Ozie Waters and The Plainsmen - Once In A Blue Moon Thats The Last Straw

Like a lot of musicians from the pre-WWII era, cowboy singer Vernon Scott Waters (1903-1978) moved around a lot, migrating to wherever he could find a paying gig. He was born in rural Calloway County, Missouri and wanted to see the world. While still only fourteen years old, Waters fibbed about his age and joined the Navy, and wound up stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. After his discharge, he was offered work singing on KGU-AM, the state's first commercial radio station, which began broadcasting in 1922. Later he returned to Missouri and landed a slot on radio station KMBC, Kansas City, where for six years he was a cast member of "The Happy Hollow Show," alongside hillbilly star Curt Massey. Now nicknamed the Ozark Rambler, Waters moved on to work in Texas border radio (XER), as well as "The Ford Ranger Show" on Denver, Colorado's KOA. Perhaps most impressive was his long stint in Hollywood where he acted in at least sixteen westerns, including most of the 1940s Durango Kid movies, alongside Charles Starrett, as well as with William Boyd (aka Hopalong Cassidy). In the 1950s, Waters settled down in Colorado, hosting a western themed TV show and later performing at the Silver Slipper Saloon in Central City, outside of Denver. Over a couple of decades Captain Ozie Waters became a cultural touchstone for many Coloradans; The Denver Post ran a long profile piece on March 20, 1977.