Jimmy Skinner

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Jimmy Skinner (April 27, 1909 – October 27, 1979) was an American country and bluegrass singer and guitarist. He also was known for a mail-order record business and retail store in Cincinnati, Ohio. Skinner was born in Blue Lick, near Berea, Kentucky. In his teens, he moved with his family to Hamilton, Ohio where he began performing on local radio stations. He and his brother Esmer unsuccessfully auditioned for Gennett Records in 1931 and Bluebird Records in 1941. Ernest Tubb landed a hit with Skinner's composition "Let's Say Goodbye (Like We Said Hello)" in 1946. The following year Skinner saw his first record releases on Red Barn, a custom vanity label based in Chicago, Illinois and Kansas City, Missouri. After moving to Cincinnati, Ohio, Skinner met Lou Epstein, a former sales manager for King Records then operating his own label, Radio Artist. Epstein signed the singer to a managerial and recording contract in 1949; a cover of Jimmy Work's "Tennessee Border" became Skinner's first chart hit. Skinner's early records were notable for their sparse instrumentation, usually backed by electric mandolinist Ray Lunsford. Skinner's early sides have been cited as an influence on Johnny Cash, who covered his chain gang song "Doin' My Time" for Sun Records. Other Skinner compositions that became country and bluegrass standards are "Will You Be Satisfied That Way" and "Don't Give Your Heart To A Rambler". In the early 1950s, Epstein opened The Jimmie Skinner Music Center, a Cincinnat

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