Merv Shriner obit

Merv Shiner

FEBRUARY 20, 1921 – OCTOBER 23, 2023

 

He was not on the list.

Mervin James Shiner (February 20, 1921 – October 23, 2023) was an American country singer, songwriter, and guitar player, known for his honky-tonk style.

Mervin James Shiner was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on February 20, 1921. He gained popularity in Pennsylvania with his mother as a country and gospel duo on a radio program. Shiner pursued his music career in Hollywood and later returned to the East Coast, where he continued singing on radio shows and joined a local cowboy band. In 1949, he appeared on the television program "Hometown Frolic" and caught the attention of songwriter Vaughn Horton, leading to a recording contract with Decca Records. Several of his songs, such as "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me", which made the top ten on the Country & Western chart. and "Peter Cottontail," achieved success and opened doors for him, allowing him to perform with renowned artists like Hank Williams and Minnie Pearl. He appeared as himself in the 1950 film Holiday Rhythm. Shiner toured extensively, especially in Nashville, and throughout his career he recorded for various labels, including Decca, Vocalion, Apex, Coral, RCA Victor, and Certron Records. Shiner died in Tampa, Florida on October 23, 2023, at the age of 102.

He wrote in a 1955 article that he was just thirteen years old when his mom began teaching her son the art of showmanship, performing in front of audiences, the fundamentals of singing in close harmony. She was an accomplished singer in her own right. And she also taught him another lesson - to always smile and be humble.

It was April of 1936, the Calvary Evangelical and Reformed Church of Bethlehem, PA held a reception to welcome 38 new members, 22 by confirmation, and 16 by letter and reprofession. Over 100 people attended the event. It was reported that Mervin did a vocal solo with banjo accompaniment along with his mother. He was also heard on two duets, presumably with his mother.

We happened to have the good fortune to speak with Mr. Shiner in June of 2006 to learn a bit more about his career. We'll share some of that conversation along with what we've learned from articles in the past.

Mervin mentioned that they were successful in singing duets together and for a time, one of the few such acts was around a son / mother act. It was known as "Mervin Shiner and his Mother".

In 1949, Merv and his mother made their first television appearance together on a talent show and compete against three other acts on "Hometown Frolic" over WATV channel 13 in Newark, New Jersey. They were doing to do a cowboy ballad, "Madonna Of The Trail," with Merv providing the guitar accompaniment.

We should interject here a bit of Merv's career as he told the readers in 1955 when he was with the RCA Victor label. He attributes his first big performance break to his mom when they auditioned at a country-style music show on a Sunday night for radio station WEST out of Easton, Pennsylvania. Merv tells the readers he couldn't forget how nervous he was that night. But mom always knows how to calm those nerves and told Merv that things would go alright for the two of them.

They must have did okay and soon became favorites and regulars on that show.

In 1942, he moved out west to Los Angeles, California where he worked in a defense plant and managed to do various spots as a single act, too.

Merv maybe felt His career was in rut, so he went back to Pennsylvania and his career began to happen a bit. He made a number of radio appearances over radio station WFIL in Philadelphia and WCBA out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was able to also appear on several television shows out of New York City and that landed a recording contract with Decca records.

During his time at Newark, he was given a business card and told to call a song writer in New York who was working with the Southern Publishing Company. A fellow by the name of Vaughn Horton. (Mr. Horton is in the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.) Vaughn helped the young singer out and was instrumental in Merv getting a recording contract with Decca Records.

Another opportunity came Merv's way in early 1951. He had completed a three month stint over radio station WSAN in Allentown, PA. He was going to start touring with the Camel Caravan on January 6, 1951, touring military camps across the country and overseas.

Ozark Ed Burton wrote in his disc jockey round-up column back in 1950 that Decca considered Merv one their highest rated artists based on that record and were expecting big things from him.

Cowboy Songs wrote a review of Merv's recording with Grady Martin for Decca. They described the tune, "Let's Take A Trip To The Moon" as a "...hustling bouncy tune with a cute set of lyrics; and it's taken for a merry spin around the wax by Mervin." The other side of that disc was a tune called "Almost" which the column duly noted that Merv "...delivers warmly and with plenty of feeling."