TV and Elvis changed everything. Now everyone in the country could see with their own eyes what it took to be a performer. And you certainly couldn't get anymore out "in the country" than Coffeyville, Kansas. My dad's plan was to cover all of the popular musical bases.
As lead vocalist, my dad would take on pretty much the Sun stable of artists - Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash - with some Bill Haley thrown in for good measure. African-American piano player Big Al Downing had Little Richard and Fats Domino down pat. Guitar prodigy Vernon Sandusky could play a guitar like ringin' a bell, so Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins were at the top of his list. Joe Brawley was rock solid on the backbeat.
Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats put together a set list that quickly built them an avid following throughout Kansas and Oklahoma. My dad's old scrapbook is full of sold out gigs and record breaking performances. The world at that time was their oyster...