I Did And I Does And I Do - Jimmie Osborne (1954)

It's usually the ones who seem the happiest on the outside that are masking the hurt on the inside. This was sadly the case for Jimmie Osborne, a walking embodiment of southern hospitality. This is "I Did And I Does And I Do", a fun country swing sounding song written by Joan Hager and Ruby Glasgow. The song was recorded on April 20, 1954 at the King studios in Cincinnati, Ohio. James Allen Osborne was born in Winchester, Kentucky on April 8, 1923. He grew up on his family's farm and was gifted a fiddle by his father when he was a teen. He asked that that fiddle be exchanged for a $4 guitar and was taught the basics by a neighbor, learning the rest by himself as he went. He would graduate high school in 1940 and won first place in a talent show which awarded him a disc jockey position at WLAP in Lexington, Kentucky. During the war, he worked in a defense plant and supplemented his income by playing music gigs on the weekends. By 1946, he gained enough of a reputation to join KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana, home of the famous Louisiana Hayride radio show. He would grow to become one of the leading folk singers in the Gulf Coast area and at his height would be the highest paid TV or radio personality in Kentucky. The following year, he would sign a deal with King Records and would hit No. 10 on the country charts with his first release. He had a reputation for writing more melancholy themed songs. For instance, there was a news story of a three year old who fell down an old well which inspired him to write "The Death Of Little Kathy Fiscus" which would go on to sell over a million copies. He would donate half the earnings of the song to the Fiscus family. In fact, he would play fund raising concerts and benefits fairly often, usually for the March of Dimes. For his work in music and charity he was awarded the key to the city of Winchester by Mayor Dr. Snowden who was the doctor who gave birth to him years before. He would go on to appear on the Grand Ole Opry and on WLS Chicago's National Barn Dance. He would settle in Louisville where he opened a record shop which he would funnel people to from his WKLO Radio show. Sadly, through all of his success and all reports saying he would smile with his whole face, he was constantly fighting major depression and wound up taking his own life in 1957. In his decade long career, he recorded 66 songs, many of which have been re-released over the years, some as recently as the 1980's.