Big Bill Campbell

Clarence Church Campbell (13 July 1891 – 25 April 1952), known professionally as Big Bill Campbell and sometimes as Zeke Winters, was a Canadian entertainer and broadcaster who popularised Western music especially on radio in Britain from the 1930s until his death in 1952.

Big Bill Campbell
Born
Clarence Church Campbell

(1891-07-13)13 July 1891
Ottawa, Canada
Died25 April 1952(1952-04-25) (aged 60)
Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Other namesZeke Winters
OccupationBroadcaster, bandleader, entertainer
Years activec.1930–1952

Biography

Campbell was born in Carleton, Ottawa, Ontario in 1891 according to official records,[1] though he sometimes falsely claimed to have been born in Medicine Hat, Alberta,[2] and gave a birth year of 1888. He studied in Belfast, fought in Europe in the First World War,[3] and after his first marriage and divorce in Canada returned to settle in England in 1930. He formed a group to perform Canadian and American "cowboy songs" in variety shows, and made his first radio show on the BBC, presenting "The Rocky Mountaineers", in 1935. Campbell's role was as bandleader, compere, raconteur, and occasional singer.[4]

He continued to perform regularly on BBC radio through the late 1930s and 1940s, leading a group of mostly British musicians variously known as "His Hilly-Billy Band", "Hill-Billy Round-Up", or "Rocky Mountain Rhythm", ostensibly presented from his "old log cabin".[3] Campbell was known for his comment "Mighty fine!" after every song.[2] Many of the shows featured comic sketches and stereotypical characters such as "The Yodelling Buckaroo", Norman Harper; “Chief White Eagle” Jack Curtis; and "The Sweet Voice of the West", Peggy Bailey.[2] The shows grew in popularity, and – credited as "Zeke Winters" – he also presented programmes on Radio Luxembourg. He toured widely in Britain, made some recordings for the Columbia label,[5] and wrote and presented serial radio stories on similar western themes.[6]

Campbell died in 1952, aged 60, from a heart attack while on tour in Ipswich. At the time, he was described as "one of Britain's most popular stage and radio stars."[7]

References
  1. Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Births and Stillbirths, 1869-1913; Series: MS929; Reel: 104; Record Group: RG 80-2
  2. Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts, Robson Books, 1998, ISBN 1-86105-206-5, p.24
  3. "Big Bill" Campbell, History For Sale. Retrieved 4 December 2020
  4. "Big Bill Campbell and His Hilly-Billy Band", Radio Times, Issue 734, 24 October 1937. Retrieved 4 December 2020
  5. "Big Bill Campbell Rocky Mountain Rhythm", Country Music Archive. Retrieved 4 December 2020
  6. Search results, Radio Times 1923 - 2009, BBC. Retrieved 4 December 2020
  7. "Deaths", Ottawa Journal, 25 April 1952, p.2
  • Mudcat discussion thread, including contributions from Campbell's family


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