Description:
These days, with the proliferation of re-issues of vintage music it is difficult to realise that for many years, original recordings like these were obscure at best, unknown at worst. By the 1940s, the sounds of country/otm were far removed from that of the Crockett Family and ballad singer Bradley Kincaid. The music had moved on to the area of country boogie and the post-war country and western sounds of such as Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow. This was a pity - Mountain ballads were an important contributor to the Country sound. Among the most influential of the early artists were the Crockett Family - West Virginians who were musically active in the mid 1920s. The first member of the family to broadcast was Johnny Crockett who recalled starting his radio career in 1923. Although an amateur, he was proficient on banjo, guitar and harmonica with which he accompanied his southern style of singing. Soon, his brothers Albert, Clarence and George, and Dad Crockett joined him on radio. Later their sister and Ma. Crockett were included in the line-up. The Crockett Family became very popular with radio stations because they performed for free. Eventually they appeared as paid entertainers at local theatres. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1928 where they commenced their recording career. Their authentic `down home` sound was slightly belied by photos of the group which show what looks like a very slickly organised outfit. In the 1931 the family obtained a nightly radio programme in New York City. Later they appeared in movies. The Carolina Tar Heels recorded at a time when string bands generally featured one or more fiddle players but their recordings did not following this trend. The original group consisted only of Gwen Foster and Dock Walsh. Walsh had made two sessions for Columbia, but the initial Tar Heels session was Fosters debut. In 1928 and 1929 he recorded with guitarist and vocalist David Fletcher under the name the Carolina Twins. They cut three tracks at their one 1930 session, issued by Gennetts Champion and Supertone labels. Foster would later still be associated with Clarence Ashley. They cut items either as a duo or as the Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers. (JSP)
