William R. Flagg

Hall of Famer Bill Flagg 

Born in Waterville Maine in 1934, his parents moved to Hartford during the War. He discovered a guitar in a family barn one summer on a return to Waterville and his aunt said it belonged to a boyfriend who never returned from the Pacific. She gave it to him and the musical history of Bill Flagg began. He would stay up at night with a flashlight and study this instrument and navigate new chords with curiosity and determination. He is credited with developing and naming Rockabilly music, and of "laying the egg that Elvis hatched." He was proud of having been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In the early days of his musical career bands travelled in limousines, not buses. Bill got carsick easily and chose to ride up front, and often drove the car. He remembered well the road trips, and said it was true that you would search for the "cleanest dirty shirt" when you went from city to city doing "gigs." He laughingly remembered seeing color T.V. for the first time during an appearance on American Bandstand and that he was so surprised he stopped singing. When Bill was a young teen he had a radio show on WHAY where he was known as "The Lone Pine Cowboy." It was early in the morning and he would sing and talk for fifteen minutes, then go to school. He was shy then, and became embarrassed when a teacher called attention to his early morning activities. He was noticed by Monte Bruce of Tetra Records and given a contract. He later signed with MGM records. He never liked 'GO CAT GO' which he wrote and sang, but it went into the charts, and then ""Guitar Rock" and "Doin My Time" were released and did well.

Bill's father was a horse trader and had a ranch at Keney Park in Hartford. Bill was a homebody and after his Dad had a heart attack Bill was ready to help his Dad run his horse business. He played locally and was a standard on weekends at Shonty's in Windsor Locks until it burned in 1967. In 2014 Bill was the focus of a Chroncle segment recognizing his contributions to music. George Jones remembered Bill in "Who's going to fill their shoes" when he sings of how "Go Cat GO will echo through the years." The Boston Globe dedicated the front page of the Entertainment section to Bill's contributions in August of 2015

Bill leaves his wife, The Rev. Jennifer (nee Worden) Flagg, children: Debra Ellis, Robert, Colleen (Scott) Dell, Kathleen (Michael) Bourgeois,son Bill and step-daughter Brooke Cashman, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents William and Corinne (nee Marcoux) Flagg, a sister Pauline, a brother Frederick, a daughter Dori Daly, and a wife Colleen (nee Wilcox) Flagg who died in 1987.

Bill was a "devout" atheist, but in a recent conversation with his wife, Jenny told him she had enough faith and belief in an after life for both of them He had a beloved grand-daughter who had wrestled with leukemia as a child and who died as a young adult. She had been an award winning Irish step dancer as a young one while she wrestled with leukemia. Bill looked at his wife, Jenny, when she told him of her encompassing faith, and said: "Maybe I'll see Molly dance again."

A celebration of Bill's life and music is being planned. Please no flowers or donations, but if you have a toddy tonight you might lift it in a toast to a man whose radio signature was: "If you want to have a friend, be a friend." And he was. Dance Molly dance. Amen.

An online guestbook is available at www.BelangerFuneralHome.com