BARRETT and The TRAILSMEN, CURT

Homebase: Seattle
Stats: 1950s...
Misc Notes: Gerald Curtis "Curt" Barrett began his musical career in Missouri at  age 14, when he strummed his guitar and sang a few Western songs as a contestant in a rodeo. After moving to Arizona, Barrett was heard by a movie scout over KTAR radio in Phoenix. Barrett headed off to Hollywood and between 1946 and 1951 he and/or his whole band, The Trailsmen -- Barrett (vocals / guitar); Harry “Slim” Duncan (fiddle); Stanley Ellison (accordion); Unk (piano); & Clarence “Bud” Dooley (string bass) -- appeared in about 30 movies, appearing with such Western film stars as Roy Rogers, Johnny Mack Brown, Wild Bill Elliott, Charles Starrett and Gene Autry. Throughout the mid-1940s the band also began recording for various labels including MEMO Records ("Trails To Santa Fe"), New York's Apollo Records ("Keep Your Love Light Burning"), and Cincinnati's King Records ("Hey Bartender"). But then, after a family member came down with an illness, a doctor recommended that they move to the Pacific Northwest. Barrett scored a job at KSPO in Spokane for about nine months before heading west to Seattle. There he and the Trailsmen settled in making personal appearances and recording for Jack Rivers' J R Records label. Barrett also had his own half-hour show called C Bar B Record Tune Corral on KRSC radio, and he made appearances on KING-TV. In October 1955 the band was booked at Seattle's Trianon Ballroom. In September 1956 a revamped Trailsmen -- Barrett (guitar); Burton Dudder (guitar); Ross Gibson (accordion); and Albert Stutz (fiddle) --  performed on KOMO-TV's Carnival in Color special broadcast that also featured KOMO staff singer Cliff Carl.

Over the years the Trailsmen made numerous recordings, including:

• "Serenading My Lucky Star" / "Trails To Santa Fe" [ Memo 5002]
• "My Conscience Never Bothers Me" /  "Hey Bartender" [King 522]

ALSO SEE:
1.) RIVERS, JACK
2.) CARL, CLIFF

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