Members

Tenor
Otis Deaton (1925?)
Bill Fincannon (1926)
Aubrey Owen (1927-1928)
Walter Rippetoe (1934-1936, 1936-1939,1940)
Alphus LeFevre (1936)
Ernest Rippetoe (1939)

Lead
Henry Long (1925?)
Thomas Ware (1926) (also played piano)
Arch Owen (1927-1928)
Freddie Martin (1934-1936) (also played piano and accordion)
Bob Bacon (1937-1940)

Baritone
Edgar Glosup (1925?)
V X Trigg (1926)
Herbert Owen (1927-1928)
Harley Lester (1934; 1935?;1936)
Vernon Hyles (1935)
Jim Gaither (1937-1940)

Bass
Theo Casey (1925?)
V O Stamps (1926;1930-1931;1934;1936-1940)
Ogelsby Lonnie Ellis (1927-1928)
Shaw Eiland (1935)
Arnold Hyles (1936)
Herschel Foshee (1938?)

Piano
Lawrence Smith (1926)
Thomas Ware (1926) (also sang lead)
Marshall Yandell (1930)
Freddie Martin (1934-1936) (also sang and played accordion)
Marion Snider (1936-1939; 1940-1941)

Guitar
Crawford Owen (1927-1928)

Accordion
Freddie Martin (1931; 1934-1936) (also sang and played piano)

Position Unknown
Millard Massey (1926)
K L Baird (1926)
Bill Kitts (1930)
Zeke Kitts (1930)
Jeff Duncan (1930)
Unknown Dooley (1931)
Unknown Kirby (1931)



Virgil Stamps Quartet, V O Stamps Quartet, Old Original Stamps Quartet, Stamps Quartet

History

(1925-1940)

After Virgil Oliver Stamps left the Vaughan Music Company, he organized the V O Stamps Music Company in Jacksonville, Texas in 1924. His brother Frank launched the Stamps Quartet soon after as a traveling group representing the company. V O soon created another Stamps Quartet called the V O Stamps Quartet or simply the Stamps Quartet. Frank’s group became known as the Frank Stamps All Star Quartet after V O's group was formed. V O merged his own publishing company with J R Baxter to create the Stamps-Baxter Music and Publishing company. His group continued to represent the publishing company.

When V O traveled with his quartet, he sang the bass part. At other times, he would send out a group operating under his name with a different bass singer. Edgar Glosup sang baritone in one such version of the Stamps Quartet during the mid-1920s before heading out to Hollywood to become the singing cowboy movie star Eddie Dean.

V O conducted regular singing schools in Jacksonville and travelled around the area putting on schools in other communities. He took some of his teachers and his more advanced students with him. They also performed at state and local singing conventions. One of the students who assisted and who became a member of the quartet was Freddie Martin. This young accordion player and singer later became a member of the Cass County Boys who sang with Gene Autry on his radio program and in several of his Western movies as Fred S. Martin. Future V O Stamps Quartet pianist, Imperial Quartet organizer, and SGMA Hall of Fame member Marion Snider studied piano under the direction of Martin.

By 1931, V O had relocated to Dallas. A year or so later, he moved his base to Abilene. By the mid-1930s the V O Stamps Quartet was operating from Dallas again with future Rangers Quartet founders and SGMA Hall of Famers Vernon and Arnold Hyles as were members.

By 1936, the V O Stamps Quartet was heard regularly on KRLD radio in Dallas. They also had broadcasts over a powerful radio station in Mexico. The Stamps style of music became well known far away from Dallas and Stamps-Baxter songbook sales soared. The lineup of Walter Rippetoe (tenor), Bob Bacon (lead), Jim Gaither (baritone), V O Stamps (bass) and Marion Snider (piano) was stable during these "radio days." The quartet also made recordings on the Columbia and Vocalion labels. By this point, the were often billed as the Original or Old Original Stamps Quartet.

The death of V O Stamps in 1940 brought about the end of the use of the V O Stamps name with the quartet, although there continued to be around a dozen singing groups using Stamps or Stamps-Baxter in their names and selling the company's songbooks.

V O's brother Frank relocated to Dallas to become J R Baxter's partner at Stamps-Baxter Music. Baxter became president of the company at that time. Frank Stamps would later split with Baxter and form a separate Stamps Publishing Company. Frank also succeeded his brother as bass singer for the Old Original Stamps Quartet, extending their run for another ten years (see Frank Stamps Quartet).

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