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Before there was a group called The Four Guys there was a group called The Jets. George Baker, John Romey, Sam Wellington, Jan Housley, Ralph Goble, and Mike Reale on stand-up bass are pictured performing on a Steubenville, Ohio TV Teen Dance Show - 1955 |
The Original Four Guys, Brent Burkett, Sam Wellington, Berl Lyons, and Richard Garratt are depicted in an artist rendering for a story in Reader's Digest about The Grand Ole Opry - 1968 |
Pictured in 1989 are The Four Guys, Laddie Cain, John Frost, Sam Wellington, and Brent Burkett who comprised the ensemble that sang together for the longest period of time during their illustrious 33-year career. |
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The
Four Guys Today --- Truly A Band of Brothers!
Pictured are John Frost, Glen Bates, Laddie Cain, & Sam Wellington.
SOMETHING
ABOUT THOSE FABULOUS FOUR GUYS!
METEORIC, EUPHORIC
and HISTORIC is how many have described the rise to country music, “show
biz” stardom of a singing quartet who arrived in
They soon found out that dreams can come true faster than the dreamers had ever
imagined. Little more than a month after arriving in the recording capital of
the world, The Four Guys landed a guest spot on the world-famous Grand Ole Opry
where they made their first encore appearance of an updated version of the old
folk song SHENANDOAH. It was the Friday Night Frolic, which is what they called
the show created to serve as a preview for the Saturday night institution, Grand
Ole Opry. Usually, Guests were asked to perform on Fridays since the big
Saturday show was reserved mostly for the regular Opry star family with little
room for guest acts. Still more unusual was the fact that “The Guys” did not
have a hit record or even a recording contract. Rule of thumb at that time was
for an upcoming performer to have had two or three hits under their belt before
an invitation to appear as a guest was ever extended.
That particular Friday night in early February was special. Opry Manager, Ott
Devine, had just witnessed what he felt was an historic musical performance and
wasted little time inviting The Four Guys to return the next evening to repeat
their performance of SHENANDOAH. Return they did to a thunderous audience
reception resulting in their being invited to return the following Friday and
Saturday nights. The response was the same; encores throughout February, March,
and into April. The group encored EVERY performance until finally, Manager
Devine invited The Four Guys to become LIFETIME members of the greatest country
music show on Earth. No other vocal group had been so invited before or since.
To become a regular member of the Opry cast meant the “show would be available
to “The Guys” whenever “The Guys” would be available to the show.” In
those days, that number was twenty-six (26) Saturdays per year. The required
performance number was later reduced to twelve (12) with partial credits given
for Opry Matinees and Friday appearances. In still later years, the magic
performance requirement was reduced even further.
Stage encores did not cease with The Four Guy’s new Opry membership.
Consistent crowd pleasers, “The Guys” went on to become one of the Opry’s
most touted acts stepping forth to work their musical stage magic whenever the
curtain went up. Word of their Opry successes traveled rapidly and the group was
named MOST PROMISING VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR in 1968 by the readers of Country
Song Roundup (the primary fan magazine for country music in the 60’s and
70’s.)
A recording contract with
Mercury Records followed with The Four Guys being asked to perform on the hit
album, WINE ME UP, with their label mate and country music legend, Faron Young.
“The Guys” were then asked to open for Hank Williams, Jr. on his road show
and toured with that show for more than two years. Meantime, they interspersed
their rigid road schedule with their regular Opry performances and special
engagements on their own and with Jimmy Dean in
As their popularity continued to grow, The
Fabulous Four Guys (the descriptive adjective FABULOUS was added to their name
by their friend and eventual Country Music DJ Hall of Fame member, Charlie
Douglas) were asked to join the Charley Pride Show, which also featured another
up and comer, Ronnie Milsap. RCA Records, Pride and Milsap’s label, then
signed the group to create an all-RCA show. The Pride Show, considered by most
to be the top show in country music at the time, played to SRO crowds in every
major venue throughout the
Meanwhile, awards and
accolades continued to mount for the Opry’s only four member singing group:
Music City News Fan Magazine named The Four Guys top three finalists nine years
in a row in the Vocal Group of the Year category; The Country Music Association
nominated them in the same category in 1975; The Country Music Hall of Fame
inducted them into it’s treasured Walkway of Stars in 1992 along with a
star-studded cast, including Billy Ray Cyrus, Steve Wariner, Trisha Yearwood,
Patty Page, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Janie Fricke and Graham Parsons.
Following two years of touring with the
Pride Show, The Four Guys returned to
The Four Guys scored their greatest
recording success in the 90’s with numerous “TOP FIVE” and a couple of
NUMBR ONE records in Europe and the
In late 1999, founding members
Sam Wellington and Brent Burkett decided to retire after performing together
professionally for more than thirty-two years. Brent chose the quiet lifestyle
of tending his farm in
After battling health problems for several
years, Brent passed away on October 13, 2007. Sadness filled the air on that
bright sunshiny day in Middle Tennessee as Sam Wellington and longtime former
members John Frost, Gary Buck and Glen Bates gathered at the gravesite of their
friend and singing partner. During an impromptu moment, Brent’s youngest
brother Talmage asked the four friends, who had been estranged for many years,
to join him in the singing of “Amazing Grace” as a final tribute to HIS
sibling and THEIR performing comrade. The combination of Wellington, Frost, Buck, and Bates had not sung together in more than twenty years. One of
the most touching moments in any of their lives took place during the singing of
that “grand ole hymn” on that somber afternoon. Completely overcome with
emotion,
Several social events followed thus spawning
the idea of a possible Four Guy’s performance reunion. As a result, plans were
laid and executed for several engagements during the June 2008 CMA Music
Festival in
Who says you can’t go home again? The
Fabulous Four Guys are set to reacquaint themselves with some old familiar
stages and perhaps find a few new ones along the way as they develop still
another stage in their personal and professional lives…this time performing as
TRULY A BAND OF BROTHERS!!
***For story source and additional information about The Four Guys, contact Sam Wellington / srwellington@comcast.net
CAREER
TRACKS
MAJOR
RADIO/TV APPEARANCES ·
Grand
Ole Opry members 1967 - 2000 ·
National
United Cerebral Palsy Telethon – John ·
NBC’s
Midnight Special ·
CBS’s
CMA Awards Show ·
PBS’s
multiple telecasts of The Grand Ole Opry ·
The
Bob Hope Special from ·
ABC’s
·
The
Merv Griffin Show ·
·
Grand
Ole Opry Live – TNN ·
Crook
& Chase – TNN ·
·
·
AWARDS ·
VOCAL
GROUP OF THE YEAR - ·
VOCAL
GROUP OF THE YEAR - Country ·
VOCAL
GROUP OF THE YEAR – ·
MOST
PROMISING GROUP OF THE YEAR, ·
COUNTRY
MUSIC ASSOCIATION Walkway ·
NUMEROUS
Industry and Fan Magazine MAJOR
AUDITORIUM /FAIR / PARK APPEARANCES Numerous
State, County, Regional, and Canadian appearances with: ·
The
Hank Williams, Jr. Show ·
The
Charley Pride Show ·
Marty
Robbins ·
The
Jimmy Dean Show ·
EAGLE
MT. THEATRE, Pigeon Forge, TN ·
Opryland
·
General
Jackson Showboat – ·
Six
Flags Over ·
Disneyland
–
·
RCA
·
MERCURY
· MGM (several independent labels) |
MAJOR
NIGHT CLUB APPEARANCES ·
International
Hilton - ·
Sahara
Hotel - ·
Sunset
Station Hotel – ·
Fremont
Hotel - ·
Landmark
Hotel - ·
MGM
Grand - ·
Harrah’s,
Lake Tahoe, NV ·
John
Ascuagas’s Nugget - Sparks/Reno, NV ·
Executive
Inns – ·
Opryland
Hotel - ·
Commodore
Caribbean Cruise Line – ·
Regal
Cruise Line – CONVENTION
APPEARANCES ·
Eastman
Kodak National Convention – ·
·
National
Fair Buyers Convention – ·
IBM
Employee Events – ·
Holiday
Rambler Conventions – ·
·
International
Farm Progress Show – ·
AMWAY
Conventions – ·
Fortune
500 Hall of Fame Convention – ·
·
National
Yorkshire Association Convention – ·
·
National
Governor’s Conference – ·
Federal
Aviation Association National ·
American
Bus Association Convention – ·
Southeast
Federal Postmasters – ·
National
Bass Masters Tournament – ·
·
“Country
Music” Starring Marty Robbins · “Sugarland Express” Starring Goldie Hawn
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TheFourGuys.com ©2007 Sam Wellington