1st Country Record

Fred Nelson · From: Black Oak, Ar

Was wondering what was the first country song recorded. Would like to have

Record Lable
Name of song
Singer
Date

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Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

I think that depends on what your definition of a "country song" is!

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Well, which was the first country?

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

I think the first country was the U.S.

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Yeah, my kid thinks that too.

Fred Nelson · From: Black Oak, Ar

Thanks guys, I think what we are talking about here is, that a long time ago someone called a certain kind of music country, so that was the birth of country music, someone recorded the first country music record, it makes no difference what country it was born, and recorded in.
thanks
Fred

Alvin Blaine · From: Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA

quote:
Was wondering what was the first country song recorded. Would like to have
Record Lable
Name of song
Singer
Date

The first commercial country(hillbilly) recording was by fiddler Eck Robertson from Amarillo, TX. Eck and another fiddler went to New York to make a record back in 1922.
They walked into the Victor Talking machine Company studio for an audition wearing confederate uniforms carrying fiddle cases.
On June 30 1922 they recorded two songs,"Arkansas Traveler" and "Turkey in the Staw", the next day they recorded six more songs including "Sallie Goodin'".
In April of 1923 the recording of "Sallie Goodin'" and "Arkansas Traveler" were released, making it the FIRST commercial Country Music Record!

No singer, these were all instrumentals!

Here's a link to a story and pictures of Eck and there is a link on that page to a mp3 of "Sallie Goddin", the first country music record.

[This message was edited by Alvin Blaine on 28 July 2003 at 09:54 PM.]

Eric West · From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.

Gotta be the Enrico Caruso thick 78 that came out in 1902.

He recorded the earliest known version of:

"Ogni volta vado alla città, i ragazzi tengono a calciare il mio cane intorno."

( Every time I go to town, the boys keep kickin' my dog around.)

If you have one it's worth a few bucks.

EJL

[This message was edited by Eric West on 01 August 2003 at 05:58 PM.]

Alvin Blaine · From: Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA

quote:
Gotta be the Enrico Caruso thick 78 that came out in 1902.
He recorded the earliest known version of:

"Ogni volta vado alla città, i ragazzi tengono a calciare il mio cane intorno."

( Every time I go to town......)

If you have one it's worth a few bucks.

EJL

Eric,
I think thats the from the wrong country.

David Cobb · From: Chanute, Kansas, USA

After an exhaustive search, well OK, a couple minutes anyway, I've found an article about Don Richardson, a country fiddle player, whose recording of "A Perfect Day/Dear Old Girl Waltz" on Columbia in Dec. 1914 predates Eck Robertson and Henry Gilliland's recordings by 8 years. And of course there were recordings of what was called folk music, a medley of songs including some fiddle tunes, in the 1890's, these recorded on cylinder and disc.
But it wasn't until 1923 that Ralph Peer and his associates at Okeh Records applied the name "country music".

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Actually, Eck Robertson and Henry Gilleland probably were the first to cut a country music record (disc). But as to the first country song ever recorded, credit for that is generally given to "Fiddling Bob Haines", who recorded "Arkansas Traveler", around 1908.

As a sidelight...
Cylinders were actually superior to discs as a recording medium, but they soon lost public favor when 2-sided discs were developed.

John Steele · From: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

Now that we have that figured out,
What was the Last Country Record ?
-John

jus' kidding.... sorta

David Doggett · Posted 29 Jul 2003 5:35 pm

All that fiddle stuff before Okeh Records sounds like it was "old time" music, and not what we call country today. So it all depends on what you want to call "country music."

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Well, before there was "country" music, there was "country and western" music, and before that there was "hillbilly music". So, are we looking for the line between "C&W" and just plain "C"?

Fred Nelson · From: Black Oak, Ar

Thanks again guy's
This is pretty interesting
Jim your right. there was Hillbilly Music Country and Western Music, and there was Country Music, I think the line between C/W and Country would give us Western Swing, I don't know which of this music came first Hillbilly, C/W, Western swing, or Country, but that don't really matter, but sometime and somewhere someone sang and recorded the first Country Music Song.
Could it might be Jimmy Thompson?
Thanks guy's
Fred

Don Walters · From: Saskatchewan Canada

FWIW, apparently the first million seller was The Prisoner's Song by Vernon Dalhart

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Now you're makin' me feel old! You see, I still have that old 78 of "The Prisoner's Song", by Vernon Dalhart. Though he did a ton of early country songs, he really wasn't a "country singer", per se (he was just as comfortable doing pop songs and operatic arias). He was quite prolific by anyone's standards, in that he recorded over 1,500 songs. I guess we could easily call him the Garth Boooks of the '20s and '30s since he was so popular, crossed over traditional music boundaries, and did sell millions of records. All this back when the population of the U.S. was a fraction of what it is today.

Alvin Blaine · From: Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Using the OLD GRAND OLD OPRY as a reference point: Back in the late 1940's, most Opry guests/stars........were being called "Hillbillys". When Eddy Arnold guested on the show, Red Foley referred to him as "the hottest new Folk singer in America". I believe country music followed somewhere about that time in order to dress up the images conjured up by the term "Hillbilly" with blacked out front teeth and visually offensive attire, not to overlook the cornball jokes of that era. Minnie Pearl and Rod Bradfield used to build on that "image" of country hicks.
Musical talent however, was tops in spite of what you might choose to call it.
Western swing seems to have grown out of the dance band groups (not the Grand Old Opry") of Wills, Thompson, Cooley, etc.
That's the way I see it from way out here on the Left Coast.

Larry Robbins · From: Fort Edward, New York

Eric,
Laughing my a$$ off!!!!
Thanx

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Sho-Bud ProII
"there's been an awful murder, down on music row!"

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

For what it's worth, National Public radio is doing a segment on Fridays, on Honky tonks, Hymns and the blues. Today was a segment about Jimmie Rogers. I'd guess it was about 10 minutes in length with cuts of him singing, the story of his life and even comments fron the Hag. I learned more about him in those 10 minutes than I ever knew.

It was in the morning report, about 5:40 AM LA time. The segments are worth checking out at the time they come on in your area. Check out www.npr.org

Next week: The Maddox brothers and Rose.