Description
c1960 Rare Early Promotional Warner Brothers Records California Pottery Cowboy Boot. 6 3/8" tall x 4.25" long. Extremely rare, likely one of the first
promotional items from Warner Brothers Records when they first started in 1958,
not much later if it is. From the Estate of Tom Middleton (1953-2020) No cracks,
chips, or restorations.
tw209
In 1973, Tom found a catalog of instruments from Warehouse Music Sales in Fort
Worth that contained multiple dobros. He sold his two guitars and used the funds
to buy his first dobro. After it arrived, his life was never quite the same. If
you ever had the pleasure to hear him play, you saw Tom doing what he loved.
Before making his way to Arizona to continue his education, Tom worked as a
towboat deckhand for the United Maritime Union on the Ohio, Monongahela, and
Allegheny Rivers. Tom received a BS in English Literature from Northern Arizona
University. During his time in Flagstaff, he was a member of the Mormon Lake
Hotshots on the Coconino National Forest. Bill Mack's "All Night Open Road" show
from WBAP in Dallas kept him company at the Mormon Lake Guard Station. He became
lifelong friends with several of his fellow firefighters and kept in contact
with them the rest of his life.
But music kept calling, and Tom began working for R.Q. Jones Resophonic Guitar
Company in Wanette, Oklahoma. Now he wasn't just playing dobros, he was making
them. In fact, he made one for a young dobro player named Jerry Douglas who is
now widely regarded as "the" dobro player of our time. The dobro in question now
belongs to the Music Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Jerry and Tom became good
friends and whenever Jerry toured through Austin in recent years, they would
take in some live music together at Ginny's Little Longhorn Saloon among other
music venues.
In 1978, Tom went to work for Peaches Records and Tapes in Oklahoma City, then
The Handleman Company, and finally Pickwick Distribution Company in Dallas.
These three jobs showed Tom the buying, selling, and distribution side of the
music business. By 1985, Tom was working as a Print Production Manager at The
Richards Group, an advertising agency in Dallas. He excelled at print production
and would stay with it in Austin at both GSD&M and McGarrah Jessee from which he
retired after 24 years shortly before his death.
Tom's work in print production should not go unrecognized. There is no doubt
that countless times you've seen ads, packaging, and products that he produced –
you just didn't know it. He had a wealth of experience and knowledge and was
always keen to share what he knew with young producers and creative types. When
Tom retired, his coworkers, vendors, suppliers,
