[2][3] Roberts was born in Lenoir City, Tennessee, United States,[2] and raised on a farm outside of Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Roberts at age 17 won a New Hampshire radio contest to be chosen as "Eastern States Yodeling Champion" in 1944.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in early 1945, then moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, after World War II ended.
[4] In the early 2000s, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered, and Haley is named and performs the solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel."
The popular black-and-white show featured Roberts singing and playing guitar as he hosted children in the studio, and presented cartoons.
He played concerts in the region, and released an album for Palomino around 1980, followed by Longhorn's "Then and Now," which combined historical cuts with new recordings.