Fred Horrell was born March 23, 1938, son of Fred Sr and Bertha Horrell, in Jackson, Mo. When Fred was two, the family moved to Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was a middle child, having an older sister, Aurelia along with younger sister Patricia.  In Fred’s younger years he thrived in outdoor activities and sports.  During Fred’s school years he excelled scholastically in Math and English.  Odd jobs Fred held as a young man consisted of newspaper carrier, pin setter at a local bowling alley, drug store clerk, stock boy, car hop and gas station attendant.  Fred always enjoyed having his own spending money.  Fun things to do included, going to the movies, stock car races, picnics, ball games, carnivals and fairs, and swimming.

Once while Fred was attending a grade school music class they were teaching how to read music.  Fred remarked, “What will I ever need to know this for?” Little did he know that even though he didn’t care about reading it, he had “natural” music ability.  Later down the road he would be able to hear, sing and memorize chords and song patterns.  Fred still remembers the morning he first heard “Mystery Train” and “That’s Alright Mama, on his car radio.  He had just turned 16.  What a great, different sound.  Within the next two years, he was playing and singing songs he had been hearing on the radio. Big influences include Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, and Roy Orbison along with many others.  Fred had loved the sound of the guitar all his life and he had finally acquired one all his own.  Every day he got a little better.

During Fred’s high school years he became an outstanding football player.  After graduating from high school he took a job as a route salesman for Chesty Ruffles Potato Chips based in Belleville, Ill. Fred also continued to pursue his love of music.  He continued learning to play and took a few lessons.

Eventually, Fred purchased a new 1956 Fender Telecaster guitar (which he still owns to this day).  He started to set in with local bands and got use to singing in front of people.  It also helped that the patrons bought him a lot of free beer.

In 1957 around Thanksgiving, it was a Sunday afternoon, Fred and some friends were at the “Onie Wheeler” Ozark Corral nightclub, (Onie was a hit recording artist and also played with  Roy Acuff’s Band),where they had a band and live talent show they broadcast on KGMO radio.  Fred’s friends signed him up to enter, which he did with reluctance. He sang Roy Orbisons, “Ooby Doobey”, and after all the contestants had finished he was declared the winner.  He received a cash prize which he didn’t know they were giving. This opened new opportunities for Fred.

“The Corvettes”, name of the first band Fred formed.  The band didn’t excel, however it was a part of his developmental phase.  Fred met Narvel Felts and his Rockets.  Narvel would let him set in with the band and sing a few songs every time they were here.  Later while setting in with Mert Mirly and The Rythym Steppers at Tiny’s Dance Land in Fornfelt, Mo. (Scott City) they hired him as a lead singer.  Fred says, “This is one of the best things that ever happened to me.”  Fred knew he was with seasoned musicians and would have to perform at his best to add to the mix.  Fred played rhythm guitar and sang, they didn’t have a bass in the band at that time.  One night he showed up with a new Fender Precision Bass, (the one he holds in the picture) and amp.  Fred started to tune the bass on stage.  Mert asked him what he was going to do with that thing.  Fred told him he was going to play it!  (Mert really didn’t know he didn’t know how to play it.)  It was tough but he made it through the night by playing simple notes and making sure they were the right ones in order to not mess up their songs.  After he got home he practiced and learned to “walk the bass”, and sing at the same time, which can be difficult on some songs. After the next gig, the whole band agreed they couldn’t get along without the bass. Fred became an outstanding bass player in a short period of time.

Fred had big plans for the band.  He took a tape recording the band had made to KFVS-12 television (a CBS affiliate), and was able to get booked on the Breakfast Show.  They were the first Rock and Roll Band to make an appearance on the show.  Over the following years they would make many appearances.  The exposure they received from the show got them immediate recognition and a lot of bookings throughout the five state area.  They were booked up solid and also getting top dollar prices.  During this time they got acquainted with “Lucky Leroy”, with WSIL-TV channel 3 (an ABC affiliate) in Harrisburg, Ill., and became regulars on his show, thus leading to more bookings. Fred arranged an audition with Bill Justis at Sun Records in Memphis,Tn.  Nothing came of the audition, but Bill did tell Fred he had a good recording voice.

Fred left the band in early 1960, he then started his own band “Fred Horrell and The Flames”. It took a while to develop the high quality sound he wanted, but it finally happened when they booked into the “Rainbow Inn”, in St. Louis, Mo. for one night and ended up staying 35 weeks.  The five piece band developed a great sound.  Their biggest competition in St. Louis was Ike and Tina Turner.  They later traveled to other cities for one nighters and sometimes weekly gigs.

Fred later got an opportunity to become a member of ’’The Bill Black Combo” which he did for a short period of time.  The touring was a great experience, but was a big strain.  Fred’s band “The Flames”, continued to play jobs without him using Billy Swan to fill in for Fred.  This was before Billy’s song “Lover Please” became a hit. (Note: Fred and Billy were riding in Fred’s car one day and Bill told Fred he had written some songs. Fred asked Bill to sing one for him.  Bill crouched down and started beating out the time on the dashboard and sang “Lover Please”. Fred liked the song and told Bill so. This was in 1959 and Fred was still playing with Mert Mirly. Fred sang and recorded a tape on a small recorder to play for the band. Fred knew it was a hit  Jimmy Boyer recorded “Lover Please” and later Dennis Turner recorded it with “Bill Black’s Combo“. The arrangement was exactly the same as the one later recorded by Clyde McPhatter, which became a smash hit.)

Through the years Fred played with some of the major artists and became one of the best bands in the area.  In the mid 60’s they recorded “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and “Tell Me” in Memphis,Tn. at Bill Black’s studio.  The record was engineered by Larry Rogers who became a prominent record producer in Nashville, Tn.   During the late 60’s “The Flames”  expanded to a six piece group featuring two saxes, keyboard, lead guitarist, bass, drums and four singers.  The band could play most any style of music and stayed booked year round.

Fred started a floor covering business in 1970, but continued to do music as well.  Around 1972 the business became quite successful and required a lot of time. Fred decided to give up the band.  He stayed out of the business for approximately two years and just couldn’t stand it anymore.  He realized that music was a very important part of his life. 

Fred’s daughter Kimberly had been performing with a local group affiliated with “Up With People”, a national and international singing group. She was being asked by some local bands to join them.  Her mother encouraged Fred to form a new band to back her. The group was formed and became very successful; however this time they didn’t do any long distance traveling.  Kimberly married in the late 70’s and Fred gave up the band around 1980.  He was still interested in music and decided to purchase some recording equipment.  From a local recording studio he acquired a multi track recorder, mixing board and all the accessories needed to record.  Although he was capable of producing good records in his own studio, he decided to venture to Nashville where he was able to produce his records with session pickers. He gathered songs from major publishers and recorded them under his own label, Capetown Records. The records were released nationally and received extensive airplay throughout the USA, some made the major charts.  Many of the releases were called “Turntable Hits”, meaning they received a lot of airplay, but because of a lack of distribution to the record stores there was a lack of sales to help them move up the charts. Fred also produced records for other local artists: Jeannie Hinck’s, “The Wayne Cryts Song” and “Political Prisoner”  along with Richard Kunkel’s, “I’m A Drifter” and “Sandy Girl”.

During the ‘80’s and ‘90’s Fred took a job playing bass in a house band at a local Opry. He enjoyed doing this very much because he was able to perform with some wonderful musicians and he didn’t have the responsibility of being band leader or having to deal with hauling and setting up equipment.  A good friend of Fred’s, Lou Hobbs, had a local television show  during this time on which Fred made several appearances as well as setting in with Lou and his band from time to time on live shows.  Fred also played bass on an album of a local artist named Rhonda Gray.

To be continued……….