Charlie Poole
Encyclopedia
Charlie Poole was an American
old time banjo
player and country music
ian and the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, an American old-time string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 to 1930.
, Rockingham County
, in the northern Piedmont
region of North Carolina
, near the Virginia
border.
He learned banjo as a youth. Poole also played baseball
, and his three-fingered playing technique was the result of a baseball accident. He bet that he could catch a baseball without a glove. Poole closed his hand too soon, the ball broke his thumb, and resulted in a permanent arch in his right hand.
Poole bought his first good banjo, an Orpheum No. 3 Special, with profits from his moonshine
still
. Later, he appeared in the 1929 catalog of the Gibson Company
, promoting their banjo.
He spent much of his adult life working in textile mills.
- whom he had met in West Virginia
in 1917 and whose sister he married - formed a trio with guitarist Norman Woodlieff called the North Carolina Ramblers. The group auditioned in New York for Columbia Records
. After landing a contract, they recorded the highly successful "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" on July 27, 1925. This song sold over 102,000 copies at a time when there were estimated to be only 600,000 phonographs in the Southern United States
, according to Poole’s biographer and great nephew, Kinney Rorrer. The band was paid $75 for the session, which would be approximately $950.20 in 2011 dollars (Consumer Price Index).
Poole played the banjo. The guitar was played by Norman Woodlief, and later by former railroad engineer Roy Harvey from West Virginia. Fiddlers in various recording sessions were Posey Rorer
, Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith.
The North Carolina Ramblers, a banjo-guitar-fiddle trio with Poole's plain-spoken tenor
voice in the lead, in great part created the musical templates for two giants: the bluegrass
of Bill Monroe
and, by extension, the lyrical aspects of the modern country music
of Hank Williams. Bill C. Malone, in his important history of country music, "Country Music, U.S.A." says, "The Rambler sound was predictable: a bluesy fiddle lead, backed up by long, flowing, melodic guitar runs and the finger-style banjo picking of Poole. Predictable as it may be, it was nonetheless outstanding. No string band in early country music equalled the Ramblers' controlled, clean, well-patterned sound."
For the next five years, Poole and the Ramblers were a very popular band. The band's distinctive sound remained consistent though several members came and left, including Posey Rorer and Norm Woodlieff. In all, the band recorded over 60 songs for Columbia Records during the 1920s. These hits included: "Sweet Sunny South", "White House Blues", “He Rambled”, and “Take a Drink on Me”.
Poole was essentially a cover artist
, who composed few, if any, of his recordings. Nevertheless, his dynamic renditions were popular with a broad audience in the Southeast. He is considered a primary source for Old Timey revivalists and aficionados. Songs like "Bill Morgan And His Gal", "Milwaukee Blues", and "Leavin' Home", have been resurrected by banjo players. Poole developed a unique fingerpicking style, a blend of melody, arpeggio, and rhythm (as distinct from clawhammer/frailing and Scruggs
' variations).
Poole's life ended after a 13-week drinking bender. He had been invited to Hollywood to play background music for a film. According to some reports, he was disheartened by the slump in record sales due to the Depression
. Poole never made it to Hollywood. He died of a heart attack in May 1931.
The ultimate cause of Poole's death is unknown. He suffered heart failure after excessive drinking. After his last bout with drinking, Poole was examined by a local doctor in Eden, who administered an injection of some kind -possibly to bring him down from the alcohol. Poole died after the injection on the table, and there is speculation that the injection may have been a factor in his death.
with "White House Blues", The Chieftains
and Grateful Dead
with "Don’t Let the Deal Go Down", Holy Modal Rounders
and Hot Tuna
with "Hesitation Blues", and Joan Baez
with "Sweet Sunny South". His recordings have also appeared on numerous compilations of old-time music
.
Columbia issued a three-CD box set of his music, entitled You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music in 2005. The album, produced by Henry "Hank" Sapoznik, was nominated for three Grammy awards. It chronicles the stompin' sides made for Columbia
by Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers between 1925 and 1931, including such important songs as "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (the first country mega-hit), "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?", "Old and Only In the Way" (the title of which was used by Jerry Garcia to name his 1970s bluegrass band with David Grisman
, Old and In the Way), and "White House Blues", adapted by John Mellencamp
, who in 2004 updated the politically-charged lyrics and changed the title to "To Washington". In addition to 43 of Poole's original recordings, the package features performances by other early roots music players and singers, including Fred Van Eps
, Arthur Collins, Billy Murray
, Floyd Country Ramblers, Uncle Dave Macon
and The Red Fox Chasers
.
The original liner notes, by Peter Stampfel, state, "Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers recorded an incredible number of songs that are personal favorites of mine. Poole is, in fact, one of the great musicians of the century. No doubt about it." The album's cover art was created by Robert Crumb
, the celebrated illustrator and an old-time music afficiando.
Kinney Rorrer penned a biography of Charlie Poole, entitled Ramblin’ Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole in 1982. Rorrer, a descendant of Poole's fiddler Posey Rorer, is the banjo player for the old-time music group The New North Carolina Ramblers.
Production of a documentary on Poole's life, tentatively titled North Carolina Rambler, was announced in 2007 by producer-director-cinematographer George Goehl. However, no word on the film's progress is available.
A double-CD album paying tribute to Poole was released by singer-songwriter
Loudon Wainwright III
in August 2009. The album, entitled High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project
, features 30 tracks, including new versions of songs originally recorded by Poole, as well as tunes composed by Wainwright and producer Dick Connette on the artist's life and times; it was awarded the Grammy for 'Best Traditional Folk Album' at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
old time banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
ian and the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, an American old-time string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 to 1930.
Biography
Poole was born in Spray, now part of EdenEden, North Carolina
Eden is a city in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,908 at the 2000 census. The city was incorporated in 1967 through the consolidation of three separate towns: Leaksville, Spray, and Draper....
, Rockingham County
Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 93,643. Its county seat is Wentworth.- History :The county was formed in 1785 from Guilford County...
, in the northern Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
region of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, near the Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
border.
He learned banjo as a youth. Poole also played baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and his three-fingered playing technique was the result of a baseball accident. He bet that he could catch a baseball without a glove. Poole closed his hand too soon, the ball broke his thumb, and resulted in a permanent arch in his right hand.
Poole bought his first good banjo, an Orpheum No. 3 Special, with profits from his moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
. Later, he appeared in the 1929 catalog of the Gibson Company
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
, promoting their banjo.
He spent much of his adult life working in textile mills.
The North Carolina Ramblers
Charlie Poole and his brother-in-law, fiddler Posey RorerPosey Rorer
Posey Rorer was an old-time fiddler who was best known for being a member of the American string band Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers.-Biography:...
- whom he had met in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
in 1917 and whose sister he married - formed a trio with guitarist Norman Woodlieff called the North Carolina Ramblers. The group auditioned in New York for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. After landing a contract, they recorded the highly successful "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" on July 27, 1925. This song sold over 102,000 copies at a time when there were estimated to be only 600,000 phonographs in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, according to Poole’s biographer and great nephew, Kinney Rorrer. The band was paid $75 for the session, which would be approximately $950.20 in 2011 dollars (Consumer Price Index).
Poole played the banjo. The guitar was played by Norman Woodlief, and later by former railroad engineer Roy Harvey from West Virginia. Fiddlers in various recording sessions were Posey Rorer
Posey Rorer
Posey Rorer was an old-time fiddler who was best known for being a member of the American string band Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers.-Biography:...
, Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith.
The North Carolina Ramblers, a banjo-guitar-fiddle trio with Poole's plain-spoken tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice in the lead, in great part created the musical templates for two giants: the bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
of Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
and, by extension, the lyrical aspects of the modern country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
of Hank Williams. Bill C. Malone, in his important history of country music, "Country Music, U.S.A." says, "The Rambler sound was predictable: a bluesy fiddle lead, backed up by long, flowing, melodic guitar runs and the finger-style banjo picking of Poole. Predictable as it may be, it was nonetheless outstanding. No string band in early country music equalled the Ramblers' controlled, clean, well-patterned sound."
For the next five years, Poole and the Ramblers were a very popular band. The band's distinctive sound remained consistent though several members came and left, including Posey Rorer and Norm Woodlieff. In all, the band recorded over 60 songs for Columbia Records during the 1920s. These hits included: "Sweet Sunny South", "White House Blues", “He Rambled”, and “Take a Drink on Me”.
Poole was essentially a cover artist
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
, who composed few, if any, of his recordings. Nevertheless, his dynamic renditions were popular with a broad audience in the Southeast. He is considered a primary source for Old Timey revivalists and aficionados. Songs like "Bill Morgan And His Gal", "Milwaukee Blues", and "Leavin' Home", have been resurrected by banjo players. Poole developed a unique fingerpicking style, a blend of melody, arpeggio, and rhythm (as distinct from clawhammer/frailing and Scruggs
Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
' variations).
Aftermath
In addition to being a talented musician, Poole was a fast living and hard drinking man. He packed several lifetimes of hard and fast living into his 39 years. Textile mill worker, semi-pro ballplayer, and hell-raiser supreme, Poole won his place among the giants of American roots music with his pathfinding work on the banjo, and for heading the innovative North Carolina Ramblers. The original Ramblers played around Spray and Leaksville, North Carolina beginning in 1917. In 1925, the recordings they made for Columbia allowed them to escape life in the textile mills.Poole's life ended after a 13-week drinking bender. He had been invited to Hollywood to play background music for a film. According to some reports, he was disheartened by the slump in record sales due to the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Poole never made it to Hollywood. He died of a heart attack in May 1931.
The ultimate cause of Poole's death is unknown. He suffered heart failure after excessive drinking. After his last bout with drinking, Poole was examined by a local doctor in Eden, who administered an injection of some kind -possibly to bring him down from the alcohol. Poole died after the injection on the table, and there is speculation that the injection may have been a factor in his death.
Legacy
Poole’s music enjoyed a revival in the 1960s, and his renditions have been rerecorded by numerous artists, such as John MellencampJohn Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
with "White House Blues", The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
and Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
with "Don’t Let the Deal Go Down", Holy Modal Rounders
Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders were an American folk music duo from the Lower East Side of New York City which started in the early 1960s, consisting of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. Their unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult-like following from the late 1960s into the 1970s...
and Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
with "Hesitation Blues", and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
with "Sweet Sunny South". His recordings have also appeared on numerous compilations of old-time music
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
.
Columbia issued a three-CD box set of his music, entitled You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music in 2005. The album, produced by Henry "Hank" Sapoznik, was nominated for three Grammy awards. It chronicles the stompin' sides made for Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
by Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers between 1925 and 1931, including such important songs as "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (the first country mega-hit), "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister?", "Old and Only In the Way" (the title of which was used by Jerry Garcia to name his 1970s bluegrass band with David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
, Old and In the Way), and "White House Blues", adapted by John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
, who in 2004 updated the politically-charged lyrics and changed the title to "To Washington". In addition to 43 of Poole's original recordings, the package features performances by other early roots music players and singers, including Fred Van Eps
Fred Van Eps
Fred Van Eps was a noted banjoist and banjo maker. The "Van Eps Recording Banjo" was a well-known model until 1930.-Biography:...
, Arthur Collins, Billy Murray
Billy Murray (singer)
William Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
, Floyd Country Ramblers, Uncle Dave Macon
Uncle Dave Macon
Uncle Dave Macon , born David Harrison Macon—also known as "The Dixie Dewdrop"—was an American banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian...
and The Red Fox Chasers
The Red Fox Chasers
The Red Fox Chasers were a string band that formed in North Carolina in 1927, and were active until around 1931. Members included vocalist and guitar player A. P...
.
The original liner notes, by Peter Stampfel, state, "Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers recorded an incredible number of songs that are personal favorites of mine. Poole is, in fact, one of the great musicians of the century. No doubt about it." The album's cover art was created by Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
, the celebrated illustrator and an old-time music afficiando.
Kinney Rorrer penned a biography of Charlie Poole, entitled Ramblin’ Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole in 1982. Rorrer, a descendant of Poole's fiddler Posey Rorer, is the banjo player for the old-time music group The New North Carolina Ramblers.
Production of a documentary on Poole's life, tentatively titled North Carolina Rambler, was announced in 2007 by producer-director-cinematographer George Goehl. However, no word on the film's progress is available.
A double-CD album paying tribute to Poole was released by singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
in August 2009. The album, entitled High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project is the 20th studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. The album, a double-CD released on August 18, 2009 on 2nd Story Sound, pays tribute to singer and banjo picker Charlie Poole...
, features 30 tracks, including new versions of songs originally recorded by Poole, as well as tunes composed by Wainwright and producer Dick Connette on the artist's life and times; it was awarded the Grammy for 'Best Traditional Folk Album' at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Charlie Poole and His North Carolina Ramblers
| Matrix | Title | Record # | Recording date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140786 | "The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee" | Columbia 15043-D | Jul 27, 1925 |
| 140787 | "I'm the Man That Rode the Mule 'Round the World" | Columbia 15043-D | Jul 27, 1925 |
| 140788 | "Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister?" | Columbia 15038-D | Jul 27, 1925 |
| 140789 | "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" | Columbia 15038-D | Jul 27, 1925 |
| 142627 | "Flying Clouds" | Columbia 15106-D | Sep 16, 1926 |
| 142631 | "Wild Horse" | Columbia 15279-D | Sep 16, 1926 |
| 142632 | "Forks of Sandy" | Columbia 15106-D | Sep 16, 1926 |
| 142633 | "Mountain Reel" | Columbia 15279-D | Sep 16, 1926 |
| 142637 | "Good-Bye Booze" | Columbia 15138-D | Sep 17, 1926 |
| 142638 | "Monkey On A String" | Columbia 15099-D | Sep 17, 1926 |
| 142641 | "Too Young To Marry" | Columbia15127-D | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142642 | "Ragtime Annie" | Columbia 15127-D | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142643 | "Little Dog Waltz" | Unissued | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142644 | "A Kiss Waltz" | Unissued | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142645 | "Leaving Home" | Columbia 15116-D | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142646 | "Budded Rose" | Columbia 15138-D | Sep 18, 1926 |
| 142657 | "There'll Come A Time" | Columbia 15116-D | Sep 20, 1926 |
| 142658 | "White House Blues" | Columbia 15099-D | Sep 20, 1926 |
| 142659 | "The Highway Man" | Columbia 15160-D | Sep 20, 1926 |
| 142660 | "Hungry Hash House" | Columbia 15160-D | Sep 20, 1926 |
| 144509 | "If I Lose I Don't Care" | Columbia 15215-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144510 | "On the Battle Fields of Belgium" | Unissued | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144511 | "You Ain't Talkin' To Me" | Columbia 15193-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144512 | "Coon From Tennessee" | Columbia 15215-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144513 | "When I Left My Good Old Home" | Unissued | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144514 | "The Letter That Never Came" | Columbia 15179-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144515 | "Take A Drink On Me" | Columbia 15193-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144516 | "Falling By the Wayside" | Columbia 15179-D | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144517 | "Down In Georgia" | Unissued | Jul 25, 1927 |
| 144518 | "Sunset March" | Columbia 15184-D | Jul 26, 1927 |
| 144519 | "Teasin' Fritz" | Unissued | Jul 26, 1927 |
| 144521 | "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Medley" | Columbia 15184-D | Jul 26, 1927 |
| 146767 | "A Young Boy Left His Home One Day" | Columbia 15584-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146768 | "My Wife Went Away and Left Me" | Columbia 15584-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146769 | "I Cannot Call Her Mother" | Columbia 15307-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146770 | "I Once Loved A Sailor" | Columbia 15385-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146771 | "Husband and Wife Were Angry One Night" | Columbia 15342-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146772 | "Hangman, Hangman, Slack the Rope" | Columbia 15385-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146773 | "Ramblin' Blues" | Columbia 15286-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146774 | "Took My Gal A-Walking" | Columbia 15672-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146775 | "What Is Home Without Babies" | Columbia 15307-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146776 | "Jealous Mary" | Columbia 15342-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146778 | "Old and Only In the Way" | Columbia 15672-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 146779 | "Shootin' Creek" | Columbia 15286-D | Jul 23, 1928 |
| 148469 | "Bill Mason" | Columbia 15407-D | May 6, 1929 |
| 148470 | "Goodbye Mary Dear" | Columbia 15456-D | May 6, 1929 |
| 148471 | "Leaving Dear Old Ireland" | Columbia 15425-D | May 6, 1929 |
| 148472 | "Baltimore Fire" | Columbia 15509-D | May 6, 1929 |
| 148474 | "The Wayward Boy" | Columbia 15456-D | May 7, 1929 |
| 148475 | "Sweet Sunny South" | Columbia 15425-D | May 7, 1929 |
| 148476 | "He Rambled" | Columbia 15407-D | May 7, 1929 |
| 148477 | "The Mother's Plea For Her Son" | Columbia 15509-D | May 7, 1929 |
| 2913 | "San Antonio" | Broadway 8288 | May 9, 1929 |
| 149900 | "Sweet Sixteen" | Columbia 15519-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149901 | "My Gypsy Girl" | Columbia 15519-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149902 | "The Only Girl I Ever Loved" | Columbia 15711-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149904 | "Write Letter To My Mother" | Columbia 15711-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149906 | "If the River Was Whiskey" | Columbia 15545-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149907 | "It's Movin' Day" | Columbia 15545-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149908 | "Southern Medley" | Columbia 15615-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 149909 | "Honeysuckle" | Columbia 15615-D | Jan 23, 1930 |
| 150773 | "Goodbye Sweet Liza Jane" | Columbia 15601-D | Sep 9, 1930 |
| 150774 | "Look Before You Leap" | Columbia 15601-D | Sep 9, 1930 |
| 150775 | "One Moonlit Night" | Columbia 15688-D | Sep 9, 1930 |
| 150777 | "Just Keep Waiting Till the Good Times Come" | Columbia 15636-D | Sep 9, 1930 |
| 150779 | "Milwaukee Blues" | Columbia 15688-D | Sep 9, 1930 |
| 150780 | "Where the Whippoorwill Is Whispering Goodnight" | Columbia 15636-D | Sep 9, 1930 |