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George Hamilton IV
George Hamilton IV (born July 19, 1937, in Winston-Salem, N.C.) is an American country musician. He began performing in the
late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to pop-country and folk music.
On June 18, 1956, while a 19-year-old student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Hamilton recorded "A Rose
and a Baby Ruth" for Colonial Records. The song, written by John D. Loudermilk, climbed to No. 6 on the American pop charts.
By 1960, "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" had attained gold record status for ABC-Paramount, which had acquired the song from Colonial.
The B-side of the record, "If You Don't Know," revealed Hamilton's ambitions to be a country singer. In late 1959, he moved
his family to Nashville to further his work as a country musician. Shortly thereafter, on Feb. 8,1960, Hamilton officially
became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Later that same year, he began recording for RCA Records, having been signed by Chet
Atkins.
Hamilton's breakthrough hit was the 1961 song "Before This Day Ends." His biggest hit came two years later with "Abilene,"
another song penned by John D. Loudermilk, which spent four weeks in the No. 1 spot on Billboard magazine's country singles
chart and reached the Top 20 of its pop charts. The success of "Abilene" was followed by "Fort Worth, Dallas or Houston,"
a Top 5 hit in late 1964.
By the mid-1960s, Hamilton's music began showing a decidedly folk influence. This was especially evident in 1966's "Steel
Rail Blues" and "Early Morning Rain" and 1967's "Urge For Going." Another 1967 hit was "Break My Mind." One more of this genre
was a moderate hit in 1969
-- the Ray Griff-penned "Canadian Pacific." His last Top 5 single came in 1970, with "She's a Little Bit Country."
In the early 1970s, Hamilton began touring the world, across the Soviet Union, Australia, the Middle East and East Asia. These
widely-acclaimed international performances earned him the nickname "The International Ambassador of Country Music." He also
hosted several successful television shows in Britain and Canada during the 1970s, and in the 1990s he played himself in the
West End musical "Patsy," based on the life of Patsy Cline.
Hamilton is still a regular at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and in country shows throughout America and Britain. He mainly
concentrates on Gospel tours both at home and abroad.
In 2007 he collaborated with a group of musicians
from Northern Ireland to record a live album based on the life of Joseph Scriven, who wrote "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
George Hamilton IV will headline our Saturday Night Dinner Show.
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The Virginia Rounders
The original Virginia Rounders were a group started in the 1930s by Norman Phelps. He and his brothers, Willie and Earl, were
known as Norman Phelps and the Virginia Rounders. A long list of musicians played with them over
the years. When Earl passed away, Norman and Willie kept the band going. When Norman passed away, Willie kept playing for
a few years and finally lost interest.
Sonny Roper was a fan of the Phelps Brothers and listened to them on the radio. When his friend, Carolina Charlie Wiggs,
introduced him to Willie, they became good friends. They would get together occasionally and play music. When Charlie died,
Sonny started going to Willie's every Friday night to play music and tell stories. Sonny had a band years before and played
lead guitar.
Meanwhile Ed Beard retired from the Chesapeake Sheriff's Department. He had already retired from the NFL as a player and coach
after eighteen years. He played guitar and was learning the banjo. His wife Bobbie, Willie's daughter, was learning to play
mandolin, so they started going over to Willie's on Friday nights.
Willie had been invited to the Charlotte Western Film Fair in 1992. He sang and played his guitar, accompanied by Dale Berry.
Two years later he was invited to the Asheville Western Film & Memorabilia Festival and decided to resurrect the washboard
from his old movie days and take the Friday night group with him. They began playing for senior groups and nursing homes.
Before long, word got around and the phone started ringing for paying gigs.
Woody Nordan had played with Willie at the Willie Lee Lodge in South Norfolk when he was a kid. Norman Jerald started playing
drums for the Virginia Rounders at Fernwood Farms and on radio shows. Stoney Agee was playing bass with a bluegrass band when
he met Ed and Bobbie at a local diner; Stoney joined them when they started playing there.
Willie passed away in 2004, but the group decided to carry on. Although they play country, western and gospel, it became their
mission to keep the Phelps Brothers music alive. They play every June at the Phelps Brothers Music
Festival and every other Friday at the Eagles Lodge in South Norfolk, including regular performances at Farmer's Market in
Virginia Beach, the Knotts Island Peach Festival and other venues.
The Virginia Rounders will entertain on Thursday night at our 2008 Williamsburg Film Festival.
The Phelps Brothers
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Solar Guard Academy Reunion
Guest Stars appear subject to their availability and health.
Stars are subject to change or cancellation without
notice
Williamsburg Film Festival is presented by the Williamsburg Classic Film Guild, Inc.
"Williamsburg Film Festival" is trademark protected in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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