Cliff Carlisle
Clifford Raymond "Cliff" Carlisle (born May 6, 1904 in Taylorsville , Kentucky , † April 2, 1983 in Lexington , Kentucky) was an American old-time and country musician who is considered a pioneer of blue yodeling , one modified form of alpine yodelling . He was also one of the first artists to use the steel guitar in country music . Carlisle has recorded over 300 records.
Life
Childhood and youth
Cliff Carlisle was born in 1904 in a hut near Mount Eden in Taylorsville, Spencer County , Kentucky. He was the third of eight children. His parents owned a small tobacco farm, where he helped with field work from an early age. As a child, he bought a Sears and Roebuck guitar for $ 4.95, which he soon mastered. His father, Van Luther Carlisle, who was a music teacher in Sunday School, taught him to sing and play the guitar.
In addition to country music and the blues, he was influenced by the early recordings of Frank Ferera , a star of Hawaiian music. In order to get as close as possible to the sound of Ferera's steel guitar, he placed a small metal disc under the strings of his guitar, which was supposed to imitate the wistful tone. As a teenager, Carlisle took part in talent competitions and played in bars; at the age of 16 he performed regularly with his cousin Lilian Truax. However, the duo broke up soon after Truax's marriage.
Beginnings
In 1924 Carlisle met construction worker Wilbur Ball, who also played guitar and sang. The two musicians got on the BF Keith Vaudeville Circuit , from then on traveled through the country with vaudevilles and tent shows and appeared as the first Blue Yodeling duo . One photo shows Carlisle and Ball in a Hawaiian suit and a wreath of flowers around their necks. Carlisle himself later said that he and Ball would appear in either a western outfit or a Hawaiian suit, depending on the audience's preference. However, they played mostly in the southern states , where Hawaiian music was not particularly popular. In 1930 Carlisle and Ball first appeared on WHAS in Louisville , which had a positive impact on their popularity, as this radio station had a greater reach than local radio stations.
In the same year Carlisle played his first records for Champion Records and Gennett Records , which were kept in the style of the then star Jimmie Rodgers . A year later they played with the Singing Brakeman , as Rodgers was called, together. Rodgers had heard him and Ball on the radio and had made Carlisle an offer to record some tracks with him. Carlisle accompanied Rodgers on the steel guitar, he can be heard among others on the titles Waiting for a Train and California Blues (Blue Yodel No.4) . Carlisle had his first hit in 1931 with the Shanghai Rooster Yodel , who influenced well-known blues singers such as Charley Patton and Howlin 'Wolf .
Career
When Carlisle moved to the American Record Corporation (ARC) in late 1931 , he had his breakthrough. Since ARC was an umbrella company of various labels, his records were released by Conqueror Records , Gennett Records and Oriole Records . In addition to regular radio appearances in Charlotte , North Carolina , on WBT and Cincinnati , Ohio , on WLW , several appearances followed on the Grand Ole Opry , the most popular radio show in the United States. At the same time he had already become a member of the National Barn Dance . In 1934, his brother Bill Carlisle replaced Wilbur Ball, who had previously dropped out, on rhythm guitar. With him he had his own barn dance show , the Carlisle Family Barn Dance, on WLAP in Louisville , Kentucky . After Carlisle resumed his career in 1936 after a long illness, he achieved titles like Get Her by the Tail on a Down Hill Grade (1936), The Nasty Swing (1936), A Wild Cat Woman and a Tom Cat Man ( 1937) and You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone (1938) other hits. You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone was later recorded by Elvis Presley as Just Because . Carlisle's titles have also been released by Regal-Zonophone Records and Panachord Records in the UK , Canada and Australia , including Mouse's Ear Blues and Sal's Got a Meatskin , often under the pseudonym Fred Kirby & Bob Phillips . While only eleven records were on the market in Australia, Carlisle was able to look back on a strong presence in England with appearances on the labels Regal, Zonophone and Panachord. Regal and Zonophone marketed Carlisle as " The New Regal Yodeller " based on Jimmie Rodgers, the "old Regal Yodeller".
Carlisle's texts often dealt with topics typical of the country, such as the life of migrant workers and railroad workers, and love, but there are also political and socially critical texts in his repertoire, such as Pay Day Fight and Shanghai Rooster Yodel . He often published his heavily blues-oriented pieces under other names such as Amos Greene and Bob Clifford , as the blues was still considered the musical expression of the African American and as an established white American in the racist climate of the south you could get serious problems if you too obviously the stylistic features of this genre served. Since 1936, Carlisle had begun performing and recording records with his son Tommy Carlisle, known as Sonny Boy Tommy , which led to conflicts with US child labor laws. However, he played records with him until World War II , after which Tommy was drafted into the army.
With Sonny Boy Tommy's entry into Carlisle's shows, his repertoire had moved away from the bluesy pieces and now moved towards cowboy songs and gospel. Carlisle had a hit with Valley of Peace and in 1939 another gospel success followed with Unclouded Day .
Carlisle had his last solo hit in 1939 with Footprints in the Snow , which later became a popular bluegrass title. In the early 1940s, Carlisle lost more and more popularity; Carlisle was still active on the radio. He was regularly heard on the WMPS station in Memphis , Tennessee . He was also represented at WWNC in Asheville , North Carolina, along with his Ramblin Cowboys . It was different with his records, because he had already stopped his solo recordings in 1939. Only duets with his brother Bill got into the charts. Some of their titles are slightly based on hillbilly boogie , an early form of rockabilly . The audience had lost interest in blue yodeling and traditional country music, and honky tonk and western swing dominated the country scene. However, he could still be heard regularly on the WMPS radio station in Memphis , was a welcome guest in the Opry and was a member of the Tennessee Barn Dance . With Rainbow at Midnight , which reached number five on the Billboard charts , he and his brother had his last hit. Even so, he continued to write titles for his brother Bill and his group The Carlisles , including two of their best-known No Help Wanted and Too Old to Cut the Mustard . In 1951 Carlisle was himself a member of this group for a short time.
In the early 1950s, Carlisle was completely supplanted by the emerging rock 'n' roll ; health problems finally caused him to turn his back on the music scene. He moved to Lexington, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1955 he began to teach music like his father. In his spare time he painted oil paintings or spent time with his family, which also included grandchildren. It wasn't until a decade later that Carlisle was rediscovered by the young folk movement after the Rooftop Singers covered his hit Tom Cat Blues . In addition to public appearances, he made several records with Wilbur Ball for the Rem label. After that, he finally retired.
Cliff Carlisle died of a heart attack in Lexington, Kentucky on April 2, 1983, at the age of 78.
Musical work
With more than 300 released records in North America, Australia and Europe and with more than 600 songs written, Cliff Carlisle is considered one of the most successful country musicians of the 1930s. His repertoire included blues, gospel, cowboy music, Hawaiian music and hillbilly. Even if he played in the style of Jimmie Rodgers, he developed an independent musical statement.
His yodelling was very different from Rodgers', and the instrumentation was also different. While Rodgers mostly only accompanied himself on the guitar or was supported on some pieces by steel guitar, clarinet or oboe , Carlisle often also used the fiddle , harmonica , mandolin or double bass . By introducing the steel guitar or dobro to country music, he had a great influence on the later honky tonk . With titles like My Lovin 'Kathleen , Goodbye Old Pal or Footprints in the Snow , he also recorded his first bluegrass titles.
Carlisle wrote his lyrics, which were often sexually oriented, mostly himself. Nevertheless, he took traditional ballads and old pieces of the "Singing Brakemans" Jimmie Rodgers and rewrote them, so the piece The Brakeman's Reply and Rodgers emerged from the Brakeman's Blues ' Waiting For a Train became Waiting For a Ride . With the song My Rockin 'Mama , he was one of the first few country musicians to provide a lyrical model for rockabilly . Only Riley Puckett or Jimmie Rodgers use expressions such as " rock my blues away ", which were extremely rare in hillbilly music at the time and only became more common later. In the 1933 recording Goin 'Down The Road Feelin' Bad , Carlisle was one of the first country and hillbilly musicians to use a double bass with slap technique , later also typical of rockabilly. With this innovation he paved the way for many later rockabilly musicians and the hillbilly boogie , which he also belonged to in his late career with brother Bill. Some of Carlisle's pieces were later recorded by rockabilly singers, such as Goin 'Down the Road Feelin' Bad by Roy Hall and Black Jack David by Warren Smith .
Carlisle's guitar
In the 1930s there were two companies that made guitars with metal plates behind the strings to increase volume, Dobro and National. While Dobro only used a metal disc, National used three discs. For most of his recordings, Carlisle used a custom-made product from the National Corporation, which he said he tuned to EAEA-C'-E in order to be able to play bass and melody at the same time. This guitar remained in Carlisle's possession until his death.
Discography
Singles
Just a Lonely Hobo , 1931
Memories That Haunt Me , 1932
Ramblin 'Jack , 1933
My Lovin 'Kathleen , 1936
| year | title | # | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gennett Records | |||
| 1930 | My Carolina Sunshine Girl / Down In Jail On My Knees | ||
| 1930 | Desert Blues / Blue Yodel No.6 | with Bill Carlisle | |
| 1930 (?) | I'm Lonely and Blues / I'm On My Way To Lonesome Valley | ||
| Champion Records | |||
| 1930 | Just A Lonely Hobo / Virginia Blues | 16028 | |
| 1930 | Crazy Blues / Hobo Blues | 16145 | B-side with Bill Carlisle |
| 1930 | No Daddy Blues / Brakeman's Blues | ||
| 1931 | Box Car Blues / The Brakeman's Reply | under the pseudonym J. Boone | |
| 1931 | High Steppin 'Mama / Alone and Lonesome | ||
| 1931 | Hobo Jack's Last Ride / The Written Letter | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| 1931 | Nobody Wants Me / The Plea Of A Mother | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| 1931 | Come Back Sweetheart / Memories That Aunt Me | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| 1931 | She's Waiting For Me / The Cowboy's Song | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| 1931 | The Fatal Run / Memories That Make Me Cry | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| Banner Records | |||
| 1931 | Shanghai Rooster Yodel / Going Back To Alabama | ||
| 1931 | Lonely Valley / My Rocky Mountain Sweetheart | ||
| 1931 | Guitar Blues / I Want A Good Woman | ||
| 1931 | Memories That Make Me Cry / Childhood Dreams | ||
| 1931 | The Written Letter / I Don't Mind | ||
| 1931 | Just A Lonely Hobo / Sunny South By The Sea | ||
| 1931 | My Two Time Mama / | ||
| 1931 | Birmingham Jail # 2 / Desert Blues | ||
| Conqueror Records | |||
| 1931 | Shanghai Rooster Yodel / Going Back To Alabama | 7937 | |
| 1931 | Memories That Make Me Cry / Dear Old Daddy | 7968 | |
| 1931 | Alone and Lonesome / Where Southern Roses Climb | ||
| 1931 | Box Car Yodel / Modern Mama | 7970 | |
| 1931 | Birmingham Jail No.2 / Just A Lonely Hobo | 7971 | |
| 1931 | The Written Letter / I Don't Mind | ||
| 1931 | My Rocky Mountain Sweetheart / Lonely Valley | 7993 | |
| 1931 | Guitar Blues / I Want A Good Woman | 7994 | |
| 1932 | Memories That Aunt Me / Seven Years With The Wrong Woman | 8069 | |
| 1932 (?) | Childhood Dreams / Memories That Make Me Cry | ||
| 1932 | The Brakeman's Reply / Hobo Jack's Last Ride | 8097 | |
| 1932 | Roll On Blue Moon / When It's Roundup Time In Texas | 8098 | |
| 1933 | The Rustler's Fate / The Little Dobbie Shack | 8199 | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers |
| 1933 | Goin 'Down The Road Feelin' Bad / Dang My Rowdy Soul | 8200 | |
| 1933 | Don't Marry The Wrong Woman / The Vacant Cabin Door | 8201 | |
| 1933 | Rambling Jack / Wreck Of Freight # 52 | 8228 | |
| 1933 | Blue Eyes / On The Banks Of The Rio Grande | 8229 | |
| 1933 | I'm A Hobo / Gambling Dan | ||
| 1933 | That Ramshackle Shack On The Hill / End Of Memory Lane | with Bill Carlisle as The Carlisle Brothers | |
| 1933 | Looking For Tomorrow / Where Romance Calls | ||
| 1933 | Louisiana Blues / Fussin 'Mama | A-side with Bill Carlisle | |
| 1933 | I'm Traveling Live Along / Sunshine and Daisies | ||
| 1934 | Hen Pecked Man / Chicken Roost Blues | 8393 | |
| Montgomery Ward | |||
| 1936 | Rambling Yodeler / Cowboy Johnnie's Last Ride | ||
| 1936 | A Wild Cat Woman and A Tom Cat Man / Look Out, I'm Shifting Gears | ||
| 1936 | A Stretch Of 28 Years / My Lovin 'Cathleen | ||
| 1936 | Handsome Blues / In A Box Car Around The World | B-side with Bill Carlisle | |
| 1936 (?) | When The Cactus Is In Bloom / My Lonely Boyhood Days | B-side under the pseudonym Lallaby Larkers | |
| 1936 | You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone / When The Evening Sun Goes Down | ||
| 1936 | My Old Saddle Horse Is Missing / That Old Utah Trail | under the pseudonym Fred Kirby & Don White | |
| 1936 | When It's Roundup Time In Heaven / Roll On, Roll On | under the pseudonym Fred Kirby & Bob Phillips | |
| 1936 | Flower Of The Valley / A Little White Rose | with Sonny Boy Tommy (Tommy Carlisle) | |
| 1936 | I'm Saving Saturday Night For You / Waiting For A Ride | ||
| 1936 | It Takes An Old Hen To Deliver The Goods / When I Feel Froggie I'm Gonna Hop | ||
| 1936 | The Nasty Swing / It Ain't No Fault Of Mine | ||
| 1937 | Ridin 'That Lonesome Trail / They Say It's The End Of The Trail | ||
| 1937 | There's A Lamp In The Window Tonight / New Memories Of You That Haunt Me | ||
| 1937 | Sweet As The Roses Of Spring / Just A Little Bit Of Loving From You | ||
| 1937 | Rocky Road / Pay Day Fight | ||
| 1937 | Cowboy's Dying Dream / Pan American Dream | ||
| 1937 | Waiting For A Ride / Your Saddle Is Empty Tonight | ||
| 1937 | When My Memory Lies / Lonely | ||
| 1937 | Rooster Blues / Trouble Minden Blues | ||
| 1937 | Blue Dreams / Hobo's Fate | ||
| Bluebird Records | |||
| 1936 | Look Out, I'm Shifting Gears / Get Her By The Tail On A Down Hill Grade | ||
| 1936 | A Wild Cat Woman and A Tom Cat Man / Rambling Yodeler | ||
| 1936 | A Stretch of 28 Years / My Lovin 'Cathleen | ||
| 1936 | Cowboy Johnnie's Last Ride / In A Box Car Around The World | B-side with Bill Carlisle | |
| 1936 | You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone / When The Evening Sun Goes Down | ||
| 1936 | It Takes An Old Hen To Deliver The Goods / When I Feel Froggie, I'm Gonna Hop | ||
| 1937 | Pan American Man / ? | ||
| 1937 | Riding The Blinds / New Memories Of You That Aunt Me | ||
| 1937 | Your Saddle Is Empty Tonight / Cowboy's Dying Dream | B-7790 | |
| 1938 | Why Did The Blue Sky Turn Gray / The Shack By The Side Of The Road | ||
| Decca Records with Bill Carlisle | |||
| 1938 | Over By The Chrystal Sea / The Great Judgment Day | ||
| 1938 | Are You Going To Leave Me / The Girl I Left So Blues | ||
| 1938 | Wreck Of The Happy Valley / Weary Traveler | ||
| 1938 | Moonlight Blues / Big At The Little Bottom A. | Cliff Carlisle as a solo artist | |
| 1938 | Two Eyes In The Tennessee / Lonely Little Orphan Girl | with Sonny Boy Tommy | |
| 1938 | Trouble On My Mind / Nevada Johnnie | ||
| 1938 | No Drunkard Can Enter / I'm On My Way To The Promised Land | ||
| 1938 | When The Angels Carry Me Home / Home Of The Soul | 55607 | with Sonny Boy Tommy |
| 1938 | No Letter In The Mail Today / Drifting | ||
| 1938 | I'm Just A Rambling Man / Blue Dreams | Cliff Carlisle as a solo artist | |
| 1938 | My Old Home Place / Flower Of My Dream | ||
| 1938 | Where Are The Pals Of Long Ago / When We Meet Again | Cliff Carlisle as a solo artist | |
| 1938 | I'm Heading For Some Home, Sweet Home / If Jesus Should Come | ||
| 1938 | Wabash Cannonball / Sparkling Blue Eyes | as Carlisle's Kentucky Boys | |
| 1939 | Unclouded Sky / Far Beyond The Starry Sky | ||
| 1939 | Mouse Been Messin 'Around / Ditty Wah Ditty | Cliff Carlisle as a solo artist | |
| 1939 | / My Little Sadie | ||
| 1939 | Roll On Old Troubles / I Dreamed I Searched Heaven | ||
| 1939 | / Makes No Differences What Live Will Bring | 46105 | B-side as Carlisle Buckle Busters |
| 1939 | Sally Let Your Bangs Hang / Little Pal | ||
| RCA Records | |||
| 1947 (?) | A Mean Mama Don't Worry Me / Why Did It Have To Be Me? | 20-2100 | |
| 1947? | Devil's Train / Scars Upon My Head | 20-2248 | |
| 1947 (?) | Death By The Roadside / You Just Wait and See | 20-2351 | |
| 1948 (?) | I Didn't Have Time / You Couldn't Be True If You Tried | 20-2532 | |
| 194? | You Can't Erase A Memory / All The World Is Lonely | 20-2649 | |
Albums
- 1963: A Country Kind Of Songs and Hymns
- 1964: Maple On The Hill
- 1965: Cliff Carlisle
- 1965: Carlisle Family Album - Old Time Great Hymns (The Carlisle Family)
- 1965: Cliff Carlisle Vol. 1 + 2
Recording data
1930Richmond, IN ; February 25, 1930
Richmond, IN ; April 9, 1930
Richmond, IN ; July 21, 1930
Richmond, IN ; September 22, 1930
Richmond, IN ; November 24, 1930
1931Richmond, IN ; February 13th to 18th, 1931
14th of February
February 17th
February 18
Richmond, IN ; September 8, 1931
New York City, NY ; October 22-27, 1931
23rd October
October 26th
October 27
|
Richmond, IN ; December 8th to 9th, 1931
9th of December
1932New York City, NY ; September 22 to 30, 1932
23 Septembery
September 26th
September 27th
September 28th
September 29th
30. September
1933New York City, NY ; July 24th to 31st, 1933
July 25th
July 26th
July 28th
July 31
|
swell
- ^ Liner Notes Cliff Carlisle - A Country Legacy I; JSP records
- ^ Cliff Carlisle in the All Music Guide
- ↑ Bill Carlisle Biography - OLDIES.com
- ^ Charles K. Wolfe: Kentucky Country , pp. 64ff
- ^ Cliff Carlisle - A Country Legacy III, JSP Records
- ^ Liner Notes Cliff Carlisle - A Country Legacy , JSP Records
Web links
- Sound carrier by Cliff Carlisle in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography on CMT.com
- Cliff Carlisle on hillbilly-music.com
- biography
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Carlisle, Cliff |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Carlisle, Clifford Raymond (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1904 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Taylorsville , Kentucky |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 2, 1983 |
| Place of death | Lexington , Kentucky |