ZEKE CLEMENTS

Instruments: Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Date of Birth: September 9, 1911
Place of Birth: Empire, Alabama

Z eke Clements, "The Alabama Cowboy," was born Marlon R. Clements near Empire, Alabama, on September 9, 1911, and had one of the longest careers in country music, having appeared on radio shows in all sections of the country, as well as having the unusual distinction of having been a member of all three of the major barn dances in the course of his long career.

Zeke began on the National Barn Dance in 1928, toured for some years with Otto Gray's Oklahoma Cowboys, then joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1933 as a member of their first cowboy group, the Broncho Busters. While spending some time on the west coast he appeared in such films as "Santa Fe Stampede" with John Wayne and "Billy The Kid Returns" with Roy Rogers. His is the voice of the yodeling dwarf Bashful in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Clements returned to the Opry in 1939, where he became one of the Opry's major stars throughout the 1940s. He also became known as a songwriter during this era, especially for "Blue Mexico Skies," "Just a Little Lovin'" recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1948, Kitty Wells 1955 hit, "There's Poison In Your Heart," and as co-writer on "Smoke On The Water," the No. 1 country hit of 1944, recorded by Red Foley.

Clements later appeared on the Louisiana Hayride and on many other Deep South stations. He pursued a business career in Nashville in the late 1950s and 1960s, then moved to Miami, Florida, where he spent nearly a decade playing tenor banjo in a dixieland band before returning to the Nashville area.

Zeke has been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He became known as "The Dixie Yodeler" and "The Man from Music Mountain".