Grayson and Whitter
| Grayson and Whitter | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Old-time music |
| founding | 1927 |
| resolution | 1930 |
| Founding members | |
| GB Grayson | |
| Henry Whitter | |
Grayson and Whitter were an old-time American duo . Her biggest hit was Handsome Molly .
Career
Both musicians worked as professional musicians before their joint productions. Singer and fiddler GB Grayson was from Ashe County , North Carolina , and later settled on the border of Tennessee and Virginia , where he with the likes of Clarence Ashley and Doc Walsh played. With his 1923 record Lonesome Road Blues / The Wreck of the Souther Old '97, Henry Whitter is considered one of the first rural musicians to make records.
Grayson and Whitter met at a Fiddler's Contest in Mountain City , Tennessee in 1927 and quickly became friends. Henry Whitter arranged a recording session at RCA Victor and Gennett Records in the fall of 1927 , for which they recorded eight and six songs, respectively. Grayson took over the vocals here, as Whitter was not a talented vocalist. In fact, Whitter wasn't even a good guitarist . Although he played numerous instruments, his skills remained on a low level; in some cases he even only mastered them incorrectly. Among her first appearances was Handsome Molly , which sold over 50,000 copies.
In total, the duo recorded over 40 tracks by 1930, including classics such as Cluck Old Hen , Rose Conley , the Lee Highway Blues and Tom Dooley . The latter was particularly important to Grayson, as his great-uncle was the farmer who employed Tom Dooley on his farm and who later assisted in his arrest. Many of these songs were later covered by stars like Bob Dylan , Mick Jagger and the Kingston Trio .
In 1930 Grayson and Whitter's careers came to an abrupt end when GB Grayson was killed in a car accident. In September 1930, the two musicians held their last session in Memphis . Whitter could not bear his friend's death for the rest of his life. He died in 1941.
Discography
Discography is not exhaustive.
| year | title | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gennett Records | |||
| 1927 | Handsome Molly / Nobody's Darling | appeared only as Henry Whitter | |
| 1927 | Train No.45 / You'll Never Miss Your Mother Until She's Gone | appeared only as Henry Whitter | |
| 1927 | I'll Never Be Yours / Shout Lula | appeared only as Henry Whitter | |
| 1928 | Sweet Rosie O'Grady / Red or Green | ||
| RCA Victor | |||
| 1929 | Joking Henry / Barnyard Serenade | ||
| 1929 | A Dark Road Is a Hard Road to Travel / Red and Green Signal Lights | ||
| 1929 | The Nine Pound Hammer / Short Life of Trouble | ||
| 1929 | Where Are You Going Alice? / Little Maggie With a Dram-Glass in Her Hand | ||
| 1929 | On The Bank of the Old Tennessee / Tom Dooley | ||
| What You Gonna Do With the Baby? / I have lost you darling | |||
| I Saw a Man at the Close of Day / I've Always Been a Rambler | |||
| 1931 | Lee Highway Blues /? | ||
Web links
- Entry in the All Music Guide
- Grayson and Whitter on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)