Speedy Haworth
| Speedy Haworth | |
|---|---|
Haworth c. 1960
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Herschel Haworth, Jr. |
| Also known as | Speedy Haworth, Junior Haworth |
| Born | May 16, 1922 |
| Origin | Springfield, Missouri, USA |
| Died | February 26, 2008 (aged 85) Springfield, Missouri |
| Genres | country, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | guitarist, singer, songwriter, radio and TV performer, recording artist |
| Instruments |
acoustic guitar double neck guitar |
| Years active | 1932–2008 |
| Labels |
RCA Universal |
| Associated acts |
Slim Wilson Porter Wagoner Patsy Cline Don Warden Shirley Haworth Stormie Haworth The Tall Timber Trio The Goodwill Trio |
Herschel Haworth, Jr. (May 16, 1922 – February 26, 2008), better known as Speedy Haworth, was an American guitarist and singer who was involved with the golden age of country music broadcasting in the Ozarks. He was a featured cast member of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee from 1955–1960 and is a member of the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame.
Haworth was born on May 15, 1922 in Springfield, Missouri at home. His father, Herschel Haworth, was a carpenter of English ancestry. His mother was Vancie Martha Haworth (née Wilson), whose family came to Missouri in a covered wagon from the hills of Tennessee and settled in Nixa, Missouri. She had five sisters: Cassie, Carrie, Edna, Bertha and Myrtle; and one brother, Clyde "Slim" Wilson. The family was musical on his mother's side, therefore Haworth learned to play guitar. His mother and her sisters and brothers often sang together at church functions, and there are some folk music recordings of them in the Library of Congress. Haworth won a yodeling contest when he was 10, and was notable by the age of 21.
Haworth started appearing on the radio with George Earle (dropped Wilson for professional name)--no relation to Slim and Aunt Martha. Earle read the Sunday newspaper comics on the air and Haworth sang and played guitar. He was later succeeded on the "funny paper" program by Howard Lee Arthur and "Little Eddie" Smith. His mother, known on-air as "Aunt Martha", Junior (later called "Speedy) and her brother, Slim Wilson, formed The Goodwill Trio with Haworth as "Junior." They first appeared on KGBX-AM in Springfield in 1932, but moved to co-owned KWTO, the more powerful station, soon after it signed on in 1933. The group made its first public appearance in 1936 at the county courthouse in Galena at a fundraiser.
The trio later became The Goodwill Family when Guy Smith joined them as "Uncle George and in 1935 "Little Eddie (Smith)--no relation to "Uncle George"." The station, heard across the Ozarks, was a stepping-stone during Haworth's years for such musicians as Porter Wagoner, Les Paul, Chet Atkins and The Browns. The Goodwill Family recorded 250 transcriptions for airing on KWTO when they toured.
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