AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Fendermen

Artist:The Fendermen

Song:Mule Skunner Blues

Album:Rockabilly Revolution

The 1960 single Mule Skinner Blues was a top five hit. It was the only chart hit for the rockabilly duo The Fendermen. So they are a one hir wonder. This was a real fluke that came out of nowhere. And though The Fendermen were a bluegrass act, they messed around in the recording studio and turned this country music standard into a novelty record. Of course Mule Skinner Blues was written by country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers and he recorded it in 1930. The alternate title is Blue Yodel #8. The song has been covered by many country artists. Dolly Parton topped the country charts with Mule Skinner Blues in 1973. James Sundquist and Phil Humphrey were students at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both were born on Nov. 26, 1937. Both were aspiring country music guitarists. They played local clubs and Mule Skinner Blues was a crowd favorite. They called themselves The Fendermen as both played Fender guitars. Local music store owner William Dreger asked them to record the song the way they perform it on stage with all the hollering. When the local polka record label CUCA got hold of it, a LaCrosse DJ started playing it. It was not unusual in those days for a small label like CUCA to sell a record with potential to a larger label with national distribution. CUCA sold Mule Skinner Blues to Minneapolis based record distributor Soma Records and they distributed it nationally. Mule Skinner Blues reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Fendermen recorded an album and released two more  singles. But it's always tough to follow up a novelty record. Many listeners probably thought it was a Stan Freberg record. The original album has been released with bonus tracks by the reissue label Jasmine. But I think most will only want Mule Skinner Blues and you can get it on this 3CD Bluegrass comp. The Fendermen continued to perform in midwest clubs for years. Sundquist died in 2013 and Humphrey died in 2016. Here's a video for Mule Skinner Blues by The Fendermen.