William A. Owens, (November 2, 1905 — December 9, 1990), was an American writer,
folklorist and educator.
Biography
Owens was born in
Pin Hook,
Lamar County, Texas. He was born to Charlie and Jessie Ann Chennault Owens. He grew up in rural poverty, his father died when he was only 3 months old and was educated at a one-room school. He worked his way through college attending East Texas State Normal College in Commerce (now
Texas A&M-Commerce),
Paris Junior College and graduated from
Southern Methodist University with a bachelor of arts in English in 1932. He received a PhD in English from the
University of Iowa in 1941.
In 1940, Owens made a live recording of
Roosevelt "Grey Ghost" Williams singing "Hitler Blues," a song written by Williams. The song received mention in
TIME magazine and was broadcast by
BBC Radio on a program hosted by
Alistair Cooke in 1940 about the American musical response to
World War II. This recording was instrumental to the development of Williams' career.[1][2]
^"Index Record for William Owens (1905) Veterans Affairs Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem Death File", Fold3 by Ancestry.com website. Retrieved January 16, 2022. Enlistment Date is listed as "25 Jun 1942" and Release Date is listed as "26 Oct 1945".
Trantham, Ann Caldwell. A Readers Theatre Script Based on the Writings of William A. Owens, thesis, August 1977; Denton, Texas. (digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc663281/: accessed March 9, 2018), University of North Texas Libraries, Digital Library, digital.library.unt.edu; .