Wilkin Bacon

Wilkin "Big Chief" Bacon (April 27, 1908 - October 9, 1981)

Biography

Wilkin Bacon was a noted singer, music director, songwriter and preacher. He was born in Talihina, Oklahoma on April 27, 1908, the son of Colton and Josephine Bacon. He began singing in amateur quartets and attending singing schools as a young man. At the age of 23, he married a schoolteacher named Mary Sue Painter.

By 1940, Bacon was singing with the Frank Stamps Quartet. It was during his time in the Stamps organization that he was given the nickname "Big Chief," due to his Choctaw heritage. The nickname would stick for the rest of this life. Bacon also sang with some of the other Stamps-Baxter affiliated groups. One of these was the Lone Star Quartet. They originated in Texas as you'd expect from their name, but they relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina early in their run. Bacon left the Stamps organization around 1945.

The following year, Bacon formed the Bacon Male Quartet which included Paul Epps, Tex Stevens and Ray Wood in addition to Bacon. Bacon also taught singing schools and was the pastor of several churches. His final ten-year tenure before retirement from full-time ministry service was in his home town, Talihina, Oklahoma.

Songwriter's Resume

Can He Depend On You
He's Looking For Someone Like You
I Am Happy With Him Now
Just Above The Shadows with Robert E. Bacon
The Sweetest Consolation with R. H. Cunningham
My Loved Ones Wait (published in Gospel Bells/Stamps-Baxter/1947)