Biography

Buddies of the Airlanes
Effective period / Period of releases: 1952
Members: Pat Maynard, Alger Bray, Floyd Foreman, Johnny Wilhelm
Prior to recording with Fredlo, the Buddies of the Airlanes had two radio shows on WHBF from Rock Island, Illinois, beginning in 1946 and lasting into 1952. "Mississippi Valley Jamboree" aired weekdays at 6:15 a.m., followed by "Stump the Buddies" which was presented at 9:25 a.m. and again at 11:45 a.m. The group made their television debut on WHBF-TV, Moline, Illinois, in April 1951 with a show airing Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.Members credited on their 1952 recording were Alger "Curly" Bray (1918-1998) on bass, Floyd "Speed" Foreman (1915-2012) on acoustic guitar, LeVerne Evan "Pat" Maynard (1908-1977) on accordion, and Johnny Wilhelm (1924-1968) on electric guitar. Wilhelm had toured with Tex Williams, Spade Cooley, and Tommy Collins.
Other members included fiddle player Verne Wilson (1926-2018), who appeared only on the group's TV shows, and Roland "Whitey" Johnson (1916-1999).