Jazz, dance and popular music · added September 14, 2026
Cookson Hill Cats
Candidate group · medium confidenceWhat the evidence supports
August 2, 1955 Derrick names Clauser’s Cookson Hill Cats as a mountaineer quintet, listing Al, Tex Grooms, Jim Smittle, Bob [surname unclear in OCR] and Don Irving; instruments include guitars, fiddle, jugs and bass.
Limits and open questions
Heading uses Cookson Hills Cats while body uses Cookson Hill Cats. Preserve both search variants. Bob surname requires scan check. Related act within Clauser revue, not automatically a wholly independent organization or an alias for the entire Oklahoma Outlaws.
Confidence detail: high for named act; medium for OCR roster. Evidence notes are not a count of distinct ensembles.