Herald Goodman was one of three ministers' sons who made up the membership of the stunningly successful vocal harmony trio the Vagabonds, then fronted his own Tennessee Valley Boys, also with a string of 78 releases and Grand Old Opry appearances. The group was considered one of the first professional ensembles to perform on the Opry, but this opinion is based on the assumption that all the groups that acted like hillbillies, or sported ridiculous names, were truly hayseeds, which they weren't. The Vagabonds came along around the same time as the Delmore Brothers and in fact, these two groups traveled to Chicago together to make their first Bluebird records for the RCA Victor label. The success of the former group led to a breakthrough in the Opry's usual policy of presenting only acts with a so-called downhome folk appeal, as well as a preference for string bands over vocal harmony ensembles. In retrospect, the decision of the Opry überlords to feature the group has been granted greater and greater historic import as the years go on. To some, it was the Vagabonds who brought pop music to the Opry in 1931, meaning poisoned darts fired at folks such as Shania Twain perhaps should seek a more vintage target. It is certainly true that it was the Vagabonds who cooked up, early on in the game, some of the strongest dishes in the country music merchandising repertoire. The members with the group are credited with creating the city's first souvenir songbook and established Nashville's first country music song publishing company, Old Cabin Music, as well. In addition, Goodman and his fellow pickers apparently made use of some of the earliest amplified guitar sounds; the Vagabonds were sighted with electric guitars as far back as the late '20s. Goodman and fellow Vagabonds Dean Upson and Curt Poulton were all trained musicians who read and arranged music, quite different than the by-ear players who made up the usual Opry cast. The group proved so popular that it was slotted into the other programming on Chicago's WSM, the host station for the Opry. The Vagabonds, not to be confused with blues, garage rock, and many other bands of the same name, even a notorious motorcycle gang, had a vast repertoire that included gospel, pop, string band, and country music. Best-remembered is the absorbing and thoughtful ballad When It's Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley written by either Goodman alone or in conjunction with the others, but in either case quite a vindication for having initiated one's own publishing representation. The song was first performed on the Grand Ole Opry by the Vagabonds in 1932, recorded by the group the following year, and quickly passed into tradition. By 1936, it was cut by a Library of Congress field worker in Crossville, TN, and has since been covered by many artists, including Tex Ritter, Hylo Brown, Ola Belle Reed, and even Irish performer Cyril Poacher. While the Vagabonds wandered on, Goodman went on his own by the late '30s. He fronted the Tennessee Valley Boys and continued to be an Opry mainstay. Top country players went through his band, including the brilliant guitarist Billy Byrd, later of Ernest Tubb the Texas Troubadours fame, who played with Goodman's Grand Ole Opry group in 1938. The leader continued to prove his knack for coming up with material that would appeal to a great number of artists. His record of Banjo Rag is said to be a pre-cognitive version of Salty Dog, a tune that became an incredibly popular rag recording in the '50s. This time around, the publishing demons don't seem to have been on his side. Salty Dog is sometimes credited to Nashville's Papa John Gordy, but also has as many contesting opinions as to authorship as Howard Hughes will. There is now speculation that a certain Goodman really deserves the acknowledgement, the Salty Dog. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi