[2][3] He bought his first guitar during the Great Depression and worked in cotton fields.
During World War II, he served in the Navy and was discharged in 1946; following this, he worked in a grocery store.
After moving to California, he started playing with Spade Cooley, T. Texas Tyler, and Tony Martin, and eventually signed on to Cliffie Stone's Hometown Jamboree.
He also wrote songs which were published by Acuff-Rose and the Tannen Music Company, and ran a recording studio in Burbank, California.
Alongside this, he graduated from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music with a degree in classical guitar.