Radio Cowboys
Herbert Clayton Penny (September 18, 1918 – April 17, 1992) was an American musician who sang and played banjo mainly in the Western swing subgenre of country music. He blended country and western music with dixieland, swing, and most notably bebop jazz styles, earning the nickname “the king of hillbilly bebop”. He also worked as a comedian best known for his backwoods character "That Plain Ol' Country Boy" on TV with Spade Cooley. He was married to country singer Sue Thompson from 1953–63. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Birmingham (city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, United States), Died April 17, 1992 (Camarillo (city in Ventura County, California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, leader, composer, lyricist, speaker, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 78 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | E0VB-5002 | 10-in. | 10/12/1950 | Just for old times' sake | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, leader | |
| Victor | E0VB-5003 | 10-in. | 10/12/1950 | 'Tater pie | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, leader | |
| Victor | E1VB-0533 | 10-in. | 1/23/1951 | A bad penny always returns | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | E1VB-0534 | 10-in. | 1/23/1951 | What she's got is mine | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | E1VB-0536 | 10-in. | 1/23/1951 | No muss- no fuss- no bother | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | E1VB-0537 | 10-in. | 1/23/1951 | Hold the phone | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Victor | E1VB-0679 | 10-in. | 7/12/1951 | Catch 'em young, treat 'em rough, tell 'em nothin' | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with string band | vocalist, leader | |
| Victor | E1VB-0681 | 10-in. | 7/12/1951 | I like molasses | California Cowhands ; Hank Penny | Male vocal solo, with string band | vocalist, leader | |
| Victor | D6VB-2930 | 10-in. | 9/25/1946 | Missouri | Zeke Manners Band | Male vocal solo, with male vocal trio and jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Columbia | MEM20 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Hot time mama | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM21 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Red hot papa | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer, lyricist | |
| Columbia | MEM22 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | I want my rib | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM23 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Chill tonic | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | Electric steel guitar solo, with string band | leader, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM24 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | I hate to lose you | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM25 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Walking home from an old country school | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM26 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | All night and all day long | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM27 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Take it slow and easy | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM28 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | The last goodbye | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM29 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Black eyed Susie | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM30 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | You're so different | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM31 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | Tonight you belong to me | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM32 | 10-in. | 7/3/1939 | I told them all about you | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM33 | 10-in. | 7/4/1939 | It ain't gonna rain no mo' | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM34 | 10-in. | 7/4/1939 | Yankee Doodle | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal duet | leader, instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | MEM35 | 10-in. | 7/4/1939 | I like molasses | Hank Penny ; Radio Cowboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Radio Cowboys," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/207781.
Radio Cowboys. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/207781.
"Radio Cowboys." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Hank Penny
Discogs: Radio Cowboys
Allmusic: Radio Cowboys
IMDb: Radio Cowboys
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Penny, Hank - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98106079
Wikidata: Hank Penny - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1575570
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/79640843
MusicBrainz: Hank Penny - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/49b8ba30-1b74-4d11-b298-9f601992b6fc
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/422322 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/422322
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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