Cliffie Stone

Biography

Clifford Gilpin Snyder, 1 March 1917, Burbank, California, USA, d. 17 January 1998, Santa Clarita, California, USA. In the early 30s Stone played bass and trombone in dance bands before becoming a country music compère and disc jockey in 1935. During the 40s he was band leader and host of the CBS networkHollywood Barn Dance and from 1943-47 he compèred almost 30 other country radio shows weekly. He joined Capitol Records in 1946, working on production as well as recording and had chart hits in 1947-48, including ‘Peepin’ Through The Keyhole’ and ‘When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again’. In 1949, he hosted the famed Hometown Jamboree and, from 1953 to its closure in 1960, the radio and television show Town Hall Party. These shows did much to popularize country music over a wide area and many artists benefited from their appearances on them. One prominent regular on Hometown Jamboree was Stone’s father, a banjo-playing...

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