Paul Warmack and His Gully Jumpers
Paul Warmack and His Gully Jumpers | |
---|---|
General information | |
Genre (s) | Old-time music |
founding | 1927 |
resolution | 1960s |
Founding members | |
Paul Warmack (1889-1954) | |
Charles Arrington (1893–?) | |
William Roy Hardison (1896–1966) | |
Bert Hutcheson (1893-1980) |
Paul Warmack and His Gully Jumpers , also known simply as Gully Jumpers , were an American string band . They were among the first members of the Grand Ole Opry .
history
Band leader Paul Warmack was born on August 16, 1889 in Whites Creek, Tennessee , and grew up in Goodlettesville. There he opened a car repair shop in 1921. At that time, music was just a hobby for Warmack, because in his spare time he played current hits on his mandolin or guitar . Warmack, whose tenor, according to Richard Carlen, resembled that of an Irish tenor , had not previously made any public appearances.
His first appearance came in May 1927 on the WSM radio station in Nashville . At that time, the station had a new format on Saturday evenings, a so-called Barn Dance Show , which was called Grand Ole Opry . Warmack founded the band Paul Warmack and His Barn Dance Orchestra with Bert Hutcheson, Charles Arrington and William Roy Hardison , with whom he made his first appearance at the Opry on the evening of June 30, 1927. They quickly became audience favorites and appeared on the show regularly. In December 1927, at the suggestion of the manager George D. Hay, the name was changed to Paul Warmack and His Gully Jumpers - Hay often gave the string bands on his show more rural-sounding names in order to create more authenticity. In addition to the Saturday night shows, Warmack and Hutcherson as a duo also had a show every morning on WSM, which they known as the Early Birds .
In September 1928, Warmack and the Gully Jumpers had their first recording session for Victor Records in Nashville, but no tracks were released. The single Tennessee Waltz / The Little Red Caboose Behind the Train could not be produced until October 1st , followed by Robertson County / Stone Rag two days later. The Stone Rag had been written by Fiddler Oscar Stone, a member of Dr. Humphrey Bates' Possum Hunters , who also appeared in the Opry. These Gully Jumpers songs were the first recordings from Nashville, which about 20 years later would become the “Mecca of Country Music ”.
However, further recordings were not to follow. The band limited themselves to appearances in the Opry, to which they remained loyal until the early 1960s. After Warmack and Arrington died, other Opry musicians like Sid Harkreader and Kirk McGee helped out. In the 1960s, however, the Gully Jumpers separated for good. Guitarist Bert Hutcheson is considered an influential musician within Nashville. In addition to guitar lessons and solo appearances, he was named as an influence by Sam McGee and Mother Maybelle Carter .
Discography
year | title | # | Remarks |
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Published titles | |||
Victor Records | |||
Robertson County / Stone Rag | V-40009 | ||
Tennessee Waltz / The Little Red Caboose Behind the Train | V-40067 | ||
Other recordings | |||
1928 |
|
Victor | unpublished |
literature
- Richard Carlin: Folk (2006), p. 86; Infobase Publishing, ISBN 0-8160-5313-8
Web links
- Paul Warmack and His Gully Jumpers on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Carlin, p. 86