Zeke Clements
Zeke Clements (September 6, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an influential American country musician known as "The Dixie Yodeler." Born near Empire, Alabama, Clements began his career in 1928 with Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboys and quickly became a fixture in country music. He joined the National Barn Dance at WLS in Chicago and performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time in 1930. By 1933, he was part of the Bronco Busters, and he became a member of the Opry during the 1930s.
Clements was also a film star, appearing as a singing cowboy in several B-Westerns and providing the voice of Bashful in Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." He formed the Western Swing Gang and returned to the Opry in 1939. His songwriting prowess was highlighted by the 1944 hit "Smoke on the Water," recorded by Red Foley, which became the top country song of 1945.
In addition to performing, Clements was a record label owner, founding Liberty Records, later renamed Blazon Records. He was also a member of the KWKH Louisiana Hayride and appeared on various Southern radio stations. In the 1960s, he moved to Florida and joined a Dixieland band as a banjo player. Clements was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. He passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1994.