had aged considerably over the years, he walked with a steady gait to the center stage, put his fiddle under his chin, and the years just rolled away. Hugh blew away the entire audience, who gave him a prolonged standing ovation after his number. He was magnificent. Lloyd was beaming as the audience rose to their feet, and when Hugh began to leave the stage, Lloyd stopped him and said the audience wouldn’t let him leave after just one number so Hugh came back and played another tune and, once again, knocked everyone out. It was a truly wonderful moment.”
—Laurence Zwisohn to Elizabeth McDonald

Hugh Farr, considered by his admirers to be the greatest fiddler of his time, passed away March 17, 1980. He is fondly remembered by his many friends and fans.