George McKinley Reneau (May 18, 1902 – June 5, 1938) was an American blind

street musician Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

who became one of

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 ...

's earliest recording artists. Known as "The Blind Musician of the Smoky Mountains", Reneau recorded more than 50 songs on the

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

and Edison labels in the mid-1920s. While he is credited on his early recordings as a solo artist on vocals, guitar and harmonica, the singing on many if not most of his songs was by an uncredited

Gene Austin Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for ...

, a vaudville performer and

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

composer who would become one of the most successful recording artists of the era.

Musical career

Reneau was born on May 18, 1902, in Dandridge, Jefferson County, Tennessee, between the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...

and the

Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, ...

on the state's eastern border with

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. While not much is known about his early life, Reneau is believed to have been born blind. At an early age, he attended the Nashville School for the Blind and eventually relocated from Dandridge to nearby

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. Reneau, who began playing guitar and harmonica in his late teens or early 20s and later learned to play the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, became a street performer in the

Market House A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...

area of the city's downtown. In early 1924, the manager of the

phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

and record department in a Knoxville furniture store recommended Reneau to Vocalion Records, which was looking for new talent to record. Traveling to the company's studios in New York City several times over the next two years, Reneau recorded 50 songs for the label. While he was given solo credit on his Vocalion recordings, scholars later determined the vocalist on many of the releases was actually Gene Austin, since Reneau's harmonica playing can often be heard during the singing. By late 1925, when he recorded the last of his Vocalion releases, Reneau was doing all of his own singing. Over this period, he also re-recorded 10 of his songs for the Edison label as the Blue Ridge Duo with Austin as vocalist. After his contract with Vocalion ended, he teamed up with Lester McFarland, another blind musician from Knoxville and a championship

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed 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 classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

, and in 1927, the two recorded several sides for minor labels as the Gentry Brothers. Between recording sessions, Reneau continued to perform on the streets of Knoxville, supporting himself, his wife and two step-children. In the summer of 1925, he was arrested for violating the city's anti-begging law as well as for drunkenness. The latter charge was dismissed, and Reneau was found not guilty of begging by a magistrate who was sitting in for the regular judge. When the police arrested Reneau again for performing on the streets, the judge ruled in the musician's favor on the grounds he had not specifically asked for contributions from passers-by.

Final years

Reneau's recording career ended by his mid-20s, and over the next decade he eked out a living on Knoxville's streets. After contracting rheumatism in his arms, he was no longer able to play guitar or banjo, and in 1932, his brother-in-law, who was also blind, began accompanying him, playing guitar while Reneau sang along. By the late 1930s, Reneau's health had deteriorated further, and he died of pneumonia on June 5, 1938, at the age of 36.

Recordings

Following are all of Reneau's releases for the Vocalion label as well as his recordings on Edison with Gene Austin as the Blue Ridge Duo. Note that a few of Reneau's Vocalion recordings featured Tennessee champion fiddler "Uncle Am" Stuart. This listing does not include Reneau's releases for miscellaneous labels under various pseudonyms, nor does it cover his work with Lester McFarland.

Vocalion Records as solo artist

* '' Arkansaw Traveler'', 1924 * ''Bad Companions'', 1925 * ''Baggage Coach Ahead, The'', 1925 * ''Bald Headed End of the Broom'', 1924 * ''Birmingham'', 1924 * ''Blue Ridge Blues'', 1924 * ''C. & O. Wreck, The'', 1924 * ''

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1864 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train in Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Cen ...

'', 1924 * ''Fatal Wedding, The'', 1925 * ''Gambling on the Sabbath Day'', 1925 * ''Hand of Fate, The'', 1925 * ''Here, Rattler, Here (Calling the Dog)'', 1924 * ''I'm Glad My Wife's in Europe'', 1925 * ''I've Got the Railroad Blues'', 1924 * ''Jack and Joe'', 1925 * ''

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

'', 1924 * ''Letter Edged in Black, The'', 1925 * '' Life's Railway to Heaven'', 1924 * ''Lightning Express, The'', 1925 * '' Little Brown Jug'', 1924 * ''Little Rosewood Casket'', 1925 * ''Lonesome Road Blues'', 1924 * ''Love Always Has Its Way'', 1925 * ''May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?'', 1925 * ''My Redeemer'', 1924 * '' New Market Wreck, The'', 1924 * ''Old Man on the Hill, The'', 1925 * ''Old Rugged Cross, Th''e 1925 * ''

On Top of Old Smoky "On Top of Old Smoky" (often spelled "Smokey") is a traditional folk music, folk song of the United States. As recorded by the Weavers, the song reached the pop music charts in 1951. It is catalogued as Roud Folk Song Index No. 414. History as ...

'', 1925 * ''Prisoner's Song, The'', 1925 * ''Railroad Lover'', 1925 * ''Red Wing'', 1924 * ''Rock All Our Babies to Sleep'', 1925 * ''Rovin' Gambler'', 1925 * '' Sinking of the Titanic, The'', 1925 * ''Smoky Mountain Blues'', 1924 * ''Softly and Tenderly'', 1925 * ''Susie Ann'', 1924 * ''

Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people cl ...

'', 1924 * ''Two Orphans, The'', 1925 * ''Weeping Willow Tree, The'', 1925 * ''We're Floating Down The Stream Of Time'', 1925 * ''When I Shall Cross Over the Dark Rolling Tide'', 1925 * ''When the Work's All Done This Fall'', 1925 * ''When You and I Were Young, Maggie'', 1924 * ''Wild and Reckless Hobo'', 1925 * ''Wild Bill Jones'', 1925 * ''Woman"s Suffrage'', 1925 * '' Wreck of the Southern 97, The'', 1924 * ''You Will Never Miss Your Mother Until She Is Gone'', 1924

Edison Records as Blue Ridge Duo

* '' Arkansas Traveler'', 1924 * ''Blue Ridge Blues'', 1925 * '' Life's Railway to Heaven'', 1925 * '' Little Brown Jug'', 1924 * ''Lonesome Road Blues'', 1925 * ''

Sinking of the Titanic Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' sank on 15 April 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, USA with ...

'', 1926 * ''Susie Ann'', 1924 * ''Turkey in the Straw'', 1924 * ''Wreck of the C. & O.'', 1926 * ''You Will Never Miss Your Mother Until She Is Gone'', 1925

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reneau, George 1902 births 1938 deaths Musicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee American street performers 20th-century American singers American male guitarists American harmonica players American banjoists Blind country musicians Blind gospel musicians American blind singers American blind guitarists American blind harmonica players American musicians with disabilities