In early 1953, Dean had formed the Virginia Playboys about a year earlier. The members of the band were top sting musicians from the southwest Virginia mountain areas. Interestingly, they wrote that each member of the band that Larry recruited had performed as an artist for over ten years in their respective communities. Their act featured the gamut of hillbilly entertainment shows at the time - music, comedy, trio singing and breakdown numbers to get the toes tapping. Many of the songs Larry sang were of his own songwriting. They had a regular 30-minute show over WJHL out of Johnson City, Tennessee every Saturday morning come 11:00am. They were also said to be recording several of their tunes back then.

Members:
Larry Dean - voc
Marvin Dean - fiddle
Glen Herron - guitar
Kin Litton - steel
Oliver Siler - bass