Ben Cooley, Bill McManners & The Arkansas Travelers (Champaign-Urbana)
The Arkansas Travelers were, oddly enough, not from Arkansas at all. Instead, the popular Illinois country band originated from the Champaign-Urbana area.
Ben Cooley of Seymour, Illinois was the band's leader and guitar player. His brother, Ken Cooley, was also in the group along with Bill McManners and Lyle Dillman.
By 1963, Tommy Morgan had replaced Dillman. Ron Riddle of Bloomington also joined the group on pedal steel at some point.
In the 1960's the Travelers were regulars on WHOW radio in Clinton as well as Uncle Johnny Barton's "Corn Belt Country Style" television show on WAND-TV in Decatur. The popular program was broadcast across several stations in the Midwest and lasted for nearly six years. As a result the group had their own fan club at the time and even released a newsletter, Travelers Trails.
The band performed regularly at festivals, fairs and hillbilly jamborees around the state alongside Barton and other local country and bluegrass groups. They were often on the bill when stars of the Grand Ole Opry and other country performers came through central Illinois.
In 1960, the Arkansas Travelers opened up for a 15-year-old Brenda Lee at the Champaign County Fair. Also performing that weekend was Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, Red Sovine and Stonewall Jackson.
In 1964, the Travelers shared the stage with a young John Hartford at the Le Roy Fall Festival. Hartford, who had been a DJ at WHOW, would have been well known to the group and country fans in the area, long before "Gentle On My Mind."
In a 1996 article, Ben Cooley mentions that the band in its heyday performed on shows with Loretta Lynn, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, Smiley Burnett, Porter Wagoner and Billy Walker.
In addition to playng live, the Travelers produced more records than nearly any other country act from downstate Illinois in that era. Between 1958 and 1964 the group recorded and released at least 10 singles on three different labels.
Their first record, "My Blue Eyed Baby" b/w "The Sun Shines Brighter," was released in 1958 under the name Bill & Ben and the Arkansas Travelers. It was a Starday Custom pressing (#715) released on their own Traveler Records. The address on the label was 601 E. University, Champaign, Illinois.
The second 45, released in 1960, was also a Starday Custom pressing (#878) on Traveler Records. This time they were credited simply as the Arkansas Travelers. The address given was P.O. Box 61, Seymour, ILL.
"You Ask Me" was written by Ben Cooley, while "Just One More" was written by Bill McManners.
Next the Arkansas Travelers recorded at least four singles for Ben Baldwin Jr. and his Benz Record Company in Champaign. The label produced primarily records for square dancing.
Between 1961 and 1963, the group also released three 45s on the Nashville label, which essentially consolidated the Starday Custom pressings under a single label name. The recordings were done at the Starday Studios in Nashville, TN. It was very likely during one of these trips to Tennessee that the Travelers performed at the Grand Ole Opry as well as Ernest Tubbs Record Shop.
5013 Ben & Bill and the Arkansas Travelers - "My One Mistake" / "Monkey See Monkey Do" 1961
(Some later pressings list the artist as Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers. )
"My One Mistake" was written by Ben Cooley. "Monkey See Monkey Do" was written by McManners.
For the next few releases, the group dropped "Arkansas" from their name and were simply known as the Travelers, at least on record.
5110 The Travelers - "Make Believe World" / "Lips That Do The Talking" 1963
"Make Believe World" was written by Ben Cooley and Tom Morgan, with vocals by Cooley. "Lips That Do The Talking" was written and sung by Bill McManners.
5154 The Travelers - "Most Of The Time" / "Passions Over Conscience" 1963
Ben Cooley handled the vocals for both sides and wrote "Passion." McManners penned "Most Of The Time.
The group's last known release was in 1964 on the Midwest Record Company out of Champaign. Other central Illinois artists on the label included Marvin Lee (Flessner) from St. Joseph, Junior Garner from Decatur and Jack Reno who was a radio personality that worked at WHOW at the time.
4004 The Travelers - "I Even Fooled Myself " / "Keep Your Money (And Save Your Breath)" 1964
Both songs were were written by Tom Morgan. Vocals for "I Even Fooled Myself" by Ben Cooley while Morgan sang "Keep Your Money."
Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers continued to perform live until at least 1975. However, there is no evidence that the band recorded anything after 1964.
The Arkansas Travelers at WHOW circa 1963: Bill McManners, Ben Cooley, Ken Cooley, Tom Morgan
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