Harry C. McAuliffe

Musician · d. 1966 · Bluefield, West Virginia
Best known for Songwriter

Harry C. McAuliffe performed under the stage name Big Slim, the Lone Cowboy, a Western singer and radio personality whose long tenure on the WWVA Original Jamboree in Wheeling made him a fixture of mid-century country radio. He is best remembered as a performer of traditional cowboy material; his catalog credits as a songwriter are scattered, but his stage presence and trained-horse act drew listeners across the Ohio Valley for nearly three decades.

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  • Billed throughout his career as Big Slim, the Lone Cowboy.
  • Recorded for Decca in New York on December 17, 1936, credited as Big Slim Aliff, cutting four tracks while playing vocals, guitar, and harmonica.
  • Spent much of his career on the WWVA Original Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia, where his deep voice and Western repertoire — songs such as “The Strawberry Roan” and “Patanio” — made him a long-running listener favorite.
  • Worked trained horses into his stage act, an unusual touch that distinguished him from other WWVA performers.
  • Mentored Hawkshaw Hawkins in the early stages of Hawkins’s career; Hawkins joined the WWVA Jamboree in 1945.
  • Died in New York on October 13, 1966.

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