ABSTRACT
Just how popular was Roy Acuff during his heyday? In the latter days of World War II, Japanese soldiers in the Pacific would try to psych out American Marines by yelling taunts like, “To hell with Franklin Roosevelt! To hell with Babe Ruth! To hell with Roy Acuff!” Back in San Diego, soldiers and sailors from all over the country would hold “Roy Acuff contests,” in which the object was to see who could do the best imitation of the singer. Acuff records were so popular that the government had to issue them on V-discs so overseas troops could hear hits like “Low and Lonely.” It was not unusual for 15,000 fans to show up at Acuff concerts, and not unusual to see the Acuff name ranking with Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman in popularity polls among servicemen. Nobody in the music business was really surprised to see Roy Acuff run for governor of Tennessee in 1948.
