Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry
I first met Chubby Beeler during my freshman year 1959/1960 at Horace Maynard High School in Maynardville, Tennessee, the county seat of Union County. Chubby was a phenomenon at school as he was a very good guitar picker and had an easygoing personality, as we called it back then. He hasn’t changed over the years even after all his success as a guitar picker displaying his great talent from Union County to the Grand Ole Opry and many places in between.
Chubby was born June 11, 1944, to parents Odra and Grace Beeler. He had an older sister, Joyce, who let Chubby borrow her 1955 Ford Fairlane 2-door hardtop sometimes while Chubby attended high school.
Chubby received his first guitar at 10 years of age and had lessons for six months every Saturday night at the Gibbs Community Center. In his early teen years Chubby played with Bobby Washam’s Union County Ramblers. He also played almost every Wednesday morning on the chapel program at Horace Maynard High School. He backed local high school students such as Don Kiser, Ray Bull, Doug Meyers and Betsy and Judy Stowers.
By this time Chubby was becoming a very good guitar player and could play almost any kind of music. He really impressed the high school crowd by playing “Walk, Don’t Run,” a big hit by the Ventures, and “Raunchy” by Bill Justice on the chapel program. Chubby played at local pie suppers and other local events while continually improving his style. After high school, Chubby entered a talent show on WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. He won second place playing an instrumental and was hired to work on the Talent Show on WATE-TV for six weeks. He then started on the Jim Clayton - Kathy Hill Show as a guitar picker and worked on their show for six years. The show was pre-recorded at Valley Studios and aired on Saturday at 3 p.m. Carol Wagner was a regular on the show, also.
Jim Clayton’s show aired on Saturday nights. Chubby played guitar on this show too. It was also taped earlier at Valley Studios. Kathy Hill also had her own television music show that Chubby played on. Kathy Hill and Jim Clayton were married for a time. After his six-year stint with Jim Clayton and Kathy Hill, Chubby joined Archie Campbell for a short while.
In 1969, Chubby joined Jim Wyrick’s Country Style ’69 Music Show that was a live show on WBIR in Knoxville, Tennessee. Jim Wyrick had local guests to sing such as The Jet Brothers and Betsy Stowers, who joined the band as a singer and piano player. Chubby said that Betsy was an excellent piano player.
The year 1970 brought Chubby Beeler to John Hitch’s Barn Dance which was at the WNOX Auditorium. John Hitch used Nashville and local entertainers and had background singers including Faye Brewer, Glenn Farrington, Betty Butler and Sharon Monroe. The background singers added a real touch of professionalism to the show. Some of the Nashville entertainers were Bobby G. Rice, George Morgan, Jeanne Pruitt, Johnny Rodriguez, Johnny Carver, Bill Phillips, David Farmer and Frank Smith. Ava Barber of the Lawrence Show performed occasionally. The Barn Dance Band included Chubby Beeler, Danny Hutchins, Stoney Spivey, Ralph Loveday, Bob Cox, Jerry Moore and Johnny Denton—the best band in Knoxville at the time. At one of the Barn Dance Shows Chet Atkins was on the program and asked Chubby if he could use his guitar amp. Well, Chubby said yes—very quickly.
Who would turn down Chet Atkins?
In 1970, Ava Barber and Chubby played the Grand Ole Opry. In 1974, Ava Barber asked Chubby to join her on her tours and weekend shows. Ava Barber’s shows all initially had big band formats with Chubby accompanying her with his guitar—very reminiscent of the Lawrence Welk Show that ended in 1982.
Ava Barber, with Chubby and using local bands, toured the U.S. and Canada and headlined all country shows where she and Chubby appeared. Chubby said he would get a call to go to McGee-Tyson Airport. His ticket would be waiting. Then he would know where he was to fly and join Ava and her husband/manager, Roger Sullivan. Chubby thinks very highly of Ava Barber and still today stays in touch with her and her husband. Chubby cherishes memories of touring with Ava and Roger.
The year 1978 saw Chubby Beeler picking guitar for Mel Street and touring with him. This lasted for six months until Mel Street died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978.
In 1980, Chubby re-joined Ava Barber until 2013. While with Ava Barber, they toured the Gibson Guitar Company and the president of Gibson was a fan of Ava. They made a special guitar for Chubby Beeler. Over the years Chubby has backed many big singers, but one stands out in his memory. That singer was one of the biggest during the ’50s and a friend of Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell. He was born in Maynardville, Tennessee, the only boy behind seven older sisters. His name is Carl Smith. Chubby told me Carl was one of the nicest and most courteous stars that he ever played behind. Chubby backed Carl Smith three different times.
Some of my best memories are the chapel programs on Wednesday morning at Horace Maynard High School with Chubby Beeler, his Gibson and the talented high school singers, especially Don Kiser performing for us. Chubby went on to play behind some of the best of the entertainment world and still has his gentle nature and friendly demeanor that I remember from high school. He should be a model for our current high school kids to respect and try to emulate.