The Swanee River Boys with Chuck Simpson on WDOD Radio in 1940
Chattanooga held a special place in the lives of the late Buford and Merle Abner, original members of the legendary Southern Gospel group, the Swanee River Boys.
In a 2007 interview, co–founder Buford Abner said growing up as the son of an Alabama sharecropper he always wanted to sing. When he was 15, Abner got a job as a bass singer for the Columbus, Ga., group, the Pepperell Manufacturing Company Quartet. It wasn’t long until Abner and his brother Merle formed the Vaughn Four Quartet and landed a job at WNOX Radio in Knoxville.
Abner said, “We started traveling; there wasn’t much more money in Gospel music but it beat picking cotton.”
Abner said in late 1939 he and Merle decided to change their name to the Swanee River Boys because they were doing a lot of concerts near the Swanee River in North Florida. Other members of the quartet included Bill Nelson and Bill Carver.
Abner said he wasn’t sure of the date, but the quartet was singing a lot of western songs so they recorded “Carry me Back to Ole Virginny” for MGM. The song, written by James Bland in 1878, received a lot of radio station air play. Abner said, “I think I heard Louis Armstrong sing it first. It became our signature song for a while.” Abner said because of all the fan requests the group recorded the song again for the Skylite record company in 1968.
Abner noted the song was used in the February 1980, episode of the Waltons (The Furlough) when John Boy returned home and related war experiences to his family.
Abner said around 1940, he got a call from Chuck Simpson at WDOD Radio, who wanted the quartet to re-locate to Chattanooga and sing on the Radio Playhouse broadcast live daily on CBS. Abner said it was a very attractive offer to perform on a national radio program so they decided to move. Abner said he met his wife Dorothy Jean Dalton in Chattanooga and they got married. Abner’s wife was part of the Sunshine Sisters who also sang on the Radio Playhouse. The Abners have one daughter, Pamela. Abner remembers Archie Campbell (Hee Haw fame) was working in Chattanooga appearing on the Radio Playhouse.
Abner said a very young Ernie Feagans (WDOD Radio) was his best man. "We always loved the Read House and would stay there every time we visited the city we called home for several years,” he said.
Abner said the group did a lot of western songs but WDOD management asked them to learn some Gospel tunes, which became popular in the early years of World War II. “That’s how our programs ended up being mostly Gospel,” said Abner.
With Uncle Sam calling, Abner and his brother entered the military. In 1946, the Abners came back stateside and it wasn’t long until they received a call from WSB Radio in Atlanta and offered a job. Abner said the re–united quartet became very popular. After WSB, came programs on WBT Charlotte and WSM Nashville.
During the decades of the Swanee River Boys, the quartet sang all over the United States doing an average of 200 dates a year. They even traveled to Europe where Gospel and Western music were very popular. American Forces Network, Europe records show the group singing on the radio while visiting the troops overseas. The quartet sang in two USO shows in the Orient.
The group recorded “Oh What a Savior” in the late 50’s. The song was made popular in the mid 60’s by Rosie Rozell and the Statesman Quartet and Ernie Haase with the Cathedrals and Signature Sound. Abner said, “It’s a standard today in Gospel music but I believe we recorded it first in 1959 for Zondervan.”
Abner said before his retirement in 1971, he wrote a lot of Gospel songs including “Remember my name in your Prayers.” In recent years the song was recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Kingsmen and the Inspirations.
Abner also wrote “Tear Stained Altar” made famous by the Bishops.
Their “Drifting too far from the Shore” was used in later years on a Bill Gaither Homecoming video.
A fan favorite was “We’ll understand it better by and by,” sung at the 1989 Grand Ole Gospel Reunion.
During their many years of singing, the group recorded for MGM, King, Zondervan and Skylite records. Abner said their most famous selection was ”That’s Gospel Brother.”
Buford and Merle retired to Wedowee, Ala., where they remained active in their churches. The Swanee River Boys were inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2002.
Buford died in November, 2011, his brother Merle had passed 10 years earlier.
Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires said, “The Swanee River Boys believe in their music and feel each word and note they sing right down to the depths of their hearts. They are one of the best known and loved quartets in Gospel Music.”
After our conversation, Abner thanked me for calling and said through the years he’s made many friends in Chattanooga. He said, “I’ll never forget the city and especially the Read House; How can you forget where you got married?”