The BEST of Walking Horse Trivia!

What a nice tribute to Jimmy this has been! His momma and daddy would be so proud to know that they are all being remembered.

Thank you, Ken for initiating this rememberance of Jimmy. I'm going down to look for my stuff...

MM, thanks for the kind words! Agree, wish his mum and dad would see the legacy he left behind. He has fans all over the world and the fan base keeps growing. I live in Norway and is a huge fan. :)

I have met so many nice people because of Jimmy and for the research to my book on him I have talked with so many musicians, people eho knew him etc. he was so truly special. The start of the book will be dedicated to his horse trainer days. That is why I need all info/photos I can get.. lol

As the opener for my book I will use a quote I got from a famous Nashville music producer named Jerry Cupit. I think it captures the talent Jimmy had for singing. Let me know what you think of it:

"We walked in to the ­Ramada Inn one night. The place was packed, bands playing, glasses ­rattling and you couldn’t hear anything you know. You could hardly hear the band for people ­talking. And one of the band ­members recognised him and asked him to get up and sing. He got up there and got the mike, started singing and by the ­second line you could hear a pin drop in that place. It’s like he just commanded attention.
You know when he sanged he had that special ­something. I’ve worked with a lot of recording artists over the 30 years I’ve been doing this you know - but he had magic when he singed."

That says it all. Jimmy is missed.

Smitty, I have not found the original pics that I had from his Orion tour....I hope I didn't discard them, but may have thinking he had been remembered on this site and they were no longer needed....but I did find a copy of what I found on the trivia site. The date on the posting was 1/13/2010 from what I can tell...I've looked through the threads and cannot locate it. I copied it and if necessary, can dig out my scanner and email.
It included a rich bio reminding me that he was an adopted child....

MM, I apreciate anything you have. :) But did I understand you correct if you had original photos of his days as Orion? If so I hope you still have those, would be great to see. You mentioned your parents saw him as well, do you know if they might have any photos? Sorry if I make you dig around way to much, I just get excitied. :)

My parents are deceased and I actually found the pic of Jimmy/Orion when emptying out their house....and yes, they would have been happy to give you their recollections were they still here. The pics were those handed out at the concert, not personal pictures.

I will look again, but I am not very organized...no telling where i put it (if I kept it)....I thought it would have been with the print out of the information on this site that I found....but was not. The information I printed off this site inluded a pic of a 10 year old Jimmy dated from 1955 and that horse related pic might be old enough that it would not require photographer permission.

Here is a photo of a Orion autograph MM sent me. MM, I bet you forgot you sent this in...?

MM, I see. Not being totally organized myself i know what it's like.. :-) Well, don't turn your house upside down over this. If it turns up by itself then great if not then it is okay. :) But that 1955 photo of Jimmy sounds cool though!

Also a very nice autograph you got there!

As a side note, my parents actually sat with the Ellis family that night (unplanned)....I was not in attendance.

I have had a reply from one of the ladies that will probably have other information to share. She may correspond directly to you, I will forward anything that I get in response to your query.

MM, Okay that is very kind of you! Thank you for all help, really apreciate it. :)

Just pulled this out of the archives....

The Best of Jimmy Ellis

I had forgotten it and I think it may be on the backside of his press pic that was distributed and he sent it to me via mother and daddy from his concert. THat's what I have not found...like I said, I may have discarded it in a rare cleaning phase. But, more likely, just mislaid who knows where.

Ken....I couldn't believe all the information that had been posted when I finally got my last post sent. I started on mine earlier this morning; got interrupted and came back later to finish and send it. Sorry for sending any info that the others had already sent.

MM (Mirally Meadows) and I are about the same age and were both showing horses in the '60s and '70s...she is still showing; an excellent horsewoman that is currently finding much success with a very nice mare. Evidently Alabama puts out great horsepeople!! Sadly I no longer show...I miss it terribly. She probably knew Jimmy better than I did; especially since her family knew him as well. The party I best remember seeing him sing at was the one she mentioned in Montgomery Al..The Southern Championships. Everyone was so surprised that he was THAT good!! I remember people comparing him to Elvis but as I look at these videos I can see why...their voices were very similar. He could move like Elvis and even had some of the facial twitches...it would be difficult not to see a likeness. I do think it a shame that the public could not give him a chance to be his own performer though and accept him for the wonderful talent that he was.

As for where I think he was most active...I knew him as a horse trainer. This is only my opinion and I'm having to think back through foggy memories to remember all of this. I began to hear more about his singing but as long as he was still training and showing; I always considered him a trainer...who also enjoyed a great talent for singing. I always thought he did it for fun...I don't think that peole took him serious in the beginning. This could be why he HAD to get out of the horse business. He was extremely talented as both a musician and a trainer but possibly no one took him serious as "The Singing Horse Trainer"?? On the other hand; both take one's full comittment; so I doubt there was any way he could have given both 100%...it would have been impossible to be truly successful at both. I respect him for going with his heart.

Here is yet another photo of Jimmy showing Mr. Free Wheel

Hill, Thank you so much for taking the time to write down your memories. Having all of you telling all this gives me a much better picture on how he was during those years. It also helps me understand how big choice he stood above when he choosed singing over horse training. Coming from the Ellis stables it can not have been easy to give up the horses.
And I agree that when he first took that choice it is sad that many people never saw him for more than a "Elvis impersonator". He deserved so much more.

Smitty, Love that photo! Isn't it from the same night that his wife also performed?

Again thanks for sharing!

Ken,

Most padded "performance" horses are usually only shown one time per night, althought that is not always the case. I would guess the two photos were not taken on the same night.

Here's another smaller one I found. Don't have any extra info on this one.

Smitty,
Thanks for the info. I am learning about horses as well here.. great! :) Also thanks for showing the photo of a young Jimmy.

I also have a photo of Jimmy riding Sun's Glory Boy with a white jacket on, IF I can find it! Most frustrating when you forget to label a photo correctly. I will eventually find it though...

Sounds like an interesting photo! I'll cross my fingers..

It is strange to see how much jimmy changed from the sharp dressed horse trainer to themasked Orion. I wonder what the people in the horste business felt/thought about it. And if anyone followed his career..

I paged back through the thread and am not finding this info..may have missed it??
....When did Jimmy get out of the horse business for good? Did he then devote 100% of his time to music? I read that he owned and was working in a convenience store at the time of his death in 1998...was he still singing as well?


Thank you Ken for an interesting thread and to Smitty and MM for the wonderful pictures and information!!!

I didn't know Jimmy and never saw him show, although I have seen a few of the horses he trained perform.
I have done quite a bit of Jimmy Ellis research myself for this site, however, and my impression of him is that he was a BORN performer. In the photo of him as a young child, I even see a certain "flair" and "flashiness" you just normally don't see in a child that age. I think the horse industry prepared him for his musical career. I think most on here would agree that the show horse industry most DEFINITELY is "show business" in every sense of the word. Sure, his exposure to the horse and music industry changed him.........it would and does change EVERYONE who comes in contact with it.........but I see his transformation as a normal one. In the 50's he looked like a child from the 50's, ditto for the 60's and in the 70's his looks and personality changed just like THE REST OF ours did. The 60's & 70's were a time of great transformation in the U.S. Despite his talent, flashiness and charisma, it appears to me he attained a sense of humbleness and level-headedness not seen in many modern artists. These are just my observations, not the final word.

Sarah Lynn has joined us and I'm sure she has some great info on Jimmy and the Ellis family.
Sarah........jump on in here any time you're ready. Just click on the Post Reply button and type.

I am so glad Sarah Lynn has joined us even if just for this thread on Jimmy...Ken, she will have a wealth of information. Her recall and knowledge of all Alabama horse folks is superb!!!! Her recollections usually spark more memories for me!

BTW, I have found Ken on Facebook complete with Jimmy Orion Ellis listed in his interests...I always think it's amazing at how many performers/artists are more popular in other countries and unfortunately, posthumously. But, no matter. Jimmy is getting the accolades that he deserves!

What a coincidence! I found Ken's Jimmy Ellis Facebook page as well!
I'm going to post the link to it on the WHT Facebook page and see what happens....

By the way, I joined Ken's group!
I am now OFFICIALLY a JIMMY ELLIS FAN !!!

https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2365734411