Pat O'Daniel and His Hillbilly Boys
| Company type | Musical ensemble |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music, Radio broadcasting |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Founder | W. Lee O'Daniel |
| Headquarters | Texas , United States |
| Products | Western swing music, radio shows |
Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys was a Texas-based Western swing ensemble active during the mid-1930s, notable for their radio broadcasts. The group was led by Pat O'Daniel, who was the son of "Pappy" O'Daniel. This band was closely associated with Pappy O'Daniel's flour enterprise, which produced Hillbilly Flour, playing a significant part in his eventual election as governor of Texas—although much recognition is also attributed to his earlier ensemble, the Light Crust Doughboys.
Background
In 1935, after departing from the Burrus Mill Flour Company, Pappy O'Daniel established the W. Lee O'Daniel Flour Company to promote Hillbilly Flour. He created the Hillbilly Boys and appointed his son Pat as the bandleader. The lineup featured musicians such as Mike O'Daniel, Leon Huff, Leon McAuliffe, along with Kermit "The Love Bird" Whalin and Kitty "Texas Rose" Williamson. To avoid individual members gaining more prominence than the group—as had occurred with Bob Wills—Pappy gave each musician distinctive nicknames (Pat was dubbed "Patty-boy," Mike went by "Mickey Wickey," and Caroll Hubbard was known as "Little Caesar the Fiddle Teaser"). Pappy continued intertwining music with marketing efforts, even printing band members' images on flour sacks intended as dolls for children.
Their signature tune, derived from "I Like Mountain Music," included the phrase "Pass the biscuits, Pappy!" which became a popular moniker for Pappy O'Daniel himself. He launched his 1938 campaign for governor during one of their radio broadcasts, adopting this phrase as his campaign slogan. Utilizing previous promotional techniques, O'Daniel equipped a bus emblazoned with Hillbilly Flour branding and toured with the band to advance both his political ambitions and product sales. This bus traveled more than 20,000 miles and attracted large audiences; notably, a Houston rally drew approximately 26,000 attendees—the largest political event in Texas at that point.
Radio show
The Hillbilly Boys presented a daily 15-minute radio segment that achieved considerable popularity throughout Texas during the Great Depression. The program combined Western swing music with Pappy O'Daniel's religious messages while advertising Hillbilly brand flour alongside readings from the Ten Commandments and the Bible. According to O'Daniel’s biographer, his electoral success was heavily influenced by broadcasts from both the Hillbilly Boys and the Doughboys, with counties receiving these transmissions delivering him electoral pluralities. For distribution, O'Daniel produced individual recordings on Presto 16" acetates tailored to each station. The greatest backing originated from the Fort Worth, Texas region, home to influential stations such as KTRH-Houston, KTSA-San Antonio, KRLD-Dallas, and WBAP.
Although major radio reference guides provide limited information about this show, it is extensively documented in historical records related to Texas.