from Sharon Marie
LATEST UPDATE: 12/14/13
(please scroll down for the most recent update info)
Looking for the latest news about Carolina? click here
12/2/05: As you may have already discovered, we've been adding new sections to the site. You'll find them under the main headings:
HOME: What's New
RADIO & TV: Radio Links (playing Carolina's music)
APPEARANCES: Film Festivals (lots of pics will be on this!)
LINKS & MORE: The Guest book (moved)
The new ARCHIVES heading will have feature articles from Carolina's career, in more detail.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
12/17/05: The Film Festival page was moved to...you guessed it, the Film section (made sense!). A few sample photos have been added. Take a look--!
Also added new links to Jock Mahoney and Doye O'Dell on Links section
And thanks to an upgrade to the Site, you'll find more of these Links!
2/17/06: The Film Festival page is now well under way, starting with the 1984 Western Film Caravan in Atlanta, GA. Lots of photos and details of Carolina's first of many Festival appearances. If you ever wondered what those Festivals are all about, stop by and see what all the excitement was about!
8/28/06: Hooray...the Archives page now has a feature article! Read all about Ramblin' Tommy Scott and the Hollywood Hillbilly Jamboree, courtesy of guest editor Randall Franks.
Also, be sure to visit the Film Festival page for details on the 1986 Film Festival in Charlotte, NC. Featuring Patsy Montana, Eddie Dean, Pee Wee King and more...
11/3/06: The MYSPACE link has been updated (yes, now it works!). In fact, Carolina's MySpace page has had a facelift, with a few new bells and whistles that are unique to that site. Definitely worth a visit!
And be sure to check out the Radio Links section, where you can find stations playing tracks from Yodeling Blonde Bombshell Volume 1. Some stations can be heard online. (More stations to be added).
12/13/06: Christmas time is here! And we've decked the halls for the Holidays, including clips from the 1946 AFRS Ranch House Party Christmas show. The AFRS Ranch House Party was a popular radio show with the Armed Forces...the cast featured Carolina with Ken Curtis, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, Cottonseed Clark and other guests.
12/18/07: Merry Christmas! Yes, it's that time of year again, and we've once again Decked The Halls with all kinds of Holiday Cheer...including radio excerpts from Carolina's radio show, the AFRS Ranch House Party (Christmas Episode). Come join the Party!
9/25/07: There are a couple of new things to share:
For one, Ringtones! Carolina now has her own ringtone page, called Western Swingtones (hosted by Xingtone). Would you like a nice yodel on your cell phone for incoming calls? How about some good ol' Western Swing music as a tone? Just visit the Store and pick out one or two...just $1.99 per tone. And, to test your phone, you can download 1 FREE tone, "Trail Mix"--try it!
Second, there are now photos and info from the 1986 Charlotte Film Festival! Arkansas Slim Andrews, Eddie Dean, Lash LaRue, Shirley Patterson and more...Plus, more pics will soon be added from this Festival. More film convention pics and info to come. Carolina did several in the 1980s and 90s...who know, maybe you'll find a photo of yourself in there!
12/24/08: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! As you can see, I'm a bit behind (ha) in updates.
The Virtual Halls are decked with e-trim and all that glitters. And, audio samples from the AFRS Christmas Ranch House Party radio show, which was recorded back in 1946. Click on the different pages...you'll find them near the title bar of each page.
Good ol' Grady Franklin is getting the word out about some recently added 1988 Film Festival photos. Just click on the link and you'll find it. Many are unidentified. Do you recognize anyone? Please tell me! email: info@carolinacotton.org .There are still some unidentified pictures on the 1st Film Festival Page, if anyone wants to take a crack at it. Thank you Grady, and to all of those who continue to help with the ID's in these photos.
For those who haven't heard yet, I'm planning on getting the Volume 2 CD released next year. Updates on the project will be posted.
3/3/09: Where did Western Swingtones go? Good question. The host site, Xingtone, seems to had vanished. The Western Swingtones page (which featured some of Carolina's yodeling clips as downloadable ringtones, for cell phones) has been inactive for months. All attempts to communicate with the company were in vain. I'm guessing they have gone out of business. What a shame. I will make the ringtones available again, if I find an alternative.
6/19/09: Gottschalks Department Store will soon be going out of business. Familiar to most Central Californians, this Fresno-based chain has a store in Bakersfield's Valley Plaza Mall. Carolina once worked part-time there in the 1980s-1990s. She was also employed at the store in the 1970s, when it was called Brocks. (Gottschalks later took over the Plaza store, as well as its downtown location). You could find Carolina selling anything from Farberware to fine crystal, in the Housewares dept. All this, as well as teaching school. She was one busy lady!
Check out the new Brocks / Gottschalks page (under construction).
11/3/09: GREAT NEWS -- The new Carolina Cotton CD, "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell Volume 2" is complete and will soon be released (hopefully) around Thanksgiving. Be sure to tell Santa...! Keep checking the web site for updates.
Meanwhile, we're updating our General Store. It may not be working for a short time. If you still want to purchase the Volume 1 CD and can't get through, please let me know at: generalstore@carolinacotton.org
11/13/09: We are undergoing some updates, which means occasional "technical difficulties". So far, so good.
The Volume 2 CD is now in the hands of our good friends at Crystal Clear. The release date is still looking to be close to Thanksgiving. Time to start thinking about those yodeling fans on your Christmas "Wish List"...!
12/11/09: SEASONS GREETINGS! Yes, it's that time of year again. Our website is being decorated in true "virtual" Christmas fashion.
We are now taking pre-orders for the new "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell Volume 2" CD. Our shipment has been slightly delayed (winter storms are everywhere), but should be at our doorstep early next week! So, if you'd like to order a copy in advance, we can have it ready to mail out as soon as it arrives. Visit the General Store for order details.
12/12/09: Have you ever seen those old Christmas cartoons of the North Pole, with a barber shop-style pole at its center? "What a joke!", you laughed. But little did you know that there really IS a big striped pole up there! It was on this day, back in 1951, that the North Pole was finally marked with the legendary landmark. And, yes, Carolina was part of the event. To commemorate the 58th anniversary of the Pole Drop, we've uploaded the full radio broadcast "It's Fun To Be Young", which interviewed Carolina about the event, with a detailed story to be added soon. Find it in the Archives section, and by clicking here: Alaska and The North Pole.
12/14/09: NOW IN STOCK AND READY FOR SHIPPING: "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell Volume 2"! The shipment arrived this afternoon. Order your copy by clicking here: Carolina's General Store
If you live in the U.S. and order now, there is still time to get it under the Christmas tree. The Postal Service says Priority Mail should make it by the 25th, if mailed no later than Monday, the 21st (to the best of their ability). We will process and send online orders on the same day. The sooner you order, the sooner we can get your copy on its way! Overseas orders will take a bit longer, but will also be sent out asap.
1/21/10: We welcome the New Year with a new section: Carolina News. There you'll find news of articles, CD reviews and more. Be sure to read about the 2 popular magazines featuring Carolina in their December issues, as well as CD reviews on the brand new Volume 2 album.
8/12/10: Here's something for you Sons Of The Pioneers fans: The grandson of Bob Nolan (Calin Coburn) and archivist Elizabeth Drake McDonald have created a wonderful website: www.bobnolan-sop.net . And they have graciously set up a page for Carolina, in connection to her tour with the Pioneers in 1949. There are plenty of photos and news clippings. Special thanks to Calin and Elizabeth for posting the info.
Click here to see Carolina's page:
http://www.bobnolan-sop.net/Recollections/Carolina%20Cotton/Carolina.htm
11/27/10: Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! I hope everyone was able to enjoy some time with their family and friends, or at least know they were thought of. And maybe got in a Black Friday bargain or two.
Author and Western fan John H. Conley Jr. has just released his new book, "The Heart Of A Cowboy". Among the many interesting subjects are the bios of some of your favorite Singing Cowgirls...including, of course, Carolina Cotton! Click here to learn more:
http://www.johnhconley.com/
5/4/11: A Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful women out there...And Feliz Cinco De Mayo as well. Two festive days in one week! Can it get any better? Well, just in case you missed the news elsewhere on the website:
The Cowtown Society will honor Carolina as she becomes a 2011 Hero of Western Music! The 13th Annual CSWM Swing Fest takes place May 7, at the Holiday Hills Country Club in Miner Wells, Texas. Get out and enjoy some great Western Swing and fun this weekend. For details, click here
Other deserving inductees include (living): Walter Lyons,
TX; Kinnith Doyle,TX; Rod Foster, TX; Bob Lemley,
TX; Charlie McBay, AR; Jimmy Burson, TX;, Bob
Genzel, AR; Bert Rivera, TX; Ray Benson, TX and Gene
Carter, OK. Also honored (posthumously) will be: Merle
David, TX; Clyde Brewer, TX; Dean McKinney Moore,
CA; Billy Braddy, TX; Candy Bennett, TX; Waid Peeler,
TX; Curtis Doyle, TX; and Lloyd Edwards, TX.
Congratulations to all inductees!
11/3/11: It's Fall again...Weather is changing, leaves are changing, and we are
making a change as well. We are now handling all of our online CD sales through CD BABY! They have been selling "Yodeling Blonde Bombshell" Volumes 1 and 2 (both physical CDs and downloads) as long as our General Store has been open, and it makes things more practical and affordable to let one company handle it. NOTE: as of March 20, 2020, the CD Baby store will be unavailable. They still handle our distribution, but you can find the albums and songs through sites such as Amazon and iTunes.
PLEASE NOTE: We will still be taking "snail mail" orders, if you'd like to send us a check or money order, and support the U.S. Postal Service.
12/10/11: Deck the halls and trim the tree, it's Christmastime again! And so we hang our virtual ornaments and share some special Holiday songs with you. The tunes are taken from the 1946 radio show, "AFRS Ranch House Christmas Party". Carolina, Foy Willing And The Riders Of The Purple Sage, Ken "Festus" Curtis, brushwood poet Cottonseed Clark and comic Herkamer Holker share in the festivities. Isn't it wonderful the Armed Forces Radio Service had the foresight to capture this show on transcription discs? Thank you AFRS! And, while you're exploring the website for Christmas cheer from days gone by...be sure to visit the North Pole section, and listen to the 1951 broadcast of "It's Fun To Be Young". Check out the story of Carolina's adventure in Fairbanks, and how she and North Pole Nellie took part in the placing of a for-real "pole" (and dozens of letters to Santa) at the Top Of The World! Click here: North Pole
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
6/20/12: Just added the 1990 Nostalgia, U.S.A. Film Festival section. The gathering was in Little Rock, Arkansas. Although not as big as some Festivals, the guest lineup was pretty impressive: Ann Rutherford, Gloria Henry, Gordie Peer, Arkansas Slim, to name a few. Have a look: 1990 Nostalgia, U.S.A.
8/28/12: For years, we've been researching Tiny Town kiddie amusement park in Compton, CA. This little oasis was briefly renamed Carolina Cotton's Tiny Town in 1952, when she began making personal appearances there. Little was known about Tiny Town until recently. Now there is an official website, thanks to the owners' granddaughter, Candy Jean Halverson (the Princess of Tiny Town). Revisit the fond memories here: Tiny Town Park
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
6/15/13: Another piece of history has been resurrected. "Stallion Canyon" (1949, Kanab Pictures) features Carolina as the heroine, alongside Ken Curtis. And, of course, "Thunderbred", the wild stallion who saves the day and the ranch. The Washington County Historical Society of Utah has kindly dedicated pages on their website to preserve the history of this beloved indie Western film...the only one produced by Kanab Pictures. A personal recollection by resident James E. Kemple brings the production to life, along with some of Carolina's personal memorabilia from the movie. Her personal script, photos and publicity material can be found here: Stallion Canyon history
12/14/13: Yep, it's again that special time of year. And to help spread the holiday spirit, we're sharing the full story of Carolina's adventure in Fairbanks, Alaska. To put it another way:
12 hours for flying,
11 days for takeoff,
10 gallons of water,
9 ft of steel,
8 Flight Crew members,
7 days' of appearances,
6 women in the project,
5 (thousand) Santa letters,
4 blocks of dog sleds,
3 poles created,
2 stops at Barrow...
And a Pole drop, at the North Pole!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone...
Read the whole story here: North Pole Story
These pages are still under construction, but check back often...there's more to come!
|
