# The Wilburn Brothers

The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003).

## Biography

The brothers were born in Hardy, Arkansas. They first attracted attention as child performers, beginning in 1937, in an act called The Wilburn Children; Roy Acuff discovered them and brought them to the Grand Ole Opry in 1940. Due to federal child labor laws, the Wilburns were forced to leave the Opry after six months.
After growing up, they continued to travel and were regulars on the similar Louisiana Hayride program in Shreveport from 1948 until 1951. After the family act disbanded, and the brothers served stints in the US Army during the Korean War, they continued in 1953 as The Wilburn Brothers touring with Faron Young and Webb Pierce. They signed with Decca Records in May 1954, and had their first hit record the same year, backing Webb Pierce, on "Sparkling Brown Eyes." Other notable hits include "Go Away With Me" (1956), "Which One Is To Blame" (1959), "Trouble's Back In Town" (1962), "It's Another World" (1965), and "Hurt Her Once For Me" (1967).
In 1956, the Wilburns were offered the chance to record "Heartbreak Hotel" before Elvis Presley. After hearing the song they decided against recording it, describing it as "strange and almost morbid".
In addition to being successful artists, the Wilburns formed the Sure-Fire Music Publishing Company (with Don Helms) in 1957, as well as the Wil-Helm Talent Agency in the early 1960s. They were instrumental in launching the careers of many country musicians, most notably Loretta Lynn, whom they signed to their music publishing company. Lynn was the "girl singer" of the Wilburns' touring show between 1960 and 1968, and she made weekly appearances on their syndicated television show from 1963 to 1971. They also helped develop the career of Patty Loveless between 1973 and 1975, by having her tour with them on weekends and during school breaks.
The Wilburn Brothers had a syndicated television program, The Wilburn Brothers Show, that ran from 1963 to 1974, with 354 half-hour episodes produced. Reruns can still be seen on the cable network RFD-TV and in the UK on Rural TV. They were Opry members from 1953 until the time of Doyle's death from lung cancer on October 16, 1982 (at age 52). Teddy continued with the Opry as a solo artist, until his death on November 24, 2003, of congestive heart failure, just six days before his 72nd birthday.
They are both buried in the Nashville National Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Label |
| Year | Album | US Country | US | Label |
| 1957 | Wilburn Brothers | | | Decca |
| 1958 | Side by Side | | | Decca |
| 1959 | Livin' in God's Country | | | Decca |
| 1960 | The Big Heartbreak | | | Decca |
| 1961 | The Wilburn Brothers Sing | | | Decca |
| 1961 | City Limits | | | Decca |
| 1962 | Folk Songs | | | Decca |
| 1963 | Trouble's Back in Town | | | Decca |
| 1964 | Take Up Thy Cross | | | Decca |
| 1964 | Never Alone | | | Decca |
| 1965 | Country Gold | | | Decca |
| 1965 | I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight | | | Decca |
| 1966 | The Wilburn Brothers Show | 25 | | Decca |
| 1966 | Let's Go Country | 10 | | Decca |
| 1967 | Two for the Show | 7 | | Decca |
| 1967 | Cool Country | 11 | | Decca |
| 1968 | It's Another World | 23 | | Decca |
| 1968 | Greatest Hits | | | Decca |
| 1969 | We Need a Lot More Happiness | | | Decca |
| 1969 | It Looks Like the Sun's Gonna Shine | | | Decca |
| 1970 | Little Johnny from Down the Street | 31 | 143 | Decca |
| 1970 | Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy | | | Decca |
| 1971 | That She's Leaving Feeling | | | Decca |
| 1973 | Portrait | | | MCA |
| 1977 | The Wilburn Brothers Sing Hinson and Gaither | | | Calvary |
| 1981 | Stars of the Grand Ole Opry | | | 1st Gen |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Album |
| Year | Single | US Country | US | Album |
| 1954 | "Sparkling Brown Eyes" (w/ Webb Pierce) | 4 | | singles only |
| 1954 | "Really Love Me" | | | singles only |
| 1954 | "Let Me Be the First to Know" | | | singles only |
| 1955 | "I Wanna Wanna Wanna" | 13 | | singles only |
| 1955 | "Mixed Up Medley" | | | singles only |
| 1956 | "You're Not Play Love" | 13 | | singles only |
| 1956 | "I'm So in Love with You" | 10 | | singles only |
| 1956 | "Go Away with Me" | 6 | | singles only |
| 1957 | "Nothing at All" | | | singles only |
| 1957 | "Mister Love" (w/ Ernest Tubb) | 8 | | singles only |
| 1957 | "I Got Over the Blues" | | | singles only |
| 1958 | "My Baby Ain't My Baby No More" | | | singles only |
| 1958 | "Hey, Mr. Bluebird" (w/ Ernest Tubb) | 9 | | singles only |
| 1958 | "Till I'm the Only One" | | | singles only |
| 1959 | "Which One Is to Blame" | 4 | | singles only |
| 1959 | "The Knoxville Girl" | 18 | | singles only |
| 1959 | "Somebody's Back in Town" | 6 | | singles only |
| 1959 | "A Woman's Intuition" | 9 | | singles only |
| 1960 | "Sentenced to Die" | | | singles only |
| 1960 | "Big Heartbreak" | | | The Big Heartbreak |
| 1960 | "The Best of All My Heartaches" | 27 | | singles only |
| 1961 | "Legend of the Big River Train" | | | singles only |
| 1961 | "Blue Blue Day" | 14 | | The Wilburn Brothers Sing |
| 1961 | "Tagging Along" | | | single only |
| 1962 | "Trouble's Back in Town" | 4 | 101 | Trouble's Back in Town |
| 1962 | "The Sound of Your Footsteps" | 21 | | Trouble's Back in Town |
| 1963 | "Roll Muddy River" | 4 | | Never Alone |
| 1963 | "Tell Her So" | 10 | | single only |
| 1964 | "Hangin' Around" | 34 | | Never Alone |
| 1964 | "Impossible" | | | single only |
| 1964 | "I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight" | 19 | | I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight |
| 1965 | "I Had One Too Many" | 30 | | I'm Gonna Tie One On Tonight |
| 1965 | "It's Another World" | 5 | | The Wilburn Brothers Show |
| 1966 | "Someone Before Me" | 8 | | Let's Go Country |
| 1966 | "I Can't Keep Away from You" | 13 | | Two for the Show |
| 1966 | "Hurt Her Once for Me" | 3 | | Two for the Show |
| 1967 | "Just to Be Where You Are" | 70 | | Two for the Show |
| 1967 | "Roarin' Again" | 13 | | It's Another World |
| 1967 | "Goody, Goody Gumdrop" | 24 | | Cool Country |
| 1968 | "I'm Leavin'" | | | Two for the Show |
| 1968 | "She'll Walk All Over You" | | | It's Another World |
| 1968 | "We Need a Lot More Happiness" | 43 | | We Need a Lot More Happiness |
| 1969 | "It Looks Like the Sun's Gonna Shine" | 38 | | We Need a Lot More Happiness |
| 1969 | "Who Could Ask for More" | | | We Need a Lot More Happiness |
| 1969 | "Tag Along" | | | single only |
| 1970 | "Little Johnny from Down the Street" | 37 | | Little Johnny from Down the Street |
| 1970 | "Lilacs in Winter" | | | Little Johnny from Down the Street |
| 1970 | "I've Gotta Hang My Hat Upon the Wind" | | | That She's Leaving Feeling |
| 1971 | "That She's Leaving Feeling" | | | That She's Leaving Feeling |
| 1971 | "Bloomin' Fools" | | | That She's Leaving Feeling |
| 1972 | "Arkansas" | 47 | | Portrait |
| 1972 | "Opryland" | | | single only |
| 1972 | "City's Goin' Country" | | | Portrait |
| 1973 | "Simon Crutchfield's Grave" | | | Portrait |
| 1974 | "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" | | | singles only |
| 1975 | "Milwaukee You're in Trouble" | | | singles only |
| 1976 | "Country Kind of Feeling" | | | singles only |
| 1978 | "Mama's Shoe Box" | | | singles only |
| 1981 | "I Know a Goodbye When I See One" | | | Stars of the Grand Ole Opry |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 447/8. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
* 1 2 "Teddy Wilburn". The Independent. December 2, 2003. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
* ↑ Diekman 2007, p. 17.
* ↑ Billboard, February 17, 1968, Nielsen Business Media, p. 30
* ↑ Hefley 1992, p. 177.
* 1 2 Carlin 2003, p. 429.
* ↑ Billboard, May 28, 1966, Nielsen Business Media, p. 6
* ↑ "78 Record: Webb Pierce – Even Tho (1954)". 45worlds.com. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
* 1 2 Collins, Ace (2005). Untold Gold: The Stories Behind Elvis's No. 1 Hits. Souvenir Press Ltd. pp. 10–18. ISBN 978-0-285-63738-2.
* ↑ Bush, Mitchell 2007, p. 91.
* 1 2 Ellison 1995, p. 175.
* ↑ Hoffman, Ferstler 2004, p. 637.