We all know of some famous musical families: the Cash-Carters, the Marleys, the Coltranes, the Bachs and the Bachmans. Our Mystery Date comes to us from a lesser-known musical family, the Dinnings, whose musical legacy spans genres from jazz to country-western and bluegrass to rock’n’roll. It is also clear that their musical talent is accompanied by a dose of entrepreneurial spirit. Somehow, this subject piqued my interest, leading me to cobble together crumbs of information found on various web sites, so I cannot guarantee accuracy. Despite all I have found, I still know pretty much nothing about the Mystery Date herself, Sherry Dinning, and her song “Obion Bottom Land.” Who knows, maybe a member of the family will find this post and give us a bit more detail, correct some errors or even send us some music? What I do know is that Sherry is a member of the Dinning family… have you never heard of them? Maybe you know some of their music, read on.
Interesting and informative. Thanks for doing all that research and broadening our horizons.
Shelby Singleton is actually the name of a country music label owner who bought the rights to Sun Records from Sam Phillips in the late 60s, as well as putting out records by Orion, who was alleged to Elvis performing under a mask. Great article.
Interesting story. Will we see a book in the future?
Definitely a book. Simply print this post, then staple the pages together!
Standing ovation. Outstanding work, formidable research, quite a story or set of stories. Very impressive.
THAT is some musical family roundup! Thanks, and thanks for reminding me of “Teen Angel,” a song I always dug as a kid.
cher, I meant to ask you what spurred your deep interest in this family? Did you connect the dots starting at the beginning of the story, or did that Mystery Date clip lead you to work from the middle out?
Not sure how it began – I knew one song by the sisters, kind of at random. One day I had the songs “The Streets of Laredo” and “El Paso” in my head and while surfing around, came across “Teen Angel” and I wondered about the connection.
The sisters’ wikipedia page also connects the dots. Everything I wrote here is really semi-unsubstantiated hearsay of the internet. I think they are still local heroes in Missouri and so I have a feeling that anybody over the age of 60 in MO could tell you more than what I wrote here.
Yeah, but I want more details. Besides my printer is having a tough time with those You Tube clips.