Who Were ‘Prince Arky & His Michigan Playboys’?
Prince Arky and His Michigan Playboys.
The name does not evoke fainting females or screaming bobbysoxers...,,and anyone reading this who actually remembers this recording act will probably be the only one in his-or-her inner circle that does.
So what was this group’s claim to fame?
Well, they released a single in 1963 titled I’m Pickin’ On You with My Heart Would Surely Die on the flip side. What? You never heard it? Join the club.
That appears to have been their only record release; no other singles and no other albums....well, at least under that name.
Another record was released by Prince Arky, this time as ‘Prince Arky and His Westerners’, as they are heard warbling Ten Horned Devil on one side and Game Of Love on the other.
So who the heck was this “Prince Arky” anyhow?
He was George Schilthroat, born in August 1902, in Arkansas (hence his nickname “Arky”). He lived in Randolph, Arkansas most of his life and moved to Michigan in the 1950s, settling in Hastings in Barry County.
Okay, so who were His Michigan Playboys?
They remain unknown.
Prince Arky passed away at age 65 on July 15, 1968 and is buried in the Barryville Cemetery near Nashville, Michigan.
Both his records are valued collector’s items by die-hard fans of country music.