Lonnie Austin

Lonnie William Austin (born March 30, 1905 in Leaksville , North Carolina , † April 3, 1997 ) was an American old-time musician . Austin was a Fiddler for Charlie Poole and HM Barnes' Blue Ridge Ramblers , among others .

Life

Born in Leaksville in 1905, Austin was already playing piano and art harmonium at the age of six . With the help of his uncle, he also learned to play the guitar and bought his own guitar with the money he earned as a shoe cleaner. The Carolina Cotton and Woolen Mills Company , a large textile manufacturer in the area, offered music lessons for the workers and their families, so Austin also learned to play the fiddle and from Paul Manker, the company's music director, first as a guitar tuner and later as his Assistant hired.

Like most musicians in the area, Austin first worked in the Leaksville textile mills to make a living. He befriended the fiddlers Will Heffinger and Dan Carter, who taught him to play in a clean, smooth style. As a young man he played the piano in a Dixieland jazz band and supported string bands at Barn Dances . Shortly thereafter, he became a well-known and sought-after session musician.

Austin made his first recordings at the age of 22. Kelly Harrell had chosen him for a session for Victor Records in August 1927 as a fiddler for his band, the Virginia String Band . In June 1928 he was hired as a pianist for HM Barnes' Blue Ridge Ramblers and toured with this band on the east coast of the USA. Just one month after he became a member of the Blue Ridge Ramblers, he also joined Charlie Poole's band, the North Carolina Ramblers , as a fiddler , recorded about 30 pieces with them between July 1928 and May 1929 and went on tour with Poole. At the Sessions Austin was replaced from January 1930 by Odell Smith as a fiddler.

After Poole's death in March 1931, Austin continued to work as a musician. He also made some recordings with the Four Pickled Peppers and the Weaver Brothers . He held his last session in 1939 with the Four Pickled Peppers. He died on April 3, 1997.

literature

• Patrick Huber: Linthead Stomp: The Creation of Country Music in the Piedmont South (2008); University of North Carolina Press; ISBN 0-8078-3225-1