William B. Houchens

William B. Houchens (born June 22, 1884 in Alton , Kentucky , † May 3, 1949 in Dayton , Montgomery County , Ohio , USA ) was an American musician. Houchens was one of the first musicians to make recordings of traditional rural North American folk music. Houchens is ignored by many folklorists and authors whose literature deals with old-time music , as little is known about his way of life and it is questionable whether he was an old-time musician in the narrower sense.

Life

According to Charles K. Wolfe, Houchens was born in Alton, Kentucky, near Frankfort in Anderson County in 1884 . Richard Sisson and Christian Zacher, however, named Illinois as Houchen's birthplace in their book The American Midwest . For most of his life he directed a conservatory in Dayton , Ohio , where he taught the use of a range of stringed instruments. Whether Houchens was really a traditional fiddler is questionable, as he could read music and is therefore classified more as a classical violinist. Rick Kennedy, however, called him "[probably] the first rural Kentucky musician on disc". He learned music from his mother as a child and it is believed that Houchens learned some old pieces from older fiddlers, but took other jigs and hornpipes from books.

Arkansaw Traveler , 1922 (as "Uncle Jim Hawkins")

On September 18, 1922, only about two months after Eck Robertson made his first recordings, Houchens was with pianist Saloma Dunlap in the studio of the record label Gennett Records in Richmond , Indiana , to make recordings. How Houchens got Gennett is unknown. During his first session he recorded the three tracks Arkansaw Traveler , Turkey in the Straw and Liverpool Hornpipe; Durang's hornpipe open . These were the first old-time recordings made for the Gennett label, as it wasn't until 1924 that the Tweedy Brothers followed with their first session for Gennett. Houchens is in line with artists such as Don Richardson , Eck Robertson, Wendell Hall , Henry Whitter and Fiddlin 'John Carson .

In February 1923, Houchens returned to Richmond to take further photos. This time he played five medleys that consisted of various traditional fiddle pieces such as leather breeches . After an unreleased session in May, Houchens came to the Gennett Studio for the last time in September 1924, where he recorded a number of pieces for the Silvertone Records label that were produced by Gennett.

Houchens then continued to work in the conservatory. Not much is known about his life after 1924. He died in 1949.

Discography

Tracks have also been released under the pseudonyms "Uncle Billy Hawkins", "Uncle Jim Hawkins" and "Fiddlin 'Ike Pate" on Champion Records and Challenge Records and Silvertone Records.

year	title	#	Remarks
Gennett Records
1922	Arkansaw Traveler / Turkey in the Straw	4974
1923	Liverpool Hornpipe; Durang's Hornpipe / Devil's Dream; Monkey Musk	5066
	(A) Irish Washerwoman (B) Kitty Clyde / (A) Dance Wid a Gal, Hole In Her Stocking (B) Leather Breeches (C) Big Eared Mule	5077
	Turkey In the Straw /?	5240	B-side by Kin Hubbard
	(A) Bob Walker (B) When You and I Were Young Maggie / (A) College Hornpipe (B) Hel'n Georgia	5516
Silvertone Records
	Wagner / Cincinnati Hornpipe and Devine's Hornpipe	4015
	Miller's Reel; Old Sport Reel / Turnpike Reel; Farrell O'Gar's Favorite	4055
	Fisher's Hornpipe and Opera's Reel / Temperance Reel; Reilly's Reel	4056
Unpublished titles
1923	Morris dance Torch dance Old Kentucky Home	Gennett

literature

• Rick Kennedy: Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Studios and the Birth of Recorded Jazz (1994), 155; Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253213150
• Charles K. Wolfe: Kentucky Country: Folk and Country Music of Kentucky (1996), p. 24; University Press of Kentucky, ISBN 0813108799
• Tony Russell: Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942 (2004), p. 443; Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195139895

Web links

• William B. Houchens in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kennedy, p. 155