James Wayne "Jim" Stafford
(born January 16, 1944, Eloise, Florida) is an American comedian, musician, and singer-songwriter, prominent in the 1970s. Stafford is self-taught on guitar, fiddle, piano, banjo, organ and harmonica.
Stafford was raised in Winter Haven, Florida. In high school, he played in a band along with friends Bobby Braddock, Kent LaVoie (aka Lobo) and Gram Parsons (of the Byrds).
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JIM STAFFORD TICKETS
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Recording history
Stafford's first
chart hit was "Swamp Witch", which barely cracked the U.S.
Top 40 in July 1973. By early 1974 he had charted his biggest hit, "Spiders and Snakes", which peaked at #3 on the
Billboard
Hot 100 that March.
Stafford continued to have moderate chart success through most of 1975. Popular as they were, many of Stafford's songs had a tendency to test the boundaries of censorship, which oftentimes did not go unnoticed by some
radio stations who would either censor the questionable
lyrics,
daypart the song, or just pull it from their playlist altogether.
For example:
- "My Girl Bill" (peaked at #12; May '74): The first two verses of this song suggest two men nervously considering a homosexual relationship, but the final verse tells of a girl who has clearly made her choice between the two men, with the victor ending by saying "You're gonna have to find another, 'cause she's 'my' girl, Bill."
- "Wildwood Weed" (#7; August '74): This song dealt with two farming brothers accidentally stumbling upon a patch of marijuana plants (referred to in the song as Wildwood Flowers/Weeds. "Wildwood Flower" is a traditional American song from the 19th Century.) A Washington man comes by later and destroys the remaining ones (but the brothers have a sack of seeds, evidently to plant more).
- "Your Bulldog Drinks Champagne" (#24; February '75): A beer-drinking man spends his evenings on vacation jealously watching a woman across the street who spends her evenings drinking champagne with a special guest- a bulldog.
- "I Got Stoned and I Missed It" (#37; October '75): A man who spends a little too much time smoking marijuana (referred to in this song as "having a taste") and consequently missing important things, including someone on a nearby street corner giving out $100 bills.
Television work
The Jim Stafford Show
appeared on
ABC in 1975. He appeared as well numerous times on music specials, variety shows, and talk shows (he was a frequent guest on the
Tonight Show
. He co-hosted
Those Amazing Animals
with
Burgess Meredith and
Priscilla Presley, and also hosted 56 episodes of
Nashville on the Road
. In 1987 and 1988, he performed regularly and served as head writer/producer for the
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Songwriting
Stafford contributed to several
movie soundtracks, including
The Fox and The Hound
and
Any Which Way You Can
, in which Stafford appeared. His work has been
covered by
George Jones and
Jerry Reed. His second
classical guitar album,
Somewhere in Time
appeared in March 2002.
Live performances
Stafford has operated and performed at The Jim Stafford Theatre in
Branson,
Missouri since the 1990s. His children accompany him on stage.
Other work
Stafford hosted, co-wrote, and produced a nationally syndicated
radio show, "Branson USA"; his play
Glans Dialogues
premiered on the Springfield Little Theatre stage and ran for a season in Branson.
Personal life
In the late 1970s, Stafford was
married briefly to
singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry. Stafford and his present wife/business partner Ann have two children, and live outside of Branson, on
Table Rock Lake.
Discography
Singles
- "Swamp Witch" (1973) - U.S. #39
- "Spiders and Snakes" (1973) - U.S. #3 (Gold)
- "My Girl Bill" (1974) - U.S. #12
- "Wildwood Weed" (1974) - U.S. #7
- "Your Bulldog Drinks Champagne" (1974) - U.S. #24
- "Jasper" (1976) - U.S. #69
- "Turn Loose of My Leg" (1977) - U.S. #98
- "Cow Patti" (1980) (from the soundtrack to Any Which Way You Can
)
Albums
- Not Just Another Pretty Foot
- U.S. (MGM) 1975
References