Onie Wheeler
Musical Artist
1921 – 1984
Who was Onie Wheeler?
Onie Wheeler was an American country and bluegrass musician.
Wheeler was born in Senath, Missouri, and learned to play guitar and harmonica as a child. After serving in World War II, he started working in radio, appearing on stations in Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, and Kentucky. In 1950, he formed The Ozark Cowboys, along with Ernest Thompson, A.J. Nelson and Doyal Nelson.
The Ozark Cowboys went to Nashville in 1953 and signed to Columbia Records. Their initial releases were not hits, though Lefty Frizzell took the Wheeler-penned "Run 'Em Off" to the Top Ten of the U.S. country chart.
Wheeler signed as a solo artist to Sun Records in 1957 and went on tour with Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Carl Perkins. After a short time living in California, he returned to Nashville and recorded for several more labels in the 1960s. Later, he toured with George Jones and Roy Acuff.
His biggest success was 1973 hit "John's Been Shucking My Corn," though the success of his daughter Karen would eclipse his own in the decade. He bought a guitar shop in Nashville in the late 1970s, and played at the Grand Ole Opry at times with Acuff. Wheeler was onstage playing with Rev. Jimmie Snow in 1984 when he collapsed and died of a heart attack.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Nov 10, 1921
Senath - Also known as
- Wheeler, Onie
- Died
- May 26, 1984
Nashville
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Onie Wheeler." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/onie_wheeler>.
Discuss this Onie Wheeler biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In