Bonnie Lou's (Mary Joan Kath's) Band Members

[Peter Shenkin]

I'm not talking about the the Bonnie Lou of B. L. & Buster, but about the one who recorded "Seven Lonely Days" (and also, by the way, "Just Out of Reach"...) for King in the '50s.

I have a pretty good King discography, but there are no musicians listed for most of her recordings. I'm told she had her own band, and perhaps that's who was recording with her.

Here's a recording of her doing "Danger, Heartbreak Ahead", a cover of the Jaye P. Morgan hit. There's some very nice steel playing and also some very nice standard guitar playing.

Does anyone "out there" know who the players might be, or who was in her band? The recording was done in Cincinnati in Feb, 1955.

Thanks,
-P.

[Larry Mingua]

Bonnie Lou was an icon here in the Cincinnati area in I suppose the late 1940's until the 70's or later. I know she did a lot of work on WLW radio and later WLWT-TV. As far as an answer to your question I can't say with any authority but I do know a Northern Kentucky six string guitar player named Earl Monahon, Jr. did some work on "The Midwestern Hayride" with Bonnie Lou. He was a mechanic by trade, I had him as a vocational school instructor, a finer gentleman there never was. It is possible that he did some recording with her. He passed away in the mid 1980's. Thanks for the good memories, There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of, or benefit from, something Mr. Monohon taught me.

[Peter Shenkin]

Thank you, Larry!

-P.