The Monroe Brothers, Charlie and Bill, spent a lot of their career in the Carolinas - In digitized, nationwide newspaper archives it's fairly easy to find advertisement for or references to the Monroe Brothers. Their shows often included Byron Parker.
"Beginning Monday, February 8, Charlie and Bill and the Old Hired Hand
were on the air Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 10:15 to 10:30,
listed as “Monroe Brothers” in the Raleigh News and Observer. Exactly one
week later, on Monday, February 15, Charlie and Bill were on their way back
to Charlotte to record their fourth session"
Excerpt from Tom Ewings biography about the Father of Blue Grass:
Bill Monroe: The Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man
Tom Ewing, 2018
Published by: University of Illinois Press
The Monroe Brothers Biography by Greg Adams
In 1932, Bill and Charlie began touring professionally with the WLS touring company as dancers, appearing with the Hoosier Hot Shots and Red Foley among others, and in 1934 secured the sponsorship of the Texas Crystals Company, a manufacturer of laxatives. The association provided the Monroes with a steady stream of radio work for over a year until competing laxative maker Crazy Water Crystals took over sponsorship of the duo while they continued working on many of the same stations. The radio appearances made the Monroe Brothers a popular live act, which prompted the interest of RCA to recording the two. In mid-February the Monroe Brothers made their first recordings for RCA's Bluebird imprint, and went on to wax 60 sides in the following two years. Their music at this point was firmly within the brother duo tradition and exhibited only hints of the style Bill Monroe would later pioneer as the Father of Bluegrass. They were set apart from other harmony duos by Bill's piercing harmonies and mandolin leads, as well as the energy and often fast tempos of their performances. The very use of the mandolin as a lead instrument would revolutionize its application in country music, as would Bill's unique fiddle-influenced style. It would be silly to label them the "rock & roll of the '30s," but certainly there was an excitement and an edge to their music that put them on the frontier of hillbilly innovation in their day. In early 1938, Bill and Charlie parted ways due to personality conflicts and business disagreements, and each formed his own band shortly thereafter. Charlie formed a group called the Kentucky Pardners, and by 1941 (after a short stint with a band called the Kentuckians and an abortive attempt at recreating the Monroe Brothers sound with partner Cleo Davis) Bill Monroe was recording again for RCA with a band he named the Blue Grass Boys. In this new group, Monroe built upon his earlier innovations and developed the distinctive and enduring style that came to be known as bluegrass.
Byron Parker & His Hillbillies Biography by AllMusic
b. Byron Harry Parker, 6 September 1911, Hastings, Iowa, USA, d. 6 October 1948. Parker’s career started as one half of the Gospel Twins, a duo who appeared regularly in the early 30s on a local station in Shenandoah, Iowa. Between 1934 and 1937, he worked with the Monroe Brothers, originally just as their programme announcer but he also sang bass in their gospel quartet. In 1937, he left the Monroes, and nicknaming himself the Old Hired Hand, he formed his Hillbillies, which included J.E. Mainer and banjoist Snuffy Jenkins, at WIS Columbia. Soon afterwards fiddler Pappy Sherrill joined but the group saw several changes of personnel. In 1940, he recorded 16 sides for Bluebird Records as Byron Parker’s Mountaineers and four further sides for DeLuxe in 1946. Parker mainly acted as announcer or MC and rarely performed but he was so good at selling things on the programmes that he was never without a sponsor. Someone allegedly once commented that if he had wanted, Parker could have sold used matches. His shows proved immensely popular and his regular closing ‘Goodbye, good luck, and may God Bless you everyone’ was known by thousands. Parker continued to lead a group until 1947 when, because of increasing heart problems, his doctor told him to drastically cut down on his workload and travelling. He finally settled for working as a station announcer at WFIX Columbia, which he did until his premature death at the age of 37. After his death, Jenkins and Sherrill, as a mark of respect to their dead friend, renamed the group the Hired Hands. Bill Anderson has always maintained that, as a boy, he was greatly influenced by Parker.
If you If you think that salvaging our bluegrass music heritage is a worthwhile cause and if you would like to show your support in a monetary way I invite you to join me in my mission to preserve bluegrass history one live show at the time. Please click the link below for more info.
/ acousticjohansson
Any contribution to my mission is welcome.
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24 фев 2024
