Cliffie Stone Family Photos
Cliffie and his first wife, Dorothy, on vacation in Chicago, Illinois.  Excerpts from the Dedication section of Cliffie’s “Everything…About Songwriting” book: ‘My late wife, Dorothy - who gave me roots by standing lovingly and faithfully by my side while I chased my elusive dreams.’ Excerpts from one of Cliffie’s taped interviews: “I met Dorothy when I was about 20 years old. At that time, I was doing ten 2-hour radio shows a week with Stuart Hamblen, plus his ‘Cowboy Church Band’ show on Sunday afternoons. Since it was during the Great Depression era, I’d also play bass on record dates and with other groups whenever and wherever I could to make extra money. A very popular group called the ‘Three Aristocrats’ was looking for a bass player and they hired me. The group consisted of Ray Merrill, Howard Hudson, and a beautiful blonde singer, Marjorie ‘Dorothy’ Darling (who looked like the actress, Carole Lombard). We’d rehearse at her house. I finally got the courage to ask her out. Our first date was on June 28, and I took her to the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles, which featured the Tommy Dorsey Band and Frank Sinatra. At that time, I also had a gig with the Ray Simpson dance band and they were looking for a girl singer. So I introduced Dorothy to Ray and he hired her. Dorothy, too, took extra jobs to make money during the Depression era. I took her on dates to the finest restaurants. This was dream time for me and I remember saying to her, ‘I’m obvious (instead of oblivious) to anything around me when I’m around you’ and she laughed! (Years later, she told our children about it, which became a family joke forever!) Dorothy would type out my lyrics for my song books and she’d come to the Stuart Hamblen show and sit in the audience to see me. We went together for a year; and when I realized I was madly in love with her, I asked her to marry me. We were married at the Forest Lawn Chapel, which cost $15.00. She was a great person!”

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