Louvin Brothers Worked The Graveyard Shift At Peerless Woolen Mills

Charlie Louvin and I became good friends through WDOD.  He was on my program many times and even came to Chattanooga to sing during a Bethel Bible Village Country Fair.  I’m glad Tennessee Tourism officials decided to honor the Louvin brothers with The Tennessee Music Pathways Marker on Patten Square at 818 Georgia Ave. in a ceremony on Saturday.

As Charlie related the story to me, he and his brother worked the graveyard shift at Peerless Woolen Mills in Rossville.  They had won a talent contest in Chattanooga earning them a 15-minute radio program on WDEF.  Joe Engel’s new 25 watt radio station was located in the Volunteer Building at the corner of Georgia Avenue and 9^th Street. 

Louvin said the brothers asked their boss if they could take lunch from 4:30–5:30 a.m.

so they could do the radio show. Charlie said their mother packed sandwiches. One brother would drive to the Volunteer Building on Georgia Avenue where the radio station was located, while the other brother ate. They walked in the door a few minutes before 5 a.m., got their guitar and mandolin and went into the studio to sing their gospel and country harmonies. 

The show ended at 5:15 a.m. and they would get in the car and head back to the mill. The other brother would drive, while the other ate. Charlie said they received a lot of mail on Engel’s new station. The show lasted well over a year. Their duets went on to be heard on country radio stations all over the United States, but it all started in Chattanooga.

The Louvin Brothers wrote hundreds of songs and signed with Capitol Records. “I Don’t Believe You Met My Baby” went to the top of the Billboard charts in 1955 and that same year the Louvin Brothers joined the Grand Ole Opry. Famous guitarist Chet Atkins played on many of their releases. 

Ira died on June 20, 1965, in a traffic accident in Missouri. Charlie passed away Jan. 26, 2011, following a bout with cancer.

After Ira’s death, Charlie continued a solo career with more than a dozen top 20 country hits on the Billboard chart.

Charlie Louvin was a frequent guest on the Mountain Opry at the Walden Ridge Civic Center back in the 1990’s.  He said he enjoyed coming to Signal Mountain and doing his music in an informal setting. Mountain Opry official Ken Holloway said, “Charlie was always a fan favorite. He was the real deal in country music.”

Charlie came to Bethel Bible Village in the mid 80s to do the Country Fair.  He and director Ike Keay became good friends. Mr. Keay invited the Grand Ole Opry star back to the village to enjoy lunch with some of the youngsters. Mr. Louvin said he was impressed at what Bethel was doing for children of parents in prison.

In 1983, Charlie Louvin invited WDEF TV photographer David Moore and I to his Henegar, Ala., farm for “May on the Mountain” featuring the late Roy Acuff. It was a very memorable evening with Mr. Acuff singing his signature song, “Walbash Cannonball.” Mr. Acuff also teamed up with Mr. Louvin to do a medley of the brothers’ tunes.   

Several years later, Charlie Louvin sold the Sand Mountain farm and moved closer to Nashville to make his weekly performances on the Grand Ole Opry.

Charlie donated a lot of Louvin Brothers memorabilia to the Jim Oliver’s Smokehouse on Monteagle Mountain.  A fire on April 27, 2021 destroyed most of those collectibles. 

In the early 70s while stationed at the American Forces Network in Frankfurt, West Germany I received dozens of requests for the Louvin Brothers and Charlie Louvin's recordings.  “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” and “See The Big Man Cry” were among my most requested by Charlie.  His recording of “Think I’ll go somewhere and cry myself to sleep,” was recorded by Al Martino and made the easy listening charts.  Many Germans didn’t know the lyrics but enjoyed the Louvins’ instruments, especially Ira’s mandolin.

One evening at the WDOD studios, the late Hamilton County Executive Dalton Roberts, announcer Lee Cooper and Charlie Louvin held an impromptu jam session at the radio station and It lasted until nearly midnight. I kept making coffee for the pickers.  Mr. Roberts said later, “The Louvins were the heart and soul of country music and was proud to know both of them and be their friend.”

I attended Charlie Louvin’s funeral service at the Woodland Funeral Home in Nashville.  It was packed with Louvin’s friends and a who’s who of country singers including Sonny James, Jan Howard and Vince Gill.  Mr. Gill sang his gospel song, “Go Rest High On The Mountain.”  WSM radio’s Eddie Stubbs did the eulogy.  Stubbs said the Louvin Brothers' impact on country music would be felt for many years to come.  He said, “They have earned their place in Country Music history.”

Chet Atkins said, “The Louvin Brothers were the most influential harmony duet in country music; many artists (some outside country music) recorded their songs through the years.”  

The Sand Mountain Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame of in 2001. I’m so glad Tennessee Tourism officials decided to remember the Alabama brothers with this historical marker in Chattanooga. After all, this was where they started. They more than earned their place in music history.