He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1941, and served in the US Army Air Forces as a radio engineer during World War II.

After noticing that many teenagers were seeking rhythm and blues records by musicians such as Joe Liggins and Cecil Gant, he started a mail order business for hard-to-find records, in collaboration with Nashville radio DJs Gene Nobles and Bill "Hoss" Allen.

[4] These included honky-tonk pianist Johnny Maddox, gospel singers the Fairfield 4, and R&B group the Griffin Brothers, whose song "Weepin' & Cryin'" (Dot 1071) reached no.1 on the R&B chart in early 1952.

At the time, many pop radio stations in the US would not play records by black musicians, despite the growing popularity of artists such as Fats Domino and Chuck Berry among white teenagers.

[2] He was not related to Randall "Randy" Wood, president of Vee-Jay Records and founder of the Mira label, who died in 1980.