(Vocals, 1899–2000) Born in rural Louisiana, Davis first made his name singing on radio station KWKH in Shreveport. From 1928 onwards, he was a popular recording artist, initially with sentimental and cowboy songs, then with raunchy blue yodels in the manner of Jimmie Rodgers. These included ‘She’s A Hum Dum Dinger From Dingersville’ and ‘Bear Cat ...
(Vocals, songwriter, folklorist, 1907–98) James Corbett Morris, born in Mount View, Arkansas, started writing songs for the entertainment and edification of his students when he was a schoolteacher. He later penned some country classics, including ‘Tennessee Stud’ (a hit for Eddy Arnold in 1959), ‘The Battle Of New Orleans’ (a No. 1 single for ...
(Bandleader, arranger, 1902–47) While working as a music teacher in Memphis, Mississippi-born Lunceford formed a band called the Chicksaw Syncopators. They first recorded in 1930 and after four years of touring gained a residency at the Cotton Club and became the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Renowned for its polished stage presence, the band was nevertheless musically tight and ...
(Clarinet, 1895–1944) The most fluid and graceful of the classic New Orleans clarinetists, Noone worked with trumpeter Freddie Keppard (1914) and also with the Young Olympia Band (1916) before following Keppard to Chicago in 1917. A member of King Oliver’s first Creole Jazz Band (1918–20), he also played in Doc Cooke’s Dreamland Orchestra (1920–26) before forming his popular Apex ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1930s–50s) Jimmie Revard And His Oklahoma Playboys formed one of the best and most prolific of early western-swing bands. Revard (1909–91) was from Oklahoma but his band was based in San Antonio, Texas; the original band included Adolph and Emil Hofner, among others. In their heyday, the Playboys struggled locally to compete with The Tune ...
Although routinely – and fairly – described as the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933) was actually something more. Having established himself in that genre, he gradually moved towards mainstream popular music and, but for his early death, would probably have found a niche there. So far as country music is concerned, though, his ...
(Vocals, 1897–1933) Jimmie Rodgers, ‘The Singing Brakeman’, struggled against poor health and the rigours of the road to forge a new American folk music that would influence country music for generations. Rodgers wrote songs like ‘T.B. Blues’, ‘Travelin’ Blues’, ‘Train Whistle Blues’ and his 13 ‘blue yodels’. Rodgers’ voice and inherent honesty attracted legions of listeners. Rodgers developed ...
(Vocals, songwriter, 1909–79) Born in Blue Lick, Kentucky, James Skinner performed on radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee, Huntington, West Virginia and elsewhere, worked in Nashville as a successful songwriter and also owned and operated a popular record store in Cincinnati, Ohio, for years. Styles & Forms | War Years | Country ...
(Vocal/instrumental duo, 1927–33) The sound of the steel guitar has been part of country music almost from the beginning. An influential early exponent was Jimmie Tarlton (1892–1979), who partnered singer-guitarist Tom Darby (1891–c. 1971) in a series of duet recordings between 1927 and 1933, including two of the biggest hits of the period, ‘Birmingham Jail’ and ‘Columbus Stockade ...
Just as sports have their pantheon of greats, the country-music industry established its own Hall Of Fame in 1961 to honour its most influential figures and deepen public understanding and appreciation of the music’s rich heritage and history. A Pantheon Of Country Stars As of 2005, 62 artists and industry leaders – starting with Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933) and songwriter ...
When Vassar Clements formed a band called Hillbilly Jazz in 1975, Bill Monroe’s former fiddler pulled the cover off the hidden connection between country music and jazz. The two genres had more in common than most people thought. After all, Jimmie Rodgers recorded with Louis Armstrong early in their careers; jazz legend Charlie Christian debuted on Bob Wills’ radio ...
The most influential country act of 2001 was a band that didn’t even exist. The Soggy Bottom Boys were the prime attraction on O Brother, Where Art Thou ? the soundtrack album that topped the country and pop charts and sold more than four million copies. The group revived the late 1930s and early 1940s sound when old-time string-band music ...
Almost no Texan musicians have ever herded cattle, but most like to think of themselves as cowboys nonetheless. They imagine themselves pulling out an acoustic guitar after dinner and singing a song about the adventures and frustrations they have known. And not just any old song – it has to be one they wrote and it has to be more ...
If you look for country music’s Big Bang, there is nothing more momentous than Bristol, 1927. Within four summer days, two stars appeared that would change the cosmology of country – remap the sky. And it all happened in a disused office building in a quiet mountain town perched on the state line between Virginia and Tennessee. Why ...
Country music and gospel have always been close partners, since many gospel acts come from the American South, and Nashville, the home of country music, lies in the heart of the Bible Belt. Numerous influences abound within the Church, stretching from traditional shape-note singing that goes back several hundred years, to today’s contemporary and Christian ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.