Buddy White & the Knights
Murco 1017
CP-3205 -Teenage Ball
CP-3206 -Betty Jean
Buddy White and Bill Mack formed the Knights in 1959 in Shreveport, Louisiana after they left Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps. Gerry McGee was recruited as the third member. Buddy White and The Knights stayed together about four months playing a mid-west circuit. They were booked by T. B. Skarning and Joe Billo Entertainment Corp., the same agency that booked Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps.
Texan drummer Buddy White (a.k.a. Butch White) had previously recorded as member of
The Shadows (James Burton, James Kirkland, and Butch White). Among the artists he backed on drums, in studio or live, were Bob Luman (56-57), Ricky Nelson, Hank Thompson (58), Gene Vincent (58) and Paul Peek (60-62).
He had also a recording career -which remains poorly documented- on his own as a singer. There were singles on
Pop (Hollywood, 59),
Milestone (61),
Big Beat, The Wheeler Dealers, San (Texas, 65) and
Inca.Murco Records’s roots were in the Bayou Records store, a retail outlet purchased by local businessman
Dee Marais from
Shelby Singleton in 1960. In addition to selling records, Marais occasionally recorded local musicians in the back of his store. Murco was founded in partnership with
Dick Martin who worked locally for the U.S. Postal Service.
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