Louise Massey
Louise Massey (born Victoria Louise Massey; 10 August 1902 – 20 June 1983, in San Angelo, Texas), American singer and songwriter born in Midland, Texas. The Massey family left Texas while Louise Massey was very young and she grew up near Roswell in Lincoln County, New Mexico. In 1918, Louise's father, Henry Massey, started a band that featured himself and three of his eight children singing and playing musical instruments. Most of the children were able to play several instruments while dressed in “elaborate cowboy outfits as their stage attire,” Louise played piano and sang. The Massey’s music career began in 1920s, when they played and sang at local shows and church socials. At the age of 15, Louise married Milton Mabie, who also joined the group. In 1930, the quintet known as "the Westerners" included Louise, Curt and Allen Massey, Milton Mabie, and Larry Wellington, who had replaced Henry Massey. Louise, with her flamboyant Spanish-style costumes, became the focal point of the act and received lead billing. The Westerners' first radio performance was on KMBC in Kansas City. They moved to WLS Radio in Chicago in 1933. In 1934, the song "When the White Azaleas Start Blooming" was released by the band and sold three million copies. In 1936, they moved to New York where they continued their radio work on NBC. In 1938, Louise Massey and the Westerners appeared in the Tex Ritter movie Where the Buffalo Roam. The group returned to WLS Radio in 1939 and did a morning broadcast on NBC called "Reveille Roundup." In the early 1940s, the Westerners were "well known for numerous radio appearances" and were appearing on Plantation Party broadcasts three nights a week. Louise Massey recorded for several record labels including Vocalion Records, OKeh Records, and Conqueror Records. Massey's house in Roswell is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Midland, Died June 20, 1983 (San Angelo)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, vocalist, harmony vocal, songwriter, speaker, lead vocal, piano, guitar, celeste
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 121 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D7VB-0036 | 10-in. | 1/7/1947 | My adobe hacienda | Pecos River Rogues ; Billy Williams [1913-2001] | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | songwriter | |
| Victor | D7VB-0740 | 10-in. | 5/18/1947 | My adobe hacienda | Lonzo and Oscar ; Winston County Pea Pickers | Male vocal duet, with string band | songwriter | |
| Columbia | C639 | 10-in. | 10/13/1933 | The cowboy's dream | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, harmony vocal | |
| Columbia | C640 | 10-in. | 10/13/1933 | New river train | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with group vocal | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C641 | 10-in. | 10/13/1933 | Trail to Mexico | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C642 | 10-in. | 10/13/1933 | The big corral | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | C668 | 10-in. | 11/21/1933 | The cowboy's dream | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C669 | 10-in. | 11/21/1933 | The trail to Mexico | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with group vocal | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C786 | 10-in. | 11/6/1934 | Shorty's nightmare | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C787 | 10-in. | 11/6/1934 | Beautiful Texas | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with female vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C788 | 10-in. | 11/6/1934 | Nobody to love | Louise Massey ; The Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, lead vocal | |
| Columbia | C789 | 10-in. | 11/6/1934 | Rancho grande | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C808 | 10-in. | 11/8/1934 | My gal on the Rio Grande | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C809 | 10-in. | 11/8/1934 | The Santa Fe Trail | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C812 | 10-in. | 11/8/1934 | Round-up time in Heaven | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C813 | 10-in. | 11/8/1934 | Hot romance | Massey Family | String band | instrumentalist, piano | |
| Columbia | C838 | 10-in. | 11/14/1934 | If Jesse James rode again | Massey Family | String band, with group vocal quartet | vocalist | |
| Columbia | C844 | 10-in. | 11/14/1934 | Song of the lariat | Westerners (Massey Family) | String band, with group vocal | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1001 | 10-in. | 3/20/1933 | There's an empty cot in the bunkhouse tonight | The Westerners [Massey Family] | String band with group vocal | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1002 | 10-in. | 3/22/1934 | Ridin' down that old Texas trail | Westerners (Massey Family) | Vocal ensemble, with string band | ||
| Columbia | CP1003 | 10-in. | 3/22/1934 | Goin' down to Santa Fe town | Westerners (Massey Family) | Vocal ensemble, with string band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1004 | 10-in. | 3/20/1934 | When the white azaleas start blooming | Louise Massey ; The Westerners [Massey Family] | Female vocal solo, with string band | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1005 | 10-in. | 3/20/1934 | Old pinto | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band with unknown vocal | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1006 | 10-in. | 3/20/1934 | When it's prayer meetin' time in the hollow | The Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with female vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Columbia | CP1007 | 10-in. | 3/21/1934 | Rounded up in glory | Westerners [Massey Family] | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Massey, Louise," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/359237.
Massey, Louise. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/359237.
"Massey, Louise." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Massey, Louise - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2005074272
Wikidata: Louise Massey - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q16749882
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24792290
MusicBrainz: Louise Massey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/568743f3-6920-4877-9b47-40ec9f351f02
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