Born 111 Years Ago Today in Oklahoma, the Songwriter, Musician, Actor, Comedian, and “True Gentleman of Country Music”

Following in the footsteps of his heroes, Milton Brown and Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Bond taught himself to play the ukulele and guitar as a child. His country music career spanned nearly four decades and yielded seven top 10 chart hits, including “Divorce Me C.O.D.” (1947). Beloved as much for his dry, self-deprecating wit as his musical talents, Bond dipped his toes into acting, comedy, songwriting, scriptwriting, and more. Today we’re exploring the legacy of Cyrus Whitfield “Johnny” Bond, born in Enville, Oklahoma on this day (June 1) in 1915.

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After moving to Oklahoma City in 1937, Bond formed a singing cowboy trio, the Bell Boys, with Jimmy Wakely and Scotty Harrell. As they made the rounds on Oklahoma radio, their work reportedly reached Gene Autry, who told them to “look me up” if they ever found themselves in California.

After moving to Hollywood and appearing in the 1939 Roy Rogers film Saga of Death Valley, that’s exactly what they did. The trio landed a spot on Autry’s CBS Melody Ranch radio show in 1940, with Bond staying on as a cast member until the show’s 1956 cancellation.

Double-dipping in the music industry: recorded for Decca as the Jimmy Wakely Trio, and for Columbia under the name Johnny Bond & the Cimarron Boys.

Johnny Bond’s Solo Success

Signing with Columbia Records, Johnny Bond landed multiple hits as a solo artist. Among his several top 10 entries was 1947’s “Divorce Me C.O.D.”, written by Merle Travis.

Bond’s other hits include “So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed” (1947), “Oklahoma Waltz” (1948), “Love Song in 32 Bars” (1950), “Sick Sober and Sorry” (1951), and a cover of Charlie Ryan’s “Hot Rod Lincoln” (1960).

He scored his highest-charting song in 1965 at age 50, when the comedy track “Ten Little Bottles” spent four weeks at number two.

Other artists who covered Bond’s work include Glen Campbell, Jim Reeves, Hank Thompson, Ernest Tubb, and Marty Robbins.

His Non-Musical Endeavors

In addition to his work as a singer-songwriter, Johnny Bond acted in nearly 38 movies and spent seven years hosting the syndicated country music TV series Town Hall Party with Tex Ritter.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1974, Country Hall of Famer Tex Ritter Died While Trying to Bail His Bandmate out of Jail]

Also with Ritter, Bond formed Vidor Publications, a music publishing firm. He retired from performing in the 1970s to devote more time to publishing.

On June 12, 1978, Johnny Bond died of a stroke in Burbank, California. He was 63 years old.

Bond was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images