Ralna english biography guy hovis wife

Major Works of Singer Guy Hovis

• Christmas Songs I Love
• Hymns and Gospel Favorites
• Only You (Guy and Ralna)
• One Nation Under God
• Inspirational
• Let There Be Peace on Earth (Guy and Ralna)
• Favorites (Guy and Ralna)

Biography of Guy Hovis

by Beau Hagler (SHS Researcher)

Guy Lee Hovis, Jr. was born September 24, 1941, in Tupelo, Mississippi. He is best known for his appearances on The Lawrence Welk Show as a singer. He is currently the director for senator Trent Lott of Mississippi (Cox, Mississippi Almanac 137)

Hovis attended the University of Mississippi where he studied accounting (Cox, Mississippi Almanac 137). While at Ole Miss, he and three Ole Miss fraternity brothers, Allen Pepper, Trent Lott, and Gaylen Roberts, formed a music group and called themselves the Chancellers (“Guy Hovis: Bio.”). Hovis left for Los Angeles after he graduated. Two years later he joined the army and did a tour in Vietnam (“Guy’s Life.”).

Hovis did a lot of performing while in the army and met several other performers and  their agents (“Guy’s Life”). Prior to his stint in the army, Hovis was on the Art Linkletter’s show House Party and was part of a duo known as Guy and Davis for ABC Records. He appeared with such stars as Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Mery Griffin, Jim Nabors, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore. Hovis was nominated by members in the recording industry as both producer and artist of the year (Cox, Mississippi Almanac 137).

In 1970 he and then wife Ralna joined the Lawrence Welk Show. They stayed with the show through 1982 and recorded fifteen albums (Cox, Mississippi Almanac 137).  The show was canceled in 1982, but the cast continued to give live performances until 1988 (“Guy’s Life”).

In 1989 Guy returned to Mississippi when his old friend Senator Trent Lott of the United States Senate asked him to act as his State office

American singer

Musical artist

Ralna Eve English is an American singer (born June 19, 1942) from Haskell, Texas. She gained fame as half of the husband-and-wife singing duo of Guy & Ralna with then-husband Guy Hovis, both of whom were featured performers on The Lawrence Welk Show.

Early life

English was raised in Lubbock, Texas where, as a teenager, she won a local battle of the bands competition with her group "Ralna and the Ad-Libs." One of her competitors was legendary rock star Buddy Holly, a Lubbock native. After attending Texas Tech University, and singing jingles for televisioncommercials in Dallas, she relocated to California in the late 1960s, where she performed regularly at The Horn nightclub in Santa Monica.

Career

While working at The Horn nightclub, English met fellow aspiring performer Guy Hovis, a native of Mississippi. They were married on January 25, 1969.

Later that year, she joined Lawrence Welk on his television program originally as a soloist. In the first year, husband Guy joined the program, and for the next thirteen years, until the show ended its run in 1982, Guy & Ralna became one of the most popular acts on the show.

In March 2007, English's solo TV special, Ralna English: From My Heart premiered nationally on PBS. In the special, a fundraiser for PBS, she performed with a 75-piece orchestra and 100-voice choir.

In 2007, English published a "Ralna English Family Cookbook," which was offered to viewers who purchased DVDs of her TV special. Recipes are from her two sisters, aunts, grandmother, mother and other relatives.^{[citation needed}

American popular music singer

Musical artist

Guy Lee Hovis, Jr. (born September 24, 1941), is an American singer, who, along with his former wife, Ralna English, a native of West Texas, was one of the featured acts on both the ABC and syndicated versions of The Lawrence Welk Show.

Background

Born and reared in Tupelo, Mississippi, Hovis was the son of an officer from the Mississippi Highway Patrol. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. After a two-year stint in the United States Army, Hovis decided to try a career as a musical performer in Hollywood.

Hovis had his first break with an appearance on the CBSHouse Party television program hosted by Art Linkletter; thereafter, he teamed with David Blaylock as the singing duo of Guy & David, which led to a recording contract with ABC Records.

After the duo disbanded, Hovis was a soloist again, performing in Los Angeles nightclubs such as The Horn in Santa Monica, California; it was there he met his future wife and singing partner Ralna English. The couple wed in January 1969.

Later in 1969, Ralna joined The Lawrence Welk Show as a solo singer; by the time the Christmas episode was filmed, Ralna convinced Welk to have Hovis on the show to sing a duet with her. He agreed, and the initial appearance, singing Little Toy Trains, led to Hovis becoming a regular member of the cast.

On October 30, 1977, Ralna and Guy adopted (mentioned on an episode of Tattletales