Georgia

Gid Tanner and Riley Puckett

Hen Cackle (Co 110-D)

Buckin' Mule (Co 110-D)

Fiddlin' John Carson brought the outside interest from recording companies into the South in 1922 when he recorded for Ralph Peer on the Okeh label in Atlanta and later, New York.  Other recording companies soon began to take notice of these southern musicians.  They were especially drawn to old-time fiddlers who had established their reputations on the competition stages of the Georgia Old-Time Fiddler's Conventions. One such charismatic, stand-out fiddler was Gid Tanner who competed in the 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1918 competitions.

Born James Gideon Tanner on June 6, 1885 at Thomas Bridge, near Monroe, Georgia, Tanner learned to play the fiddle at age fourteen, using an instrument left to him in an uncle's will. Tanner was famous for his novelty acts like pitching his voice from a rumbling bass to high falsetto, imitations, and facial expressions most likely developed while playing on the Decatur streets. 

Gid Tanner and George Riley Puckett traveled to New York and recorded for the Columbia record company in the spring of 1924. On March 7th and 8th the duo recorded a total of twelve released sides for the record company. These included vocal solos by Puckett and fiddle tunes by Tanner such as "Buckin Mule" and "Black Eyed Susie." Puckett and Tanner would return to New York in September of 1924 to make additional records for Columbia. (Daniel, 1990)

Gid Tanner and Skillet Lickers

Alabama Jubilee (Co 15104-D)

The Skillet-Lickers first significant recordings took place in Atlanta in the spring of 1926. On April 17, Gid Tanner, Riley Puckett, Fate Norris, and Clayton McMichen assembled to record eight sides for Columbia Records. When these records were released, artists' credits read, "Gid Tanner and His Skillet-Lickers with Riley Puckett." 

The track featured here, "Alabama Jubilee," is one of the eight sides recorded that day in April.  Between 1926 and 1931 the Skillet-Lickers recorded eighty-eight sides for Columbia of which eighty-two were released. The personnel of the Skillet-Lickers was an ever-evolving cast throughout the years and included Bert Layne, Lowe Stokes, Ted Hawkins, and Tanner's son, Gordon.

The Skillet-Lickers, according to Norm Cohen, came to be regarded as "one of the finest and most popular of the hillbilly string bands to record during the twenties and thirties." (Daniel, 1990)

Riley Puckett

Clayton McMichen

Paddy Won't You Drink Some Cider (Co 15358-D)

Old Molly Hare (Co 15295-D)

Solo Efforts

Clayton McMichen and Riley Puckett were arguably two of the better-skilled musicians in the Skillet Lickers. McMichen was very vocal about his fiddling prowess "being more advanced, by 30 or 40 years, than the others in the group." Puckett's rise to fame not only helped to sell the Skillet-Lickers records but also allowed him to record more than 200 sides for such labels as Columbia, Decca, and Bluebird.

Individual members of the Skillet-Lickers recorded solo efforts and also recorded in different personnel line-ups during the same recording sessions as the Skillet-Lickers. On April 14, 1928, McMichen and Puckett recorded "Old Molly Hare," one of three sides, in Atlanta for Columbia Records and returned to record "Paddy Won't You Drink Some Cider" in the fall during a week of recording with various groups and line-ups, including the Skillet-Lickers.

The Wildcat

Clayton McMichen was known as the "North-Georgia Wildcat" after winning a Macon Georgia Fiddlers' Convention, and his prominence as a top fiddler appealed to radio stations and recording companies alike. In addition to the Skillet-Lickers, McMichen fronted two other notable groups, The Home Town Boys, who played often on WSB in Atlanta and McMichen's Melody Men, who recorded for Columbia at the same time the Skillet-Lickers were recording. (Daniel, 1990)

The Georgia Yellow Hammers

Johnson's Old Grey Mule (Vi 20550)

The Picture On the Wall (Vi 20943)

One of the most versatile and ahead-of-their-time string bands to record in Atlanta was the Georgia Yellow Hammers. Bud Landress (banjo) and Bill Chitwood (fiddle) were the main duo closely associated with the Yellow Hammers. Like the Skillet-Lickers before them, the Georgia Yellow Hammers recorded in various combinations with Ernest Moody, Phil Reeve, Clyde Evans, J.M. Barnettte, and Ira Mashburn.

One of the most notable personnel combinations included the African-Cherokee Baxter brothers, Andrew and Jim. The 1927 recording of the tune "G-Rag" featured Andrew Baxter and was one of the first integrated recording sessions known to have taken place.

The two tracks featured here - "Johnson's Old Grey Mule" and "The Picture On the Wall"  -offer a glimpse of the breadth of the Yellow Hammers musical abilities. 

One of the group's best-selling record was "The Picture On the Wall" backed by "My Carolina Girl." More than 60,000 copies of this record were sold in 1928 alone, and it is estimated that, in all, more than twice that number were sold. (Russell, 2007)