Delmore Brothers
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Alton Delmore (December 25, 1908 – June 9, 1964) and Rabon Delmore (December 3, 1916 – December 4, 1952), billed as The Delmore Brothers, were
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
in the 1930s. The Delmore Brothers, together with other brother duos such as
the Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...
, the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers ( Birch Monroe, Charlie Monroe and
Bill Monroe William Smith 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 takes its n ...
), the McGee Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers, had a profound impact on the history of country music and American popular music. The duo performed extensively with old time fiddler Arthur Smith as the Arthur Smith Trio throughout the 1930s.


Biography

The brothers were born into poverty in Elkmont, Alabama, United States, as the sons of
tenant farmers A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and mana ...
amid a rich tradition of
gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
and Appalachian folk. Their mother, Mollie Delmore, wrote and sang gospel songs for their church. The Delmores blended gospel-style harmonies with the quicker guitar work of traditional
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
and the
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 ...
to help create the still-emerging genre of country. In addition to the regular six-string
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
, the duo was one of the few to use the rare
tenor guitar The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players o ...
, a four-string instrument that had primarily been used previously in
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 ...
shows. In 1925, 16-year-old Alton wrote his first song ("Bound for the Shore"), which he co-wrote with his mother. It was published by Athens Music Co. In 1930, the brothers entered a contest in Athens, Alabama and won first prize after almost being beaten by a comedy act in multiple rounds of tie breakers. The Brothers did their first recording session for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
in 1931, recording "Got The Kansas City Blues" and "Alabama Lullaby," which became their theme song. They signed a contract with Victor's budget label Bluebird in 1933 and became regulars on the ''
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
''. Within three years, they had become the most popular act on the show.
In 1934, Arthur Smith (later known as "Fiddlin' Arthur Smith" to distinguish him from Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith) began touring with The Delmore Brothers. The trio recorded together for the next three years and had played together on over 52 sides together under both The Delmore Brothers and The Arthur Smith Trio. Their first session together was in 1935 for Bluebird. Talent scouts were impressed with Arthur's playing and recorded his first sides with Alton and Rabon backing him up. During a recording session in 1937 for Bluebird, Alton had a cold forcing him to sing lower which ended up damaging his vocal chords. After this, Alton was not able to sing as high ever again. Disagreements with Opry management led to the brothers leaving the show in 1938. After leaving the Opry, the brothers moved to WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina. While they continued to play and record music throughout the 1940s, they never achieved the same level of success they had with the Grand Ole Opry. In 1941, their song "When It's Time for the Whippoorwill to Sing" made the ''Billboard'' "Hillbilly" top three. In 1942, the brothers were officially signed to King Records. However, many of the early King Records that predate this signing were released under pen names. "Someday You'll Pay," "Remember I Feel Lonesome, Too," "Going Back to the Blueridge Mountains," and "The Last Old Shovel" were released under Alton's Pseudonym "Jim Scott". While a myth exists stating that all of the King sides were recorded in Cincinnati, this is untrue. The sides were recorded wherever the Delmores were living at the time. The brothers tended to move two to three times a year which meant there were a lot of places that were sites of the recordings. The sides were recorded in Indianapolis, Memphis, Chattanooga, Jackson, Mississippi, Athens, Alabama, Covington, Fort Smith, Del Rio, and Houston. Their "Freight Train Boogie" (recorded for the King label in 1946) is regarded by some as the first rock and roll record. Their best-known song, "Blues Stay Away From Me" (also on King, 1949), was covered by
Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...
and The Rock and Roll Trio, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps,
The Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed ...
, The Browns,
Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...
and Mary Ford, Doc Watson, The Notting Hillbillies, Marshall Chapman, and
The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...
. Over the course of their careers, the Delmores wrote more than one thousand songs. Some of the most popular were "Brown's Ferry Blues," "Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar" and "Fifteen Miles from Birmingham." Their guitar-based recordings were key in establishing the guitar as central in country and, later, rockabilly and rock and roll. A third instrument featured in many of their postwar records is the harmonica of Wayne Raney. Rabon died of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
in 1952, a day after his 36th birthday. Following Rabon's death, Alton suffered a heart attack, the loss of his father and his daughter Susan, all within a three-year period. He moved back to Huntsville, Alabama. He taught some guitar, did odd jobs, and devoted his creative energies to writing prose. He wrote a series of short stories and his autobiography, ''Truth is Stranger than Publicity'', published posthumously in 1977 by the Country Music Foundation.


Legacy

The Delmore Brothers were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 1971, as well as the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the
Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...
in 2001. Their pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame The original Rockabilly Hall of Fame was an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville ...
. The Brothers' later records with electric guitars and boogie beat landed them a spot on the ''Rolling Stones History of Rock n' Roll.
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
was quoted in the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', on November 10, 1985 as saying, "The Delmore Brothers, God, I really loved them! I think they've influenced every harmony I've ever tried to sing." The Brothers recorded over 200 sides with major labels as the Delmore Brothers, and many more under pseudonyms such as Alton's most famous persona, "Jim Scott". Alton wrote many songs that were never released.


Partial discography


Singles

*''Got The Kansas City Blues'' (Columbia, 1931) *''Lonesome Yodel Blues'' (Bluebird, 1934) *''The Frozen Girl'' (Bluebird, 1934) *''Brown's Ferry Blues'' (Bluebird, 1934) *''Brown's Ferry Blues, Part 2'' (Bluebird, 1935) *''Down South'' (Bluebird, 1935) *''I'm Gonna Change My Way'' (Bluebird, 1936) *''Till The Roses Bloom Again'' (Bluebird, 1937) *''Ain't It Hard To Love'' (Bluebird, 1938) *''I'm Alabama Bound'' (Bluebird, 1939) *''Silver Dollar'' (Decca, 1940) *''Prisoner's Farewell'' (King, 1944) *''Freight Train Boogie'' (King, 1946) *''Mobile Boogie'' (King, 1947) *''Blues Stay Away From Me'' (King, 1949) *''Pan American Boogie'' (King, 1950) *''I'll Be There'' (King, 1951) *''Good Time Saturday Night'' (King, 1952) *''Muddy Water'' (King, 1952)


Albums

*''Sacred Songs'' (King, 1957) *''In Memory'' (King, 1964) *''In Memory, Vol. 2'' (King, 1964) *''Wonderful Sacred Songs'' (King, 1966) *''When They Let The Hammer Fall'' ( Bear Family, 1984) *''Lonesome Yodel Blues'' ( Old Homestead, 1985) *''Classic Cuts: 1933-1941'' (JSP, 2003) *''Fifty Miles To Travel'' (Ace, 2005) *''The Delmore Brothers, Vol. 2: The Later Years 1933-1952'' (JSP, 2007) *''Blues Stay Away From Me'' (Jasmine, 2008) *''Classic Cuts, Vol. 3: More From The 1930s Plus'' (JSP, 2008)


Awards

*Citation of Achievement from Broadcast Music Inc. presented to Alton Delmore for "Beautiful Brown Eyes", 1951. *Induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, 1971 *Induction into the Alabama Country Music Hall of Fame, 1987 *Induction into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, 1989 *Independent Country Music Association-Germany, Induction into the Hall of Fame. 2000 *Independent Country Music Association-Germany, Artists of the 20th Century, 2000 *Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, October 4, 2001 *National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences "Blues Stay Away From Me", Delmore Brothers, King, 1949, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, January 2007 *Limestone County Fiddlers Convention, c. 1920s, First Prize, duo awarded one sack of flour and a new pair of socks.


References


External links


Delmore Brothers website maintained by Alton's daughterSessionography, Discography, Biography and all about them by Alain NicolasNative GroundNashville Songwriters Hall of FameCountry Music Hall of Fame and Museum
* .
Delmore Brothers 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:Delmore Brothers Country music groups from Alabama American country music duos Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Sibling musical duos Grand Ole Opry members King Records artists Members of the Country Music Association Musical groups established in 1926 People from Limestone County, Alabama American musical duos