Pie Plant Pete and Bashful Harmonica Joe
Pie Plant Pete and Bashful Harmonica Joe | |
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General information | |
Genre (s) | Country music , old-time |
founding | 1936 |
Founding members | |
Pie Plant Pete | |
Bashful Harmonica Joe |
Pie Plant Pete and Bashful Harmonica Joe was an American country and old-time duo . They became very popular , especially over the radio in the southern states .
Career
Pie Plant Pete
Pie Plant Pete was born Claude Moye on July 9, 1906 in Shawneetown , Illinois . As a child he showed an interest in music and learned to play the guitar and harmonica. At the age of 20 he left his parents' farm and moved to Chicago , hoping to start a career as a musician there. In May 1927 he played for the radio station WLS, which hired Pie Plant Pete as a musician. WLS was a successful broadcaster at the time, and Pete was given the opportunity to appear in the famous National Barn Dance . During this time Pete made his first recordings for Gennett Records . Later songs were also released on Decca Records .
After several years at WLS, Pete received an offer from WTAM of Cleveland , Ohio , which he accepted. He got his stage name "Pie Plant Pete" from the program directors of WLS. Pete later said he chose the name because it was "difficult to pronounce but easy to remember". His popularity with WTAM continued to grow, and CBS broadcast his show nationwide. In addition, he can now also be heard on other channels such as WEAF in New York City .
Bashful Harmonica Joe
Joseph "Joe" Troyan was from Pleasant City , Ohio, where he grew up on a farm. He bought his first harmonica as a child and when he was 16 the family moved to Cleveland. There he took part in a talent competition and was later given his own slot on a local radio station. In May 1932 Joe was also hired for one of the first television broadcasts from Cleveland.
When the duo Lum and Abner needed a harmonica player for their group, Joe joined in and was henceforth heard with the duo on their show. For a while he toured the south with old-time star Bradley Kincaid .
Joint career
Pete and Joe met in the summer of 1936. Joe had just taken a few days off when Pete asked him to do some gigs together. The concerts were so successful that they both got a joint show at WBZ in Boston . In 1938 the duo could be heard every day on WHAM in Rochester , New York .
Pete joined the US Army in 1939 but was briefly released because he was too old. Joe was drafted in 1942 and served in the US Air Force , but was able to do his military service in the US, where he entertained other soldiers with his music. During this time he was stationed in Las Vegas and met stars of the time like Gene Autry .
After Joe was released, the duo reunited and performed at WJW in Cleveland. From 1946 they were also on tour with Al Hendershot, Salt & Peanuts and Slim Carter . In the following years they continued to travel through the east and south of the United States and made their first recordings for Process Records of Franklin , Pennsylvania . Between 1950 and 1954, the duo lived in Detroit , Michigan , where they could be heard on WJR and made other appearances. Joe made recordings in 1957 for King Records under the pseudonym "Bobby Grove".
Pie Plant Pete could be heard on the radio (WEBQ) until the early 1970s. He died on February 7, 1988 at the age of 81. Bashful Harmonica Joe died on June 21, 2000 at the age of 88.
plant
The duo never managed to gain a foothold in the record business, although Pie Plant Pete made a notable number of recordings for Gennett and other labels such as Supertone Records and Mel-O-Tone Records in the late 1920s . In contrast, the guitar virtuoso Les Paul claimed to have been heavily influenced by Pete. While Pete was at WLS, Paul was still in his teens and listened to the radio regularly.
Bashful Harmonica Joe was inducted into the Broadcaster's Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio in 1991. Together with Pie Plant Pete, he is considered a pioneer in the radio business. In 2005 Cattle Records released the album Sing & Play Their Hillbilly Favorites with the Process recordings.
Discography
Pie Plant Pete:
year | title | # | Remarks |
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Decca Records | |||
I'll Remember You Love Me In My Prayers / Goodbye My Lover, Goodbye | 5014 | ||
Going Down The Road / Rosalee | 5030 | ||
Mel-O-Tone Records | |||
Little Mohee / The Lake of Ponchartrain | 35-10-14 | ||
Montgomery Ward | |||
1929 (?) | Hand Me Down My Walking Cane / When The Work's All Done This Fall | 4987 | |
Supertone Records | |||
When The Work's All Done This Fall / Boston Burglar | 9351 | ||
Asleep at the Switch / Ben Tucker Reel | 9405 | ||
The Ocean Waves / Nutty Song | 9652 | ||
Melody of Old Familiar Tunes, Part 1 / Melody of Old Familiar Tunes, Part 2 | 9667 | ||
Oh Jailer Bring Back That Key / Waiting For The Railroad Train | 9668 | ||
Sand Will Do It / The Farmer Song | 9669 | ||
You'll Find Her with the Angels / Lighting Express | 9701 | ||
Roving Gambler / Good Old Turnip Greens | 9712 | ||
Lakes of Ponchartrain / Little Brown Jug | 9717 | ||
Process records | |||
The Story Has Ended / Down By The Railroad Tracks | 512 | ||
You Go To Church and I'll Go To Mine / I'm Gonna Ride That Train to Heaven | 514 | ||
I Miss You Sweetheart / Over Yonder, Over There | 520 | ||
Come Back To My Heart / You Wouldn't Know The Whitewashed Stable Now | 521 |
Bashful Harmonica Joe:
year | title | # | Remarks |
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King Records | |||
1957 | Show Me / I Saw Her First | 5027 | as "Bobby Grove" |
As a duo:
year | title | # | Remarks |
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Process records | |||
1946 | The Rooster Serenade / My Blue Skies Have Turned To Gray Skies | 508 | |
Boy, Am I Glad / I'm Going To Take My Linda Home To Stay | 509 | ||
That Mother-In-Law / Goodbye My Lover, Goodbye | 513 | A-side only from Pie Plant Pete | |
Winding / Tritzem Yodel | 515 | ||
Gonna Have a Big Time Tonight / Railroad Blues-Barnyard Blues | 516 | A-side only from Pie Plant Pete | |
Shadows of Night / Bury Me Beneath The Willow | 522 | A-side only from Pie Plant Pete |
Web links
- Pie Plant Pete and Bashful Harmonica Joe on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- Pie Plant Pete on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- Bashful Harmonica Joe on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- Pie Plant Pete in the All Music Guide