Mervin (Merv) Shiner was born on February 20, 1921 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. At the age of 16, he began singing Gospel songs with his mother on Radio WEST in Easton, Pennsylvania.

In 1949, Merv was signed to a recording contract with Decca Records and a year later had a million record seller with “Peter Cottontail.” This was followed by another hit song, “Why Don’t You Haul Off And Love Me.”

I met Merv Shiner when he joined the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree in the Fall of 1953, and we became very good friends. We lost track of each other through the years, but became reunited in Tampa, Florida around 1980. We often get together with Merv and his lovely wife Shirley.

Throughout Merv’s career, he has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville many times; toured with the world famous Camel Caravan in 1952; appeared on the Ozark Jubilee on ABC-TV in 1958; toured Germany with a show out of Nashville; and played numerous Fair dates all over the Midwest.

Mervin is very proud of the fact that he was able to record an album of Gospel songs with the Jordanaires as his backup group.

At the age of 78 he recorded an album called “Country Classics,” with songs like “As Long As I Live,” “Molly Darling,” “Chained To A Memory,” “Tramp On The Street,” “Making Believe,” and “Live And Let Live.” Remarkably, his voice is as rich and smooth as it has ever been.

Happy birthday, my dear friend, Merv Shiner!

Dusty Owens
TCM Radio News