Werly Fairburn

Who was Werly Fairburn?

Werley Fairburn was an American rockabilly musician.

Fairburn listened to the Grand Ole Opry and played guitar as a youngster, learning to play from a local blues musician alongside the hillbilly music he heard on the radio. With the outbreak of World War II, he took a job at a New Orleans shipyard, and then served in the Navy in Hawaii.

Upon his return to New Orleans he trained as a barber and attempted to start a singing career simultaneously. Known as the "Singing Barber" on local radio stations such as WJBW and WWEZ, he became a local country music star. In the early 1950s he also began recording, starting with Trumpet Records, and following this, Columbia, Capitol, and Savoy. Fairburn also owned a label called Milestone Records in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Fairburn's style blended elements of country, blues, and New Orleans-style R&B. He became well known throughout the South, and appeared on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas without ever having scored a regional hit in the area. As rockabilly became more popular, he adapted to the style, and remained a regional favorite, though he never made the national charts.