WILLET, SLIM (1919-1966).Winston Lee Moore, better known as Slim Willet, is perhaps best remembered as the composer of “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” but he also left his mark as a disc jockey, record producer, and television personality. He was born to Luther and Fannie Moore on December 1, 1919, in Victor, Texas. His family eventually moved to Clyde, and Willet graduated from Clyde High School in 1935. He married Jimmie Crenshaw in Clyde in 1938. They had two sons, Ted and Tim.

After serving a brief stint in the U.S. Army during World War II, Willet returned to the Abilene area and later entered Hardin-Simmons University. While working as student manager of the school radio station, he adopted his pseudonym Slim, because he was far from slender. He took Willet from the Willets, characters in his favorite comic strip “Out Our Way.” Upon graduation from Hardin-Simmons in 1949, he went to work for radio station KRBC as an advertising salesman and disc jockey. He had already begun writing songs, including “Pinball Millionaire,” which was recorded by both Hank Locklin and Gene O’Quin.

Willett’s own recording career began in 1950 for the Dallas-based Star Talent label. His first release, the self-penned “I’m a Tool Pusher from Snyder” (later changed to “Tool Pusher on a Rotary Rig”), was one of the songs with which he became most associated. In 1952 he recorded “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes.” Released nationally on 4 Star Records, the song reached number one on Billboard’s Country & Western chart, and at one point there were four versions of “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes” in the C&W Top 10. Perry Como also took the song to the top of Billboard’s pop chart.

At the height of his popularity, Willet was making regular guest appearances on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas, the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, and the Town Hall Party in Compton, California. Although he never had a hit to match “Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes,” Willet continued to write and record. He formed the Edmoral and Winston labels to release not only his own recordings but also those of


area performers such as Dean Beard, Hoyle Nix, Curtis Potter, Darrell Rhodes, and Jimmy Seals. Willet even dabbled with the emerging rockabilly sounds of the day and recorded some sides as Telli W. Mils (Slim Willet spelled backwards), the Fat Cat. In 1959 he released Texas Oil Patch Songs, an entire album devoted to life in the oil fields.

While continuing with his radio activities, Willet set up an advertising agency to handle local promotional ventures. In this capacity, he booked Elvis Presley’s first appearance in Abilene in 1955. Willet was also a pioneer in live television on KRBC-TV, in addition to hosting the Big State Jamboree. The weekly variety show format provided exposure for many area performers, including a young Larry Gatlin. Willet left his disc jockey job at KRBC in 1957 and joined radio station KNIT. In 1964 he became general manager of KCAD, one of the few all-country music radio stations in the state.

The combination of radio, recordings, and television made Willet’s voice and face one of the best known in the area. When he died of an apparent heart attack on July 1, 1966, an important catalyst for live entertainment and recording activity in the region was lost. Slim Willet was elected to the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 1996.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dick Grant, “Slim Willet: Smell That Sweet Perfume,” Rockin’ Fifties, no. 68 (June 1998); Bob Lapham, “Slim Fit,” Abilene Reporter-News, December 24, 1995; Joe W. Specht, “Slim Willet,” Paul Kingsbury, ed., The Encyclopedia of Country Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

Joe W. Specht