Memories from the Homestead: A girl of the golden West, Carolina Cotton

     A great big Howdy to y’all from up here at the Homestead. It's great to be back home for a spell. The Sons of the Pioneers and I have been on the road each weekend since September 20. We've been to Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.  This is the reason there's been a dry spell for this column, and I want to thank everyone for checking in on me!

One of the greatest of the lady yodelers of the 1940s and ‘50s is Arkansas native Carolina Cotton. October 20 would have been her 100th birthday. She passed in 1997. I've watched her for many years and have been friends with her daughter for some time now.

Carolina was born Helen Hagstrom in Cash, Arkansas, October 20, 1925. Her parents, Fred and Helen were peanut and cotton farmers. Her family moved to the San Francisco area when she was young. She soon would become interested in song and dance and had a natural talent at a young age.

While in high school she often visited the radio station where West Coast bandleader Dude Martin performed daily broadcasts over San Francisco's KYA AM 1260. When Dude's yodeler quit the show, he offered Carolina a vocal position and asked her if she could yodel. Carolina had never yodeled but told Dude she could, and she was hired! She was sixteen years old.

It was Dude who named Helen "Carolina Cotton." She would keep that name for the rest of her life. Carolina's daughter Sharon explains how her mother’s name change came about.

"She had her name legally changed to Carolina Cotton years ago. It was indeed Dude Martin who started calling her Carolina when she joined his band. Although her last name of Cotton was reportedly from Cottonseed Clark, Mom told me that her manager, Bobbie Bennett, held a contest to give her a last name; Cotton supposedly came from the winner.  She also used Carolina Cotton when she became a school teacher. She was at Mt. Vernon Elementary for over twenty years, here in Bakersfield, California. Her former students have fond memories of Ms. Cotton."

Carolina came to Hollywood and met songwriter Johnny Martin. He offered her a spot in a movie, “Sing Neighbor Sing," a 1944 musical starring Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff. Carolina had to make a decision to continue her career in Hollywood or San Francisco.  She chose Hollywood and soon joined the Spade Cooley Orchestra. 

In 1945, Carolina married Cooley's bass player Deuce Spriggins. Their marriage was extremely short, lasting only three months. Carolina would continue to become one of the top yodelers in the country, becoming well known in movies, radio and recordings.

In 1945 and 1946 she co-starred alongside Ken Curtis in his Columbia films, and in 1949 went out with the Sons of the Pioneers on a two-month tour with Curtis, Shug Fisher and the Oklahoma Sweethearts. Ken would accept an offer to permanently join the Pioneers after this road trip.

     One of Carolina's most successful recordings was "Three Miles South of Cash In Arkansas." Others were "Yodel, Yodel, Yodel," as well as "Yodel Mountain" and one of my favorites, "Mockingbird Yodel." All of these plus others can easily be found on YouTube. 

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Want to see and hear a bit of Carolina's yodeling? Take a listen...

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Carolina's final film appearances were with Gene Autry in 1952, which were "Blue Canadian Rockies," and "Apache Country." Her famous "I Love to Yodel" was featured and is still a fan favorite. 

During the 1950s Carolina continued in personal appearances around the world, including several USO tours. In 1956, she married Bill Ates. They had a son and daughter together but later divorced.   

Remaining active with appearances at Western festivals and with a love for children, Carolina took on a teaching career that lasted until her retirement in 1997. She died on June 10, 1997, after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer.

According to her family, Carolina was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean near the Golden Gate Bridge.

For more information, visit the website her daughter Sharon has created. Go to: carolinacotton.org