Born in Edmonson County in 1925, Odis Blanton was inspired to become a musician while listening to radio broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry:
“As I grew up, we had old battery radios and everything. And maybe we’re the only people in the community that had a radio even. And families around would come in and we’d listen to the Grand Ole Opry and we’d listen to boxing matches, whatever. And I got to liking music. […] I never did take any lessons or anything. I’d just pick ‘em up from people. […] I’d go to…where people were playing, at schools and watch new chords that guitar players would make. And I’d memorize ‘em, go home, and I didn’t care if it was ten or eleven at night, kept the family up. I’d work until I got ‘em down. ” – Odis Blanton, interview with James Nelson, 1994
Odis became a rhythm guitarist and singer who, with his brother, formed the Blue Star Rangers in the mid-1940s. The western swing group played on WLBJ out of Bowling Green during a 45-minute show called “The Farm and Home Hour,” which aired every day except Sundays. Occasionally, they were joined by pianist Billy Vaughn. They also recorded on Republic Records of Nashville and toured in western Kentucky and northern Tennessee, playing stages and square dances at venues like the Quonset and Boots and Saddle Club. The radio show was picked up by WBKO and WBGN, providing the Rangers with regional success.
Odis also served as one of the first radio DJs for WBGN, eventually tutoring many WKU students who served as DJs for the station in the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, the Bowling Green radio market became known as a “test market” for the music industry, where weekly publications like Billboard, R&R (Radio and Records), and The Gavin Report sought input for their rankings. Odis continued as a DJ until 1973, and with The Blue Star Rangers until their disbandment in 1977.