[78-L] First country recording?

[Mike Daley]

Would it be fair to describe Henry Ford's Old-Fashioned Dance
Orchestra as the first professional folk music revival performers on
records?

On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 7:52 AM, Gregg Kimball <gdkimball at cox.net> wrote:
> I haven't heard those sides and I don't know anything about Barton.  What
> was his background?  What tunes did he perform?
>
> There is no right answer to this, but I would look at several factors:
>
> Was the artist primarily a trained, professional performer who picked up a
> few popular tunes like "Arkansas Traveller" but didn't have a wide
> traditional repertoire?
>
> Certainly performing on the stage or studio should not exclude someone.  For
> instance, Mellie Dunham performed in stage settings AFTER he became famous
> via Henry Ford.  But before that he had primarily performed in local
> settings as a country dance fiddler. Did Joseph Samuels ever perform in such
> settings?  I doubt it.
>
> The Dunham example brings up another interesting question.  Do you have to
> be Southern to play "country" music?  Plenty of people would debate that
> one.  Charles Ross Taggart probably fits the above definition of a country
> fiddler but he's from Vermont.  By the way, he also created a Chautauqua
> show called, if I recall correctly, "The Old Country Fiddler."
>
> Tony's discography is fabulous, but he had to make some tough calls that
> many would debate.  I think he includes some of Samuel's recordings but not
> others.  He excluded Henry Ford's Old Time Dance Orchestra, which suprised
> me.
>
> Gregg
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <L78rpm at aol.com>
> To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 10:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] First country recording?
>
>
>> What do you make of Ward Barton's sides for Victor discs, the first in
>> 1909, and issued as 16303?
>> Does anyone who finds his way onto the vaudeville stage (perhaps) and into
>> a recording studio a "studio or stage" musician?
>>
>> pc
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 1/29/2012 8:14:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>> gdkimball at cox.net writes:
>>
>>
>> This  really boils down to whether you consider Richardson a "country"
>> performer.  In Tony Russell's Country discography, he lumps  Richardson
>> with
>> Charles D'Almaine and others as "studio or stage  musicians" who happened
>> to
>> record vernacular material.
>>
>> Part of the  argument is also about where he was from. I've seen it
>> mention
>> that he was  from North Carolina, as if this alone establishes his bona
>> fides.   Most of the things he recorded were were well known popular
>> tunes,
>> such as  "Devil's Dream," or began life as stage songs such as "Durang's
>> Hornpipe,"  etc.  I'd give it to Eck.
>>
>> Gregg Kimball
>>
>>
>> ----- Original  Message -----
>> From: "David Lennick" <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>> To:  "78L" <78-L at 78online.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 7:17  PM
>> Subject: [78-L] First country recording?
>>
>>
>>> I've just  transferred two fiddle solos by Don Richardson, recorded in
>> May
>>>  1916
>>> for Columbia. It's been suggested somewhere that this is the  first
>> country
>>> music recording session. Anyone concur?
>>>
>>>  dl
>>>
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