Andrew Baxter (March 1869 – April15, 1955),
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
fiddle player, and Jim Baxter (James Baxter; January18, 1898 – June11, 1950),
African-American-
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
singer and guitar player, were a father and son
fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
and guitar
duet
A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
from
Gordon County, Georgia
}
Gordon County is a County (United States), county in the Northwest Georgia, Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 57,544. The county seat is C ...
, who recorded in the 1920s.
The
Georgia Yellow Hammers and the Baxters traveled to
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, to record for
Victor in the summer of 1927.
Because of the
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...
, the Baxters had to ride several cars behind the Yellow Hammers on the train ride to Charlotte. In Charlotte, each group recorded their individual sessions, with one exception: Andrew Baxter played fiddle on "G Rag" with the Yellow Hammers.
It is thought that "G Rag" is one of the earliest integrated recordings of Georgia musicians.
Among their recordings is "40 Drops", a tribute to Georgia corn
moonshine
Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...
, an
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
with vocal comments - a style typical of instrumental recordings of the 1920s.
In May 2012, their recording of "K.C. Railroad Blues" was released on the
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
''Lonesome Whistle: An Anthology of American Railroad Songs''.
References
Bibliography
*Wayne W. Daniel, ''Pickin' on Peachtree: A History of Country Music in Atlanta, Georgia'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), p. 76-77.
*''The Encyclopedia of Country Music,'' ed. Paul Kingsbury (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), s.v. "Georgia Yellow Hammers."
*Gene Wiggins and Tony Russell, "Hell Broke Loose in Gordon County, Georgia," ''Old Time Music'' 25 (Summer 1977): p. 9-21.
*Charles K. Wolfe, "The Georgia Yellow Hammers," in ''Classic Country: Legends of Country Music'' (New York: Routledge, 2001).
*Tony Russell, ''Old Time Music Journal''.
*Gene Wiggins, ''Old Time Music Journal''.
External links
Illustrated Andrew & Jim Baxter discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Andrew And Jim
Baxter, Andrew and Jim
People from Gordon County, Georgia
Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)