Slim Willet

Slim Willet's foremost legacy rests on having written "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes," a chart-topping single that he and his associate Skeets McDonald took to number one in 1952 while the same composition also delivered hits for Ray Price, Red Foley, and Perry Como on both country and pop listings. Born Winston Lee Moore on December 1, 1919, near Dublin, TX, he completed a B.A. in journalism at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene in 1949. A brief interval in the aircraft industry preceded his move into radio, where he began announcing at the Abilene country station KRBC and remained a popular DJ there until 1956. The audience he built on air enabled him to organize his first group, the Hired Hands. His initial release, "Tool Pusher from Snyder," appeared in 1950. Willet and the Hired Hands maintained regular spots on The Big D Jamboree over WFAA in Dallas through 1954 and performed for four years on The Louisiana Hayride beginning in 1951. Several hit singles emerged on the 4 Star label in the early 1950s, among them "Red Rose," "No Love Song to You," and his most successful recording, "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes." He launched his own Winston imprint in 1954 and continued to issue occasional singles across the next decade, the last of which, "You're the Only Woman," surfaced in 1966. Until his death that year from a heart attack, he worked full-time at KCAD in Abilene, where he served as part owner. In 1994 he received induction into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.