{{Infobox musical artist , name = Rex Cole's Mountaineers , image = , image_size = , image_upright = , landscape = , alt = , caption = , background = group_or_band , alias = , origin =

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, U.S. , genre =

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, ...

, years_active = {{start date, 1929–{{end date, 1933 , label = Columbia,

Okeh 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 originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, Clarion Records,

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

, ARC , associated_acts = , website = , current_members = , past_members = *

Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (né Abraham Finkelstein; August 6, 1888—March 29, 1953) was an American baritone and songwriter. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Abraham Finkelstein, Fields grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a ...

Fred Hall Frederick Lee Hall (July 24, 1916 – March 18, 1970) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician who served as the 31st lieutenant governor of Kansas from 1951 to 1955 and 33rd governor of Kansas from 1955 until 1957 and a justice of the Kans ...

Rex Cole's Mountaineers was an American

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 ...

band. The Mountaineers were actually the creation of two

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

ers,

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 ...

singer

and songwriter/bandleader/manager

. Fields had had a recording contract with several high-profile labels but never had a hit; Hall played jazz in the vein of

Jan Garber Jan Garber (born Jacob Charles Garber, November 5, 1894 – October 5, 1977) was an American violinist and jazz bandleader. Biography Garber was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He had his own band by the time he was 21. He became known as "The ...

. In 1928, Hall recorded a few country music tunes, and by 1929 he had united with Fields in a band that was playing big-band renditions of

folk song 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 ...

s. After a few sides on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

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 originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, Hall reduced the size of his orchestra in order to back Fields with a small, more authentic-sounding

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

ensemble, which included violin, guitar, bass, accordion, harmonica, and trumpet. Hall and Fields then began recording with both the large and the small bands, with the small group recording under a plethora of names, such as Eddie Younger & his Mountaineers, Sam Cole & his Cornhuskers, the Gaunt Brothers, the Colt Brothers, and Jim Cole's Tennessee Mountaineers. Records appeared on

Clarion Clarion may refer to: Music * Clarion (instrument), a type of trumpet used in the Middle Ages * The Register (music), register of a clarinet that ranges from B4 to C6 * A Trumpet (organ stop), trumpet organ stop that usually plays an octave abov ...

, and ARC. Early in 1930, a

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

salesman and broadcaster named Rex Cole asked to sponsor the group for a show on New York radio station WEAF. He was looking for something along the lines of the

Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

, another group who were put together in a big city (in their case,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) but made to sound as if they were plucked from the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

. Cole had Fields and Hall's group billed as "Rex Cole's Mountaineers", and their first broadcasts came in July 1930. Most of their material was written by Fields and Hall themselves, who went by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

s Long Tom and Joe Colt on the show. They quickly became one of WEAF's most popular acts, and by 1931 had signed to a lucrative new contract. They also appeared in one film short. The Mountaineers' show differed from some other popular country radio broadcasts in being primarily

parodic A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

in its intent; it made exaggerated references to

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

s about rural America for comic effect. As a show made by and for urban Northerners, it sought to

lampoon Lampoon may refer to: *Parody, a satirical imitative creative work *Amphol Lampoon (born 1963), Thai actor and singer *''The Harvard Lampoon'', an American humor magazine ** ''National Lampoon'' (magazine), an American humor magazine ***National L ...

Southern life much in the way ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' was a satirical American comic strip that appeared in multiple newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies living in the impoverished fictional mountain village of Dogpatch, ...

'' would some years later. Around 1933, Fields and Hall had departed, and Cole had a new cast of Mountaineers which included Tex Fletcher; this group made no recordings, and their last broadcasts came in mid-1934. They continued to play smaller venues in the city for another year or so, and then disappear from the record.

References

*Allan Sutton
Synthetic Country
Includes bibliography. American country music radio programs Country music groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1929 Musical groups disestablished in 1933