Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968)[1] was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II.

A Grand Ole Opry veteran until his death, Foley also hosted the first popular country music series on network television, Ozark Jubilee, from 1955 to 1960.

He was born into a musical family, and by the time he was nine was giving impromptu concerts at his father's general store, playing French harp, piano, banjo, trombone, harmonica and guitar.

In late 1939, Foley became the first country artist to host a network radio program, NBC's Avalon Time (co-hosted by Red Skelton), and he performed extensively at theaters, clubs and fairs.

In 1941, the same year he made his first of only two film appearances (portraying himself) with Tex Ritter in the Western, The Pioneers, Foley signed a lifetime contract with Decca Records.

He also released "Old Shep" in 1941, a song he wrote with Arthur Willis in 1933 about a dog he owned as a boy (in reality, his German shepherd, poisoned by a neighbor, was named Hoover).

In April 1946, Foley signed on to emcee and perform on The Prince Albert Show, the segment of the Grand Ole Opry carried on NBC Radio.

He acted as master of ceremonies, the straight man for Opry comedians Rod Brasfield and Minnie Pearl, and proved himself a vocalist who could handle all types of material.

In 1949, Foley was part of the Opry's first European tour, visiting U.S. military bases in England, West Germany and the Azores, with Brasfield, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Little Jimmy Dickens, Hank Williams and others.

In 1950, he had three million-sellers: "Just a Closer Walk with Thee", "Steal Away" (recorded by Hank Williams as "The Funeral"), and a solo version of the song that became his trademark, "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy".

While the results proved to be less popular, the ten tunes recorded were vocally well-executed and received a good deal of play on the country radio stations.

", a very slow rendering of the forlorn hillbilly classic "Bury Me Beneath the Willow", two duets by Foley and Patty Andrews, and two country gospel favorites: "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" and "He Bought My Soul at Calvary".

To devote more time to his family in Nashville, he cut back on performing but continued to release hits in a variety of styles, including rockabilly and rhythm and blues.

He also recorded with Ernest Tubb (with whom he maintained a fictitious on-air "feud"), the Dixie Dons, the Anita Kerr Singers, Rosetta Tharpe, Evelyn Knight and the Lawrence Welk Orchestra.

[9] After several years in virtual retirement, Foley moved to Springfield, Missouri in July 1954 after music executive Si Siman convinced him to host Ozark Jubilee on ABC-TV and radio.

"[12] In 1955, an official act of the Oklahoma Legislature honored him as the artist who has "contributed with humility and reverence more than any other person to perpetuate the music so deeply embedded in the hearts of the American people.

Known during her solo career as Judy Martin, she was one of the Three Little Maids on National Barn Dance and a sister of country music songwriter Jenny Lou Carson.

[21] On December 17, 1952, Foley announced in Nashville that he had secretly married his third wife, radio and TV entertainer Sally Sweet, on October 28 in Iuka, Mississippi.

[22] Earlier that year, he had settled out of court with Sweet's former husband, Nashville music publisher Frank B. Kelton, who had sued him in April for $100,000 for alienation of affection.

Initiated by his long-time friend and colleague Si Siman, the annual award is presented to talented Berea College students in recognition of their musical contributions to the campus community.

A dance to Foley's recording of "Papa" John Gordy's song, The Salty Dog Rag, has been traditional at Dartmouth College since 1972, where it is taught to freshmen during orientation.

The celebration began in 1968 when a few students from the hall heard a radio announcer say, "Red Foley was a great country music singer, too bad no one will ever remember him."

[29] In 2009, singer/songwriter James Power released a song based on Foley's second wife, Eva Overstake (aka Judy Martin), entitled "A Cowgirl's Suicide" on YouTube.