Norwegian-American Entertainers
The Iversons, who were born near Binford, North Dakota, came from a large Norwegian-American family. When their mother died in 1910 their father hired a Norwegian immigrant housekeeper named Molly Rood. She not only taught the boys how to play the guitar but also a significant part of their Norwegian-language repertoire.
Ernest Iverson left the Midwest as a young man and after an injury in the oil fields of Texas made heavy work impossible, he turned to radio for employment. In Wichita Falls and Omaha he established himself as a radio personality and singer. Then he headed north and got a job on a Minneapolis radio station.
By the early 1930s Ernest and his younger brother Clarence had reunited and formed an act as Slim Jim and the Vagabond Kid. During their heyday in the 1930s and 1940s the Iversons not only had a daily radio show but also performed live with their own band. Their half-hour radio broadcasts usually ended with some words of inspiration and a song of faith. Listeners might hear It Is No Secret, Just A Closer Walk With Thee or The Old Rugged Cross.
One of Slim Jim's longtime sponsors was the Town Market Furniture Company, whose working class clientele were well suited to the unpretentious performer. Some of his other sponsors were less reputable. Hamlin's Wizard Oil, the underwriter of an early songbook, was nothing more than a patent medicine company. One of its advertising slogans was "Cures all pain in man or beast". Crazy Water Crystals was in reality an overpriced laxative.
Read more about this topic: Ernest And Clarence Iverson