Georgia Yellow Hammers

Last updated

The Georgia Yellow Hammers were an old-time string and vocal quartet from Gordon County, Georgia from the 1920s. The group featured Charles Moody, Jr. on guitar; Bud Landress on banjo; Phil Reeve on guitar; and Bill Chitwood on fiddle. [1] All members may have been multi-instrumentalists. Tony Russell's notes accompanying the 2004 compilation CD "Old Mountain" identify the personnel on "The Picture on the Wall" (Victor 20943, 9 Aug.1927) as Landress, fiddle and lead vocal; Reeve, guitar and vocal; C. Ernest Moody, banjo-ukulele and vocal; and Clyde Evans, guitar and vocal. [2]

Contents

Collaboration with the Baxters

The group often played with Andrew and Jim Baxter from Curryville, GA (also in Gordon County). Curryville was also home to music legend Roland Hayes. Andrew Baxter's unique style of fiddle is heard an early recording of a band favorite entitled "G-Rag". The Baxters were African Americans, which was an unusual collaboration for the time period. The band released one of the top selling records of 1920s southern music with 1927's release "The Picture on the Wall"/"My Carolina Girl". [1] The 1927 recording session with the Baxter's took place in Charlotte, NC, and was a rare integrated session, uncommon even through the mid to late 20th century. [3] Andrew and Jim Baxter were a well known duo for the time in their own right around Northwest Georgia.

Legacy

The band is nationally recognized as an important 1920s "old-time" band. Their songs can still be heard from early recordings on such sites as YouTube.com and others. The song "Drifting Too Far From The Shore" written by member Charles Moody has been covered by such artists as Jerry Garcia, [4] Emmylou Harris, Phil Lesh & Friends, Hank Williams, and many others, as well as being a standard in many gospel hymnals. The Calhoun High School football stadium in Calhoun, Georgia is also named after the guitar player and founding member Phil Reeve.


Georgia Yellow Hammers recorded songs including:

Mary, Don't You Weep [5]

I'm S-A-V-E-D [6]

Pass around the Bottle [7]

Fourth of July at a County Fair (1927) [8]

Going to Ride That Midnight Train [9]

Tennessee Coon (1927) [10]

My Carolina Girl (1927) [11]

G Rag with Andrew Baxter (1927 Aug. 9) [12]

Peaches down in Georgia [13]

Picture on the Wall (1928) [13]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon County, Georgia</span> County in Georgia, United States

Gordon County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,544. The county seat is Calhoun. Gordon County comprises the Calhoun, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA.

<i>Will the Circle be Unbroken</i> (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album) 1972 studio album by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Will the Circle be Unbroken is the seventh studio album by American country music group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with collaboration from many famous bluegrass and country-and-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience. The album was released in November 1972, through United Artists Records.

<i>Merry Christmas Wherever You Are</i> 1999 studio album by George Strait

Merry Christmas Wherever You Are is the second Christmas album by George Strait. It was released by MCA Records. It has his versions of many classic Christmas songs, as well as the newly penned tracks "I Know What I Want for Christmas", "Old Time Christmas", "Noel Leon", "Santa's on His Way" and the title track.

The Bills are a high-impact, acoustic folk music quintet from the West Coast of Canada. Formed in 1996, they have performed extensively throughout North America and Europe, with their strongest followings in Western Canada, the Western US, Ontario and the UK.

Christopher Allen Bouchillon was an American country music and blues musician from South Carolina, who is often credited with being the originator of the talking blues musical style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skillet Lickers</span> American old-time music Georgia band (1926–1931)

The Skillet Lickers were an old-time band from Georgia, United States.

<i>Galloping Guitar: The Early Years</i> 1993 compilation album by Chet Atkins

Galloping Guitar: The Early Years is a multi-disc box-set retrospective recording by American guitarist Chet Atkins, released in 1993 on the Bear Family label.

Andrew Baxter, African-American fiddle player, and Jim Baxter, African-American-Cherokee singer and guitar player, were a father and son fiddle and guitar duet from Gordon County, Georgia, who recorded in the 1920s.

<i>Memories</i> (Doc Watson album) 1975 studio album by Doc Watson

Memories is the title of a studio album by American country music artist Doc Watson, released in 1975. It was originally released as a double-LP by United Artists Records. It peaked at No. 47 on Billboard Country Albums charts and No. 193 on the Pop Album charts.

<i>The Vanguard Years</i> (Doc Watson album) 1995 compilation album by Doc Watson

The Vanguard Years is the title of a recording by American folk music and country blues artist Doc Watson, released in 1995.

<i>Love and Honor</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Ricky Van Shelton

Love and Honor is the seventh studio album by country music artist Ricky Van Shelton and his last album for Columbia Records. This is also his first album of his career not to be produced by Steve Buckingham. Two singles released from this album, "Wherever She Is", and "Lola's Love" charted outside the top 40. "Lola's Love" was originally recorded by Sawyer Brown and featured on their 1987 album, Somewhere in the Night. "Where the Tall Grass Grows" was originally recorded by George Jones on his 1991 album And Along Came Jones.

<i>Natashas Waltz</i> 1987 compilation album by Norman Blake

Natasha's Waltz is a compilation album of American guitarist Norman Blake, released in 1987. It contains all of the tracks from the vinyl release Original Underground Music from the Mysterious South, along with six tracks from Full Moon on the Farm and two tracks from Rising Fawn String Ensemble. The cover is the same as Original Underground Music from the Mysterious South.

<i>Everything Is Gonna Work Out Fine</i> 1987 compilation album by Jerry Douglas

Everything Is Gonna Work Out Fine is an album by dobro player Jerry Douglas, released in 1987. It contains all the tracks from his two releases on the Rounder label — Fluxology and Fluxedo — except for "Say a Little Prayer for You".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steep Canyon Rangers</span> American band

Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina.

<i>Mescalito</i> (album) 2007 studio album by Ryan Bingham

Mescalito is the first studio album by American country rock singer/songwriter Ryan Bingham, released in 2007 through Lost Highway Records and produced by Marc Ford.

Charles Ernest Moody was a gospel songwriter from Gordon County, Georgia, United States. He was a member of the 1920s string band Georgia Yellow Hammers from Calhoun, Georgia, which included members Bill Chitwood, Bud Landress, and Phil Reeve. The Yellow Hammers were a very popular string band with their biggest hit being "Picture on the Wall" which sold more than sixty thousand copies in 1928. Moody's individual songwriting talents were, however, dynamic.

George Oscar "Bud" Landress was born in Gwinnett County in 1882. He considered himself a native to Gordon County, Georgia, however. He and his friend, Bill Chitwood formed the pre-country string band The Georgia Yellow Hammers. Both played fiddle and banjo, and switched out most of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country music in Atlanta</span>

Atlanta played a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists in the early 1920s — many Appalachian people such as Fiddlin' John Carson had come to the city and area to work in its cotton mills and brought their music with them. It would remain a major recording center for two decades and a major performance center for four decades, into the first country music TV shows on local Atlanta stations in the 1950s.

Ron Stewart is an American multi-instrumentalist in the bluegrass tradition. He plays fiddle, guitar, banjo, and mandolin, and has won the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award for Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000 and Banjo Player of the Year in 2011.

<i>Steve Goodman</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Steve Goodman

Steve Goodman is the debut album of singer/songwriter Steve Goodman, released in 1971. It included both of his most well-known compositions: "City of New Orleans", first covered by Arlo Guthrie, and an early version of "You Never Even Call Me by My Name," which, with some modifications, was covered by David Allan Coe. In 1990 Sequel Records issue the album on CD.

References

  1. 1 2 "New Georgia Encyclopedia: Georgia Yellow Hammers". Georgiaencyclopedia.org. 2007-10-05. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. ↑ {Russell, Tony, notes to Old Mountain Stringband Sounds & Tunes, Living Era, London, 2004
  3. ↑ "Blogger: Aanmelden". Oldbluebus.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  4. ↑ "The Jerry Site". The Jerry Site. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  5. ↑ "Georgia Yellow Hammers-Mary, Don't You Weep". YouTube. 2010-06-19. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  6. ↑ "The Georgia Yellow Hammers-I'm Saved". YouTube. 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  7. ↑ "The Georgia Yellow Hammers-Pass Around The Bottle". YouTube. 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Georgia Yellow Hammers : Fourth Of July At A County Fair ( 1927 )". YouTube. 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  9. ↑ "The Georgia Yellow Hammers-Going To Ride That Midnight Train". YouTube. 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  10. ↑ "Georgia Yellow Hammers, Tennessee Coon. North Carolina 1927". YouTube. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  11. ↑ "The Georgia Yellow Hammers-My Carolina Girl". YouTube. 2010-08-24. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  12. ↑ "Andrew Baxter with the Georgia Yellow Hammers G Rag VICTOR 21195". YouTube. 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  13. 1 2 "The Georgia Yellow Hammers-The Picture On The Wall". YouTube. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.