HOMER & JETHRO: You Tell Her, I Stutter (Rose-Friend) (RCA Camden -1966).
LP-album: 'Songs To Tickle Your Funny Bone' (mono).
LINER NOTES: "This is an early American protest song. A shy guy tries to con his buddy into popping the all-important question for him. This is a rather juicy morcel, could possibly bring back vaudeville".
Homer and Jethro were an American country music team with a long career from the 1940s through the 1960s, sometimes known as "the thinking man's hillbillies", specializing in comedy records and satirical versions of popular songs.
Guitarist Henry D. "Homer" Haynes (July 27, 1920 - August 7, 1971) and mandolin player Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (March 10, 1920 - February 4, 1989) were both born around Knoxville, Tennessee, and met on a radio audition when they were 12 years old.[1] Previously known as 'Junior' and 'Dude', (pronounced "Dude-ee") they were mis-introduced during a 1936 broadcast and adopted the names Homer and Jethro.
Both were outstanding jazz musicians, however, who were deeply influenced by the European Gypsy string jazz of Django Reinhardt, a style that would influence their work until Haynes's death.
The pair originally recorded for King Records of Cincinnati at a time when they were working at local radio station WLW on the station's "barn dance" type radio show the "Midwestern Hayride." At the time they performed exaggerated hillbilly-styled versions of pop standards as their comedic hook. At King, they also worked as session musicians backing other artists until a dispute over song credits with label owner Syd Nathan led Nathan to release them from the label.
Signed to the RCA Victor label in 1949, RCA's country A&R man Steve Sholes suggested they switch their comedy hook to singing parodies of country and pop hits. Most were penned by Burns, the wit and humorist of the pair. Their parody of "Baby It's Cold Outside", recorded with June Carter, became a hit. The song's composer Frank Loesser gave them permission to parody the tune with the condition that the label read, "With apologies to Frank Loesser". This led to a spot on WLS radio in Chicago in 1950, a tour with bandleader Spike Jones, and a number of successful albums. They also served as backup musicians on a number of late 1940s and early 1950s RCA recordings by Chet Atkins and on many other RCA country sessions in Chicago and Nashville.
They won a Grammy in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", their parody of Johnny Horton's major hit "The Battle Of New Orleans." The majority of their recordings were similar parodies of famous old and new popular songs. One example was their treatment of the old romantic song "When You Wore A Tulip" (When you wore a Tulip--/A sweet yellow Tulip--/And I wore a big red Rose). While keeping that line of the chorus intact, the duo's version of its verse told of two lovers having to sleep out in a greenhouse, removing their clothes due to the heat and humidity within it, and then having to escape when the building began to burn. Thus, to cover up their nakedness, the couple had to resort to using the aforementioned flowers.
Over time, their patter became more sophisticated, giving them access to mainstream audiences on network television and in Las Vegas. They were also hired as spokespersons and commercial personalities for Kellogg's Corn Flakes in the 1960s, their "ooh! that's corny!" TV spots giving them exposure beyond the country music audience. Chet Atkins produced many of their later RCA albums including two blazing instrumental jazz efforts: "Playing It Straight" and "It Ain't Necessarily Square."
Homer and Jethro were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Jethro's brother-in-law was guitarist and producer Chet Atkins. Haynes died in 1971 of a heart attack. Burns attempted to maintain the duo for a time with a new "Homer," guitarist Ken Eidson, but the effort was short-lived. Burns continued working as a musician, recording and performing solo and working as a sidemen with musicians including Atkins, singer-songwriters Steve Goodman and others. At times, he appeared in the "All-Star Band" on TV's Hee-Haw with Atkins and swing fiddler Johnny Gimble. He also became a master teacher of mandolin jazz. He died in 1989 after a bout with prostate cancer.