Cliff Carlisle (May 6, 1903 – April 5, 1983) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician, singer and songwriter. Carlisle was a yodeler and was a pioneer in the use of the Hawaiian

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

in country music. He was a brother of country music star Bill Carlisle.

Biography

Carlisle was born in Taylorsville, Kentucky and began performing locally with cousin Lillian Truax at age 16. Truax's marriage put an end to the group, and Carlisle began playing with Wilber Ball, a guitarist and tenor harmonizer. The two toured frequently around the U.S. playing

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and circus venues in the 1920s. Cliff and Ball first played at

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

radio station WHAS-AM in 1930, which made them local stars, and later that year they recorded for

Gennett Records Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

and Champion Records. In 1931, they recorded with

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

. Toward the end of 1931, Carlisle signed with ARC and was offered performance slots on several radio stations, including WBT-AM in Charlotte, North Carolina, WLS-AM in Chicago and WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cliff's brother Bill Carlisle became his guitarist after Ball left in 1934. During the 1930s Carlisle, who recorded a large amount of material despite a hiatus from 1934 to 1936, frequently released songs with sexual connotations including barnyard metaphors (which became something of a hallmark). Carlisle toured with his son, "Sonny Boy Tommy," to occasional consternation from authorities in areas where this contravened local child labor laws. He continued to perform on WMPS-AM in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

for several years in the 1940s, but by the 1950s had retired from music. In the 1960s, The Rooftop Singers covered his tune "Tom Cat Blues"; in its wake, Carlisle and Ball did a few reunion shows together and recorded for Rem Records. On April 2, 1983, Carlisle died at the age of 79 in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

Legacy

Carlisle's 1933 song " Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad" is featured in the 2017 video game '' Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy''.

Discography

Singles

Albums

* 1963: ''A Country Kind Of Songs and Hymns'' * 1964: ''Maple On The Hill'' * 1965: ''Cliff Carlisle'' * 1965: ''Carlisle Family Album - Old Time Great Hymns'' (The Carlisle Family) * 1965: ''Cliff Carlisle Vol. 1+2''

References

External links

* Cliff Carlisleat Allmusic.com
Cliff Carlisle recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlisle, Cliff 1903 births 1983 deaths American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists Country musicians from Kentucky People from Taylorsville, Kentucky Gennett Records artists Decca Records artists American yodelers 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Kentucky 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Kentucky 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters