Taking a Break From Chess Today

      
     As James Boswell said, "Had I learned to fiddle I should have done nothing else."  Personally, I'd throw in cowboy yodeling, too.
     From Wikipedia….Raymond LeRoy Clark (December 11, 1917 - July 5, 2000) was an American musician known for his yodeling. He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and completed two years of high school, at which time he became a professional musician at the age of 15 in 1932. 
     Slim began spending his summers in Maine, and in 1952 he became a resident there. After early radio performances in Greenfield, Massachusetts and Keene, New Hampshire, in 1936 he went on the air as "Wyoming Buck" and a few months later the radio station manager renamed him "Yodeling Slim Clark." Later, he moved to Maine, where he starred in the 1960s on the Bangor radio program, RFD Dinnerbell. 
     From 1952-1967 he was featured in both radio and television programs in Bangor. Slim's bands included the Red River Rangers, The Trailriders and The Trailsmen. In 1946, Slim signed with Continental Records in New York City, at the urging of yodeller Elton Britt. The songs he recorded at Continental were largely traditional cowboy and folk tunes. Clark stayed with the label until 1957, followed by associations with several independent labels. He gained popularity throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. 
     After a partial retirement in the early 1970s, he recorded for Palomino Records, and played many festivals during the summertime. Slim won the World Yodeling Championship in 1947 and was inducted into the Yodeler's Hall of Fame He was also a member of the Western Music Association's Hall of Fame. He is represented in the Walkway of Stars at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. In November 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame, Massachusetts Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Country Music Hall of Fame.
     During his younger days, Slim played pro-baseball as a pitcher for the Blackstone Valley League in Massachusetts and later tried out to be a pitcher of the Boston Braves. He was an avid sports fan, following baseball, football, basketball and golf. In addition to sports, he maintained a lifelong interest in hunting and fishing, as well as farming and was a Registered Guide in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont for over 17 years. In retirement, most of his time was spent painting. He became recognized for his lifelike paintings of outdoors scenes—one of his most popular paintings being that of a Lombard Log hauler. 
     Want to hear more of Slim?  Visit his Website. Want to learn more about yodeling?  Visit my other Blog post HERE.