Casey Clark and the Lazy Ranch Boys souvenir book covers
Here are the covers of three known Casey Clark and the Lazy Ranch Boys books, along with a special bonus: Jimmy Martin’s Detroit scrapbook.
From decades ago to the present, country artists have created and sold promotional books. Most contain a combination of pictures, song lyrics and music. In Detroit, the Lazy Ranch Boys sold two “scrapbooks” of photos and descriptions from 1953 until they left town in 1958. Here are the covers of three known Casey Clark and the Lazy Ranch Boys books, along with a special bonus: Jimmy Martin’s Detroit scrapbook from ca. 1955.
Clark printed and sold this book in 1950 when he, “Barefoot Brownie” Reynolds, and Herb Williams worked at WRFD Delaware County, Ohio, radio. Original size: 5.25 x 7.5 inchesFrom 1953, this book featured biographies of the Lazy Ranch Boys, as well as photos of the cast of the Lazy Ranch Boys Barn Dance in Detroit. Original size: 8.5 x 11 inchesFrom 1955, Clark paid Thurston Moore Enterprises to print hundreds of copies of this book. Based in Colorado, Moore’s company also published an annual “Hillbilly Scrapbook” for sale nationwide, and the monthly “Hillbilly and Western Hoedown” magazine. Original size: 8.5 x 11 inchesJimmy Martin had this book printed when he lived and worked in Detroit, around 1955. It appears to be printed with the same materials as the 1953 Lazy Ranch Boys book (possibly by the same company). It includes photos of the Osborne Brothers, who worked with Martin in Michigan 1954-55, as well as Earl Taylor and Sam Hutchins, who played mandolin and banjo respectively, after the Osborne Brothers’ departure. Original size: 8.5 x 11 inches
