[4] Darby was a friend of the blues musician Peetie Wheatstraw.
On December 21, 1941, Wheatstraw's 39th birthday, Darby was invited to go for a drive with Wheatstraw and two others, but Darby's wife objected, and he declined the invitation.
Wheatstraw and his two companions were killed when their car struck a standing freight train.
[5] In the late 1930s, he gave up the blues and became an ordained deacon.
[3] His song, "Built Right on the Ground", has been covered (under the title of "I Never Cried"), from the 1970s onwards, by John Miller (who first changed the title), Roy Book Binder, Howard Bursen, and Phil Heywood.