Country Boy Eddie

Gordon Edwards Burns, known as Country Boy Eddie or sometimes Country Boy Eddy (born 1931 in Warrior) is a country singer, fiddler and guitarist who hosted the long-running Country Boy Eddie Show on WBRC from 1958 to 1995.

Burns got his start in Birmingham in 1946 as a member of the Happy Hal Burns band on the Crossroads Variety Show on WBRC-AM. He served in the US Army during the Korean War and returned to Happy Hal's band, touring for a few years before he took a job as a disc jockey for WILD-AM.

In 1955 Burns put together his own band which appeared after midnight on WAPI-TV (Channel 13). Soon the band was hired as the stage band for the Tom York Morning Show on WBRC-TV. In 1958 the Country Boy Eddie Show was spun off into its own slot weekdays 4:00 to 7:00 AM. Burns' homespun amiability became a familiar part of the morning for many Birminghamians and the show endured for 37 years. Burns retired after the December 29, 1995 broadcast.

Since retirement, Burns continues to make public appearances. He and his wife Edwina spend their time at his family farm in Blount County. They are active members of Piney Woods Baptist Church in Gardendale and have one son (Doyle) and three grandchildren.

Burns was given the 2001 Media Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

• Country Boy Eddie (1960) "Hang in There Like a Rusty Fish Hook"/"Fodder's Fossil Blues" (single) Reed Records 1031.

External link

• Country Boy Eddy at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame