On this day (Feb. 8) in 1902, Harold W. “Pappy” Daily was born in Yoakum, Texas. As a country music producer who would go on to co-found Starday Records, Daily served as a mentor and father figure to the late, great George Jones. He also gave artists like Melba Montgomery, Roger Miller, and J.P. Richardson (the Big Bopper) their start.
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While far from a musician himself, Pappy Daily certainly had an ear for what the people wanted. His experience in a variety of industries didn’t hurt, sharpening his business savvy.
Growing up in Houston, Daily left high school at 16 to fight in World War I with the Marine Corps. Discharged two years later, he returned to Houston and took a job with Southern Pacific Railroad.
Shortly after, the Great Depression hit. Seeing all his colleagues out of work, Daily took a part-time job distributing jukeboxes. Borrowing $250 from a Southern Pacific co-worker, he opened his own store on Travis Street in Houston called South Coast Amusement Company.
Pappy Daily Co-Founded Starday Records in the ’50s
Despite never reading sheet music or picking up an instrument, Daily cultivated an ear for country music by listening to the records in his jukebox. He opened his first record store in 1946, Daily’s Record Ranch. Enjoying little competition at first, similar business eventually began popping up around Houston. In 1956, Daily formed Starday Records in Beaumont, Texas, with Jack Starnes—Lefty Frizzell’s manager.
George Jones, who grew up just down the road in Colmesneil, was one of the most notable names to sign with Starday. Admonishing the young crooner for trying to imitate his idols—Frizzell, Roy Acuff, and Hank Williams—Pappy Daily asked, “What does George Jones sound like?” Jones would go on to answer that question in resounding fashion, releasing 14 No. 1 hits and selling more than 8 million albums.
[RELATED: George Jones: The Songwriter]
Other notable Starday recruits included Roger Miller, local boy J.P. Richardson (“the Big Bopper”), and Johnny Preston. Throughout his career, Daily relied on nothing more than his own listening skills. “There are no experts in this business, just a lot of people who think they are,” he once said. “I was never an expert—other people’s opinions are valuable to me.”
In the late ’50s, Daily sold his interests in Starday and opened his own Houston-based label, D Records. Although never matching the success he found at Starday, he remained active in publishing throughout the ’70s and ’80s.
Harold W. “Pappy” Daily died on Dec. 5, 1987, in Houston. He was 85 years old.
Featured image courtesy of the Texas State Historical Association
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