“Fiddling Rufus” Brewer
- Ninfa O. Barnard
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
For almost fifty years, from the 1940s to 1986, “Fiddling Rufus” Brewer played and sang at blues and country venues across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee. He played at Gathright's Saturday Night Jamboree, the Louisiana Hayrides, and on radio shows across Arkansas.
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M. A. “Fiddlin Rufus” Brewer was born on January 7, 1913, in Arkansas to Luther Brewer and Myrtle Davis. In the 1940s, Brewer began his professional music career as one of the many musicians who started "Gathright's Saturday Night Jamboree." The Jamboree grew exponentially from a simple jam session. It began with a few musicians playing after hours every Saturday night at Gathright Van & Storage Transit Co. headquarters at 300 Pine Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. All the musicians had one goal: to have a rollicking good time while playing and singing blues and country music.
By January 9, 1943, Gathright's Saturday Night Jamboree became so popular that it was broadcast over local radio station KOTN from the Gathright Van & Storage Transit Co. sales room. On September 4, 1943, the program began to reach a larger audience. It was broadcast on KARK, a state-wide radio station. The Jamboree aired in two segments, on KARK and KOTN, respectively.
Brewer, who sang and played the fiddle, was foremost among Gathright's Saturday Night Jamboree’s performers, which included Eva Pappas, the youngest entertainer, Betty Wadsworth, a 12-year-old amateur contest winner, and Johnnie Lou Henry, a 14-year-old singer, dancer, and movie star. Musicians included John Walton, bass player, Newt Martin, and comedian, singer, bass player E.A. Evans. Singing groups included the Gathright's Quartet, Two Guys and a Gal, the Troubadours, with M.T. Brewer, and the Original Tune Peddlers. The Jamboree also featured singers and comedians.
Brewer experienced a breakthrough in his musical career when he signed a contract to play at the Louisiana Hayride. From 1948 to 1960, the Louisiana Hayride dominated the state’s airwaves as it was broadcast every Saturday night during its twelve-year run. Broadcast from the KWKH radio station in Shreveport, the Louisiana Hayride broadcast across the Midwest and to both coasts by the CBS Radio Network. The show was also broadcast overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Network. Famous singers and entertainers like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Faron Young, Jim Reeves, Jimmy Davis, Gene Autry, Johnny Horton, Tommy Sands, Slim Whitman, Red Foley, and Red Sovine gained exposure at the Louisiana Hayrides. Brewer performed alongside these famous performers for the twelve-year duration of the Louisiana Hayride.
Brewer’s musical talents eventually led him to Nashville, Tennessee, the 'Country Music Capital of the World'. Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine, a country music singer and songwriter, offered Brewer a contract to play fiddle in his band. Simultaneously, Clyde Moody also offered him a long-term contract to bring his Arkansas-based band to the Grand Ole Opry, to showcase his singing and yodeling. Brewer declined the offer after serious consideration. He had a wife and five children at home.
Without the Grand Ole Opry contract, Brewer still had two radio shows a day on KOTN in Pine Bluff, AR, and a weekly show on KCLA. Along with several other performers, Brewer established Homefolk's Party, the first live television show of its kind in the entire state of Arkansas. He also frequently performed at rodeos and local and regional concerts. For almost fifty years, from the 1940s to 1986, Brewer continued to expand his musical presence in Arkansas and the surrounding area.
On 9 February 1986, at the age of 73, Brewer died from cancer in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Though he was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Pine Bluff, his musical legacy still lives on through his music, the musicians he taught, and his five children.
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Written by: Ninfa O. Barnard
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