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City of birth: Nashville, TN

Baritone Hugh “Big Hugh Baby” Jarrett made an early musical mark as a member of The Jordanaires, who sang backup for Elvis Presley, but he also enjoyed a long, influential career as a radio host.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Hugh Jarrett sang in barbershop quartets as a teenager before he landed his first job in radio, doing stints in South Carolina and Tennessee. It was during this time that he threw his first record hop, playing music for a live audience.

Jarrett’s singing career took full stage, however, in 1954 when he joined the quartet, The Jordanaires, already members of Grand Ole Opry. The group, which at that time included Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews and Hoyt Hawkins, toured and recorded with various artists, including Eddy Arnold. When a young Elvis Presley saw The Jordanaires perform at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis in 1955, he told Hawkins that if he ever got a recording contract, he wanted them as his back-up singers.

Presley’s dream came true and his first appearance with The Jordanaires was at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on March 15 & 16, 1956. The emcee of the evening, which included five other acts, was Jarrett, who continued to emcee future Presley shows. Jarrett’s distinctive bass voice appears on over 50 Elvis Presley recordings, including “Don’t Be Cruel” and the soundtrack for Jailhouse Rock. He also appeared in three Presley movies and on several television shows, including the Ed Sullivan and Steve Allen shows.

Jarrett left The Jordanaires in 1958 and formed another group called The Statues, who produced the song “Blue Velvet” for Liberty Records. In 1960, Jarrett joined the staff of WLAC radio station in Nashville and hosted a popular national radio program while continue to hold court at his popular record hops.

Jarrett eventually moved on to a station in Atlanta, then Burbank, Calif., but he returned to the South and settled permanently in the Peach State capital. A beloved fixture in the Atlanta entertainment industry, Jarrett hosted radio programs on WPLO, WSB and WFOM in Marietta, served as the longtime emcee of the “Concerts in the Country” at Lanierland Music Park, provided the voice for many commercials and documentaries, hosted the variety show, Rise and Shine, on WXIA-TV and even appeared on the popular television show, Heat of the Night, with Carroll O’Connor.

Hugh Jarrett was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007. He died May 30, 2008, after having been hospitalized for several months following an automobile accident on March 25.

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