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Born Frank Brown April
20, 1922, Hylo Brown began his long and distinguished career
on WCMI Ashland, Kentucky, in 1939. Over the years he has
played with many of the top names including Bradley Kincaid
and Bill Monroe and appeared at country music’s most important
venues.
He acquired the nickname of
“Hylo” from his ability to sing in both tenor and bass voices
and was also a fine guitarist. The full credit that he
deserved eluded him, perhaps because he was born a few years
too early. He possessed the ability to sing both bluegrass and
ordinary country material equally well, but the general
opinion in his day was that one should sing either one or the
other. Consequently, he was never afforded the opportunity to
demonstrate his full potential.
It was not until years later
that Ricky Skaggs convinced both record companies and the
public that it was possible to sing both genres equally well.
Between 1954 and 1960, Brown recorded for Capitol Records,
being especially remembered for the versions of his
self-penned “Lost To A Stranger” and the Vagabonds’ “When It’s
Lamp Lighting Time In The Valley.” In the early 60s, he
recorded several albums for Starday Records and in the late
60s, a whole series for Rural Rhythm. Other albums have
appeared and some 1960 Capitol recordings, with an overdub by
the Jordanaires, were released for the first time by Bear
Family Records in 1992.
Hylo Brown passed away January
17, 2003.
Lycos
For Picture
[Hylo Brown was a member of the
Wheeling Jamboree in the mid-1950s when I was a headliner
there also. He was a great country & bluegrass singer – Dusty
Owens, TCM Radio News]
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