BT Memories

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(14 of 15)

For many years the Crackerjacks did a weekday early morning show on WBTV (and a weekly half hour in prime time). The cast changed from time to time. In the '60s Sonny departed the act to run his own advertising agency. Arthur, Ralph, Tommy Faile and Wayne "Skeeter" Haas formed the core of the group as others came and went over the years. This photo from about 1970 shows, from left, Ralph Smith (accordion), Carl Hunt (banjo), Carlene "Sam" Howell (vocalist), Wayne Haas (bass), Arthur Smith (electric guitar), Kay Murray (vocalist), Jim Buchanan (fiddle), Tommy Faile (guitar and vocals)

Ralph Smith and Tommy Faile had a continuing routine as Brother Ralph and Cousin Phud, the "Counselors of the Airwaves." They would give "advice" to the lovelorn, the downtrodden and the misguided, who allegedly wrote (in crayon, on the backs of old speeding tickets) seeking the experts' wise counsel. Of course, Ralph and Tommy wrote the "letters" themselves and their solutions were just as outrageous and fantastical as the problems.

Courtesy Jim Scancarelli

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