Carl Story (May 29, 1916
– March 31, 1995)
was an American
bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...
ian, and leader of his band the Rambling Mountaineers. He was dubbed "The Father of Bluegrass Gospel Music" by the governor of Oklahoma.
Biography
Story was born in
Lenoir, North Carolina
Lenoir is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the north ...
, United States,
into a musically inclined family. His father played the fiddle and his mother played the guitar and Story learned to master both fiddle, guitar and clawhammer banjo. In the early 1930s, after winning a fiddle contest, he joined J. E. Clark and the Lonesome Mountaineers performing at
WLVA
WLVA (580 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, and serving Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bedford. WLVA is owned and operated by Brent Epperson. It airs a talk radio format. Most of the hosts are nationally syndicated: ...
in
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...
. In 1934, he formed the Rambling Mountaineers together with banjo player Johnny Whisnant and guitarists Dudley Watson and Ed McMahan. Within a year they played over radio station
WHKY in
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...
. It later led to performances at
WSPA in
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...
and
WWNC
WWNC (570 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Asheville, North Carolina. It broadcasts a Talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and transmitter are on Summerlin Road in Ashville.
WWNC is powered at 5,000 watts. By ...
in
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
. They recorded for
ARC
ARC may refer to:
Business
* Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s
* Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services
* ...
in 1939 and
Okeh Records
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
in 1940; however, these recordings were never issued. Story played with
Bill Monroe
William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass".
The genre take ...
in 1942 as a fiddler - replacing
Howdy Forrester
Howdy Forrester (March 31, 1922 – August 1, 1987), born Howard Wilson Forrester, was an American bluegrass fiddler and a popularizer and practiser of the "Texas" or "show fiddle" style.Carlin 2003, p. 141. He was a long-time member of Roy ...
who had been drafted - but eventually Story was also drafted in October 1943.
After his discharge from the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
in 1945, he began reforming and performing with his Rambling Mountaineers on the ''Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round'' show at WNOX in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
.
In 1947, he recorded for the
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
label.
At the recording sessions of 1947, Story temporarily labelled his band the Melody Four Quartet. During the 1950s, Carl Story's Rambling Mountaineers performed on the ''Farm and Fun Time Show'' at
WCYB in
Bristol, Virginia
Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...
and on the ''Cas Walker Show'' over
WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Bill Williams Avenue in Knoxville's Belle Morris section, and its transmitter is loc ...
in Knoxville, Tennessee. His Mountaineers also appeared on radio stations WAYS in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, WEAS in
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...
, and
WLOS
WLOS (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting American Broadcasting Company, ABC and MyNetworkTV programming to Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. It is owned by Sincl ...
in Asheville, North Carolina. He had a new recording contract on
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
in 1953. Two years later he was back to Mercury Records. In 1957, he switched label to
Starday Records
Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s.
History
The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...
, where he stayed for eighteen years. In 1960, Story began working as a
deejay
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...
for
WFLW
WFLW (1360 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Country format licensed to Monticello, Kentucky
Monticello is city in Wayne County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,188 at the time ...
in
Monticello, Kentucky
Monticello is city in Wayne County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,188 at the time of the 2010 U.S. census.
Monticello claims to be "The Houseboat Capital of the World" as there are numerous ...
. Beginning in the 1960s, and for the next 20 years, Story toured extensively throughout the US and Europe. He signed another recording contract with
CMH Records
CMH Records is a Los Angeles-based, independent country and bluegrass label with several subsidiary labels, including Vitamin Records, Crosscheck, Dwell, and Rockabye Baby!. The label release diverse styles of music including string quartet tribut ...
in the mid-1970s. He settled down in
Greer, South Carolina
Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census Greer is ...
, working as a deejay over
WCKI in Greer.
Death
Story died on March 31, 1995, aged 78.
References
Bibliography
*Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, '' All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music'', 2003,
*W. K. McNeil, ''Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music'', 2005,
*Kurt Wolff, Orla Duane, ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'', 2000,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story, Carl
1916 births
1995 deaths
Bluegrass musicians from North Carolina
Starday Records artists
People from Lenoir, North Carolina
20th-century American musicians
Country musicians from North Carolina