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BoxCar Willie
April 14, 1999 | BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- Born Lecil Martin in Sterrett, Texas, in 1931, BoxCar Willie was the son of a railroad man who used to play his fiddle on the porch while his son played guitar. By his teens he was performing in jamborees all over the state until he gave up show business to enlist in the Air Force, where he spent 22 years, logging some 10,000 hours as a flier. It wasn't until he retired from the service that Mr. Martin became BoxCar Willie and his musical career took off. He said he took the BoxCar Willie look and name after seeing a freight train pass him by one day in Lincoln, Neb., as he was stuck in traffic. By the 1970s he had fully developed his trademark singing hobo persona, complete with overalls, a battered old hat, worn suit jacket and two days growth of beard. He was devoted to singing and promoting old-fashioned country music, including the sorrowful train songs for which he became best known. Although he never had a hit single, his albums sold well and he built a loyal following that made him one of the most popular performers in Branson, an Ozark mountain town that is home to dozens of music theaters and scores of performers. In Branson, he operated a motel and train museum as well as the BoxCar Willie Theater, where he had performed as many as six shows a week. While Roy Clark became the first nationally known entertainer to put his name on a Branson theater in 1983, BoxCar Willie, who arrived three years later, liked to boast that he was the first big name to live and work there year-round. Mr. Martin also devoted his time to charity. As a member of the Taney County Child Welfare Board, he raised thousands of dollars for needy children, as well as $40,000 a year for police programs to fight crime and drugs. © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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