Salty and Mattie

One of my favorite acts on those 1950s full-color "Stars of the Grand Ole Opry" films that have been making their way around America via truckstop tapes for years now: Salty and Mattie, who stuck out like a sore thumb with their magnificent harmonica-driven rock and roll blues antics like "Harmonica Boogie" and the baffling Popeye-goes-Halloween number "The Ghost Song". For years I wondered who the heck these two oddballs were and how they got to share a stage with superstars like Faron Young, Ernest Tubb, June Carter, Webb Pierce, Carl Smith and Jim Reeves.

The how still isn't clear, but I now know the who: Floyd "Salty" Holmes was from Glasgow, KY and was a founding member of the Kentucky Ramblers, who subsequently changed their name to the Prairie Ramblers and became best known as Patsy Montana's backing band. He also appeared in some early Western films, thanks to his friend Gene Autry pulling some strings for him.

Salty drifted into obscurity after he and Mattie were divorced in 1956, and he passed away on January 1, 1970.


Salty's wife Mattie (sometimes called Mattie Holmes, other times Mattie O'Neil) is actually Opal Jean Amburgey from Neon, KY.

Amburgey got her start recording and performing on Lexington's WKLP-AM with The Sunshine Sisters and then went on to brief fame as Jean Chapel, recording many rockers for Sun and RCA such as "I Won't Be Rockin' Tonight", "Don't Let Go", and "Welcome to the Club".

RCA tried to bill her as "the female Elvis" but by the early 1960s the buxom blonde rockabilly belter was largely forgotten. She went on to an even more successful songwriting career, however, writing songs for country stars such as Marty Robbins and Tammy Wynette. Her daughter Lana is also a singer-songwriter, having placed songs with Nancy Sinatra, Eddy Arnold, and Lester Flatt.

Jean/Mattie/Opal died in 1995. I've been unable to find out where she and Salty are each buried. Does anyone know?

Bonus Saltiness: "Stuck With Love", "John Henry", "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain", and "Cannonball Special" with Joe Maphis.

Fountain Run

Fountain Run is a small - very small - town (the sign says population 342, but the last census said 236) which sits exactly at the three-way intersection of Allen, Monroe, and Barren Counties. Of the three, Monroe is the county that officially claims it.

Using the sign for target practice seems to be a major local pasttime.

Steve Nunn Arrested in Graveyard

Back in March, a judge ordered Kentucky Republican politician Steve Nunn to have no contact for a year with his ex-fiance Amanda Ross, (division director for the Kentucky Department of Insurance). The restraining order was placed because of a domestic-violence charge against Nunn in February, in which it was alleged Nunn punched Ross in the face and held her arms while slamming her against a wall. Nunn also smashed a lamp and threw a cup of bourbon at her.

In August, Nunn was in trouble again. Ross asked a family court judge to hold Nunn in contempt of court over embarrassing photos of her. The judge required Nunn to "return to Ross all photographs of her and to take steps to destroy photos outside of his possession but provided by him to a third party".

On Friday, September 11, approximately 6:30am, Amanda Ross was found shot to death in the parking lot of her condo at 541 W. Short Street, Lexington.

Nunn, being the logical first suspect, became the subject of a manhunt. He turned up three hours later, when Barren County Sheriff Chris Eaton found him disoriented in Horse Cave's Cosby Church Cemetery, where his parents are buried. He had slashed his own wrists and was bleeding profusely. He also had a handgun and stated to Eaton that he'd tried but failed to shoot himself. (Some news reports are contradicting this and saying he did indeed have a gunshot wound.) At this writing, it has not yet been determined if the gun is the same one that was used to shoot Amanda Ross, and currently no murder charge has been filed against Nunn.


The son of former Governor Louie B. Nunn, Steve Nunn ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2003. Oddly, he was chosen by the allegedly Democratic Governor Steve Beshear for the post of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' Deputy Secretary. Nunn was forced to resign after the domestic violence/stalking charges.

Roller Coaster Yard Sale

If you missed the 400 Mile Yard Sale in June, take heart: there's another giant marathon yard sale in Kentucky coming up.

The Roller Coaster Yard Sale will be held October 1, 2 and 3 in the vicinity of Hwy 90 and Hwy 63, starting in the Mammoth Cave area.

The Tour Southern & Eastern Kentucky site says: "Don't miss this three day grassroots extravaganza from Mammoth Cave, KY to Tennessee - around Dale Hollow Lake and back to Glasgow, KY, with over 150 miles of yard sales, crafts, antiques, handcrafted quilts, produce, southern foods, BBQ, entertainment, souvenirs, flea markets and more!

Visit the offical Roller Coaster Yard Sale website: rollercoasterfair.com.

Jellystone, Kentucky?

I don't get why there's a Hanna-Barbera Jellystone Park resort at Mammoth Cave, since the fictional Jellystone of Yogi Bear cartoons was presumably in Wyoming like its satire source, Yellowstone National Park. But that's okay. Like Jack Burton, I was not put on this Earth to "get it".