Henry Gilliland

Henry Clay Gilliland (born March 11, 1845 in Newton County , Missouri , † April 21, 1924 in Altus , Oklahoma ) was an American old-time musician . Gilliland was the founder of the Old Fiddlers Association of Texas and with Eck Robertson the first rural musician ever to be recorded on record.

Life

Childhood and youth

Henry Gilliland was born near Granby, Missouri in 1845 (other sources according to Jasper County ); however, his family set off for California during the gold rush when Gilliland was eight years old. In 1854 they settled in Parker County, Texas, where Gilliland's father died a year later. The mother and children were left to their own devices and stayed in Texas, although Parker County was continuously threatened by Indian raids at the time. After the hard work in the fields during the day, he read books in the evening to educate himself. As a young man he began to play the fiddle of his younger brother, who was serving in the army.

In the civil war

Gilliland joined the Confederate Army in 1863 during the American Civil War . First used in the 2nd Texas Calvary , he was later transferred to the 21st Infantry Regiment . His exact experiences in the war have not been passed down precisely and Gilliland himself only gave contradicting statements about his time as a soldier. It is likely, however, that he was protecting strategic bases along the Gulf Coast in Texas. During this time Gilliland also suffered injuries that handicapped him throughout his life.

Life between 1870 and 1900

After the war ended and the southern states reintegrated into the United States, the incursions by the Indians in Parker County became more violent. The constant threat led Gilliland to join the Texas Rangers to fight off the attacks. In the course of time he made it to the rank of captain - but there are no records or certificates.

During this time Gilliland worked as a farmer and married Susie Borden in 1869. On the fiddle, he steadily improved his skills and was hired as a musician for the then usual house parties and barn dances - there were no fiddlers contests in Northwest Texas in the 1870s. At the beginning of this decade, Gilliland was instrumental in establishing the Methodist Church in Parker County and made a living around 1867 by transporting wood between Sandy and Jacksboro. Around 1880, Gilliland began attending various local fiddlers contests and already then attracted attention with his show. His sarcastic humor, his fast, loud, precise playing and his talent as an entertainer soon made him widely known.

In July 1900, a fiddle competition was held in Weatherford, Texas, in which Gilliland took first place with the two pieces Apple Blossom and Wagoner . A few months later, his mother, who had meanwhile moved to Oklahoma to live with her married daughter, died. Gilliland then made the decision to move to Oklahoma in the Indian Territory , where he witnessed the Oklahoma Land Run in 1901 near Fort Sill . Nevertheless, he often visited his home in Texas to visit relatives and friends. In 1910 he moved to Altus, Oklahoma, where he was nicknamed "Uncle Henry".

Late career

In the spring of 1901, the United Confederate Veterans organized a fiddle competition in Fort Worth , in which Gilliland participated along with Jesse Roberts, Polk Harris, JC Miller, Moses Bonner and fifteen other fiddlers. He won first prize and was also recognized for his performances by Arkansaw Traveler and Dixie . During this event, the Old Fiddlers Association of Texas was founded by the participants , with Moses Bonner as President and Gilliland as Treasurer.

During this time, Fiddler's contests were becoming increasingly popular in Texas and Oklahoma, and Gilliland had found employment in these events for the rest of his life. In addition to numerous first places, his fame as one of the best fiddlers in the region increased more and more. Gilliland's wife Susa died in 1913. He then married Mollie Aldridge, who was 26 years his junior, but who died after three years of marriage. After that, Gilliland remained unmarried.

In June 1922 Gilliland and the much younger musician Eck Robertson performed at the Confederate Reunion in Richmond , Virginia , but they left prematurely and instead went to New York City in the hope of making recordings . On their first day there, they visited the metropolis (in Confederate uniforms that they were still wearing from the reunions) and spent the night with a lawyer friend of Gilliland's. It wasn't until the next day that she played to the directors of the Victor Records label , who had them record a number of old fiddle pieces, including Arkansaw Traveler and Turkey in the Straw . These were the first recordings by rural musicians to be commercially available. Despite the existence of the records of Don Richardson , a classical violinist who recorded titles like Mississippi Sawyer , Robertson and Gilliland's recordings are considered to be the beginning of the commercial era of old-time music and the beginning of a new genre that emerged in the 1930s and 1940s formed: Country music .

While Eck Robertson began a professional career as a musician, Gilliland retired to Altus, Oklahoma, where he died in 1924 at the age of 79.

Discography

See Eck Robertson for a discography.

Web links

• biography
• Biography of Roberts and Gillilands
• Detailed biography