Slim Forsythe

Slim Forsythe
Kevin "Slim" Forsythe mosied down from the Bradford county Northern Tier in the seventies to head to Pitt, and hasn't left his new stompin' grounds yet - well, not for long anyway.

Forsythe now leads a western swing band, but his life reads more like the C&W songs he and the group perform.

While working his way to his J.D., he was a maker of Zippo lighters & Dresser couplings, warehouseman for an industrial supply company, roustabout, janitor, night shift attendant at a beer distributor, book store clerk, driver and mover for a hauling company, life insurance salesman, house painter, typewriter cleaner, summer school gym teacher, and a few other things that he'd rather forget about. But it all paid the bills.

His career took a decidedly more white collar turn when he passed the bar in 1984. After a stint at Rothman Gordon Foreman & Groudine, Forsythe spent the next couple of decades working in the City Controller's Office.

He was deputy School Board Controller, audit manager, lead attorney for the assessment appeal brouhaha, and helped implement and then supervise the People Soft section, the City's accounting software heart. Since he left the conference rooms and pinstripes in 2006, he's been following the bohemian beat of an artist. It's not a new life-style.

Forsythe's written articles in three different law reviews, and published a set of novels, "The Pittsburgh River Trilogy," along with "The Three Boys: A Winter’s Tale of the Northern Tier."

His personal life has also followed a novel's plot line. He's been married three times - though he's quick to point out, not at the same time, whew - and was part of the Communal Farm Experiment in Turtlepoint, McKean County, from 1977 to 1981.

Forsythe was president of the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Alliance in 1983. He took a quick hiatus from the work world to serve as a volunteer at Mother Teresa’s House of the Dying in Calcutta for two months in 1988. He served with the Catholic Workers.

And as with any good country singer, he earned his blues when he served as a guest of the government in the Allegheny County Jail for 30 days in 1989. Forsythe went to the big house for his part in an anti-nuke protest, though, not because he shot a man just to watch him die. Oh well, no one's perfect.

And yah, he's had the music in him for a while. It's probably genetic. Frank Forsythe, Kevin's dad, was a jazz singer and big band crooner in Pittsburgh night clubs, radio and television back in the day. He often performed on KDKA TV's "Duquesne Showtime" sponsored by the brewery in the early 1950's, and was even one of the models for Duke Beer's "Prince of Pilsener."

The 52-year old Forsythe was with the late great ATS, dabbling in keyboards, sax, vocals, management, copyright & trademark, booking, and PR, while "losing my shirt on three nationally released albums" from 1990 to 1995.

He hosted "Slim Forsythe’s Old Time Country Western Radio Hour" on WEDO for a while, and now is the frontman for Slim Forsythe and the Parklane Drifters.

It's a country swing band that's heavy on the sounds of the old icons - Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Bob Willis and that crew of cowboy cats. In fact, his nom d' music of Slim came from local country legend Slim Bryant.

You can find them at clubs, parties, and radio gigs across the area, with their homebase being Neid's Hotel on Butler Street in Lawrenceville, where Forsythe lives. The group consists of guitarist and old ATS bud Evan "Big Rock" Knauer, bassist Craig Roberts and fiddle player Erin "Scratchy" Hutter.

Slim and the Parklane Drifters released a full length album, "Bury Me Up On That Northern Tier" in 2009. Sound Engineer and Producer Sam Matthews at Holmes Street Sound mixed it, and the CD features ten Forsythe compositions, including the title cut.

He also has a couple of singles out, 2011's "Why Can't I Get Duquesne on this Sad and Lonesome Train?" done with the Beagle Brothers (and now part of Duke's ad campaign) and a holiday tune with the Parklane Drifters called "Steeltown Christmas" that helps support the Cathy G Charities.

Forsythe also plays with a variety of musicians, like Nied's house band, The Stillhouse Pickers, The Beagle Brothers and The Surf Zombies.

Hey, not every group is on Billboard; heck, ol' Slim is drivin' a bus now as his day job. But if they have the talent - and Kevin does - they'll find a niche in the City.


Slim Forsythe and the Parklane Drifters live - "Up On That Old Northern Tier"

Eeny Meeny Dixie Deeny...

Slim Bryant and the Wildcats from Pittsburgh Magazine
Thomas Hoyt "Slim" Bryant, the first of six sons, was born in Atlanta on Dec. 7, 1908. Bryant's dad was an electrician who played the fiddle and mandolin. His mother was a poet, sang and played guitar and piano. "I think that's where I got my songwriting ability," he said of his mom to Rich Kienzle of the Post Gazette. "She lived to be 104 years old."

Bryant lives in Dormont, a bedroom 'burb he's called home for 59 of his 99 years. The Gibson L-5 guitar he played for the past seven decades sits in a corner of his dining room. His late brother, Raymond, better known as "Loppy," was one of his band mates and later became a Dormont councilman. And who sez the City can't attract people?

He grew up listening to country acts such as Fiddlin' John Carson and Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers, but didn't decide to play guitar until after he spent some time plying his father's trade after high school. Sixteen months of studying with Atlanta jazz banjoist-guitarist Perry Bechtel gave him a broad musical background and a jazzman's licks.

In May 1931, Bryant gave up his day job to join Clayton McMichen's new band, the Melody Men. He spent the next six years with McMichen and his renamed Georgia Wildcats at radio stations in Kentucky, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland and New York.

In mid-1932, Bryant was at WTAM in Cleveland with McMichen when Jimmie Rodgers, who knew McMichen, invited the fiddler to accompany him on some recording sessions in August. McMichen suggested using Bryant as a guitarist.

He and McMichen bused to Washington, D.C., met Rodgers and traveled to RCA-Victor's Camden, N.J., studios in the singer's chauffeured limo. "Producer Ralph Peer heard 'Mother, the Queen of My Heart,' and I was in," he told Kienzle. "Jimmie Rodgers liked it."

Bryant wrote the song when he was was sitting in an Atlanta diner and overheard two men talking about the previous night's poker game. "One guy said, 'You know, I'm never gonna play any poker again. I'm through with it.' And he told the story: He drew this card and saw his mother's picture."

"I thought, 'Ahh ... this would make a hell of a song.' So I went home and I wrote it." It's the most popular of his tunes, and was covered by everyone from Lonesome George Gobels to Merle Haggard to Jerry Lee Lewis.

At the time of the 1932 session, Rodgers, who was fighting tuberculosis, had eight months to live. Bryant is the last living musical link to him.

The Georgia Wildcats' hip, swinging style, totally different from the Western Swing music of Texas, reflected McMichen's and Bryant's love of jazz. In fact, Bryant was an early pioneer of using jazz chords in country songs. In 1934, younger brother Loppy became the Wildcats' bassist.

But in 1937, when McMichen formed a 12-piece dance band in Louisville, both Bryants, guitarist Jack Dunigan and several others amicably parted ways.

After hiring Louisville banjoist Jerry Wallace, they returned to KDKA Radio as Slim, Jack and the Gang. Apollo fiddler Kenny Newton joined the group in 1938. Reclaiming the name Georgia Wildcats, the band left Pittsburgh and moved to Richmond.

After a musicians' strike put them on the unemployment line, Loppy and his wife, originally from Zelienople, used the time off to visit Pittsburgh. When he made a courtesy call at KDKA, program director George Hyde invited the band back. They arrived on Aug. 10, 1940.

"I liked Pittsburgh," Bryant said with a smile. "I liked KDKA's 50,000 watts."

In June 1941, they joined the new "KDKA Farm Hour" Mondays through Fridays and played 11 songs between the day's news and farm reports. When Wallace joined the Marines during World War II, KDKA bandleader Maurice Spitalny suggested local accordionist Al Azzaro as his replacement. By then, they were simply the Wildcats.

Bryant and the Wildcats never became national stars, and in fact never even played at the Grand Ole Opry. But from 1940 through the '50s, on radio and local TV, Slim Bryant and his Wildcats were the face and sound of country music in the region. They were sort of country crossover artists of their day.

Only one Bryant tune, "Eeny Meeny Dixie Deeny," ever became a hit (in 1946), but its' success was limited by the tiny label the Wildcats were signed to, Majestic. RCA had artist Zeke Manners cover the song, and his version outsold the original 2-1. So it was a big seller, just not for the Wildcats. Such is show biz.

But their legacy lives on for country fans and historians. The Wildcats recorded 287 songs in New York for Thesaurus Library, which supplied radio stations with early versions of EPs they could use as prerecorded 15-minute show segments. Those tracks still survive.

Those vinyls covered the gamut of the group's varied stylings: country, pop, swing, Western, polkas, and a bit of gospel and jazz. The band harmonies compare to early Sons of the Pioneers. Bryant's Wildcats played so they could catch the ear of the city slicker as well as the farmers, crossover artists before crossover was a concept.

When television came to Pittsburgh, on Jan. 11, 1949, Slim Bryant and his Wildcats performed on the very first program aired, a musical variety show live on WDTV from the Syria Mosque in Oakland.

The next day, ad agency executive Vic Maitland, who handled Duquesne Beer's account, offered Bryant a five-day-a-week, 15-minute show the brewery was sponsoring. But WDTV didn't have a decent studio yet, and he passed on the offer.

But when Maitland created the weekly "Duquesne Showtime" featuring rotating acts two years later, Bryant agreed to host the program once a month. They had added popular local singer Nancy Fingal to the group, and were versatile enough to serve as a house band, too, when vocalists like Rosemary Clooney came to town.

When Iron City took over the show, it grew to a half-hour and moved from Thursday to Friday nights, and they kept the slot even after WDTV became KDKA in 1955. Iron City added a Thursday night show from WTRF for the Wheeling market.

The mid-50s were the Wildcats' halycon years. Though a MGM recording contract flopped, they occasionally appeared on the ABC network's "Jubilee U.S.A." They also played at local amusement parks (don't snicker - they were big venues back in the day) and at East Coast and Midwestern fairs.

By 1958, network programming replaced local prime-time TV, and the Wildcats' days on the "Farm Hour" ended. In 1962, Bryant and his missus Mary Jane opened Slim Bryant's Card and Gift Shop in Dormont. He started teaching guitar in a studio he built in the shop.

The Wildcats scattered to the wind. Azzaro continued playing locally. Newton moved to California and Wallace left for Vegas. Loppy died of lung cancer in 1968. Now they're all gone, except for Slim.

He and his better half ran the gift shop until 1980, and Mary Jane passed away in 1987, survived by their son Tom, a college prof teaching in Kansas. Bryant still teaches guitar - no rock and roll, though - and performs at the occasional festival.

It's been a good career. Bryant's played with Joe Negri, Tex Ritter, Jimmie Rodgers, Gene Autry, Eddy Arnold, Les Paul, Burl Ives, and Rosemary Clooney. Duquesne University honored him with the Pittsburgh Legends Award

Les Paul called him his idol since he heard him play guitar back in the early 1930's. Bryant still opens the mailbox and pulls out royalty checks. And he's not retired quite yet.

Bryant released a CD last year of his old favorites. It's called "Hoyt 'Slim' Bryant & His Wildcats," and has 31 songs on it. Maybe he'll tour to support it...

EDIT - Slim's touring days are have come to an end. He passed away on May 29th, 2010, at the age of 101 after a prolonged illness.

(A lot of this post and the quotes used were lifted from "A Life In Tune: The Real Slim's Heyday" from the Post Gazette, Sunday, August 11, 2002, by Rich Kienzle)

Pittsburgh's Riders Of The Purple Sage

Buck Page from Politeo Net
Pittsburgh has regularly produced popular jazz, doo wop, soul, rock, pop and even hip hop sounds. But did you know that it was the home of a country legend? (And we're not talking Poverty Neck Hillbillies or Slim Forsythe, either!)

Born in Pittsburgh on June 18, 1922, Buck Page started playing string bass and rhythm guitar on the radio at 11 with a western band called The Valley Ranch Boys. Cribbing from the title of a Zane Grey novel, he formed the original Riders of the Purple Sage in 1936 when he was 13. It was a house band under contract to KDKA Radio, and they did five hour-long studio shows every week for the next three years.

Page and the Riders moved on to New York City, where they continued their national broadcasts for WOR Radio and became regular performers at a club called the Village Barn. They toured fairly extensively, too. The act, which they had honed in Pittsburgh, was more than country music. They had vaudeville routines, bull whip tricks and sharp shooting exhibitions as part of their repertoire.

During World War II, while Page was in the Navy and his fellow band members were all in the service, singer Foy Willing started a band on the West Coast that he called The Riders of the Purple Sage. Zane Grey must have gotten a chuckle out the ensuing confusion. And The New Riders of the Purple Sage weren't related to either old band.

Willing's group, which was active into the 1950s, is the one that became famous. The band had a string of hit records and appeared in a slew of oater movies. Page wasn't even aware that there was another Riders of the Purple Sage until he moved to the coast in the fifties.

Fortunately, Page's Riders didn't get back together after the war, and most people never knew there were two of them twanging out songs. The Steel City group never recorded, so that simplified matters - there were no royalty checks to fight over. He and Willing eventually ran across one another and the two formed a lifelong friendship. So much for a grudge.

Page, who could play 21 instruments, worked as a session musician in California. He played guitar on the original recording of the theme song for the TV series "Bonanza" and also served as a studio musician for the shows "Wagon Train" and "Laramie." He picked up some bit parts in movies, too.

Page revived his Riders of the Purple Sage in the early 1960s after the second gang had broken up. With a shifting cast of players, they recorded three CDs and performed at clubs and western festivals. Page's first solo recording, "Right Place to Start," was released in December 2005, 72 years after he broke into the business. He was backed by the Daughters of the Purple Sage.

In the 1960s Page also worked for the Baldwin Piano Company and helped their engineers develop the Supersound amp. Over the years, Page owned and trained thoroughbreds and quarter horses as a hobby. What else would a Pittsburgh cowboy do in his spare time?

He was awarded the Country/Western Living Legend Award from the North America Country Music Association in 2001 in recognition of his long career in country music.

His last public concert was held in July 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he performed before a crowd of several thousand people during the National Day of the Cowboy benefit. Buck Page died in Burbank a month later at the age of 85. He was eulogized as "...the last of the great singing cowboys."