Riley Puckett
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

George Riley Puckett (May 7, 1894 – July 13, 1946) was an American country music artist, best known as a member of Gid Tanner and the
Skillet Lickers The Skillet Lickers were an old-time band from Georgia, United States. When Gid Tanner teamed up with blind guitarist Riley Puckett and signed to Columbia in 1924, they created the label's earliest so-called "hillbilly" recording. Gid Tanne ...
. His dynamic single-string guitar playing, featuring dramatic bass runs, earned for him an enviable reputation as an instrumentalist. Many aspiring guitarists who followed him have studied and copied his style. Although he was an accomplished musician on several instruments, his singing was most responsible for establishing him as an important figure in the history of country music.


Biography

Puckett was born in
Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2020, was 14,042. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for ...
, United States. An incorrect treatment of his eyes using lead acetate during infancy left him blind. He had his formal education at the Georgia School for the Blind in
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...
. He sang and played guitar and banjo. He was first heard on the radio as a part of Clayton McMichen's Hometown Band. His vocalizing was a regular feature at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers Conventions. Newspaper reporters covering these events referred to him as the "Bald Mountain Caruso", in admiration of his renditions of such songs as "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep". For several years, Puckett played and sang with the Home Town Boys, a string-band ensemble composed of Atlanta-area musicians. They made their debut on Atlanta's six-month-old radio station, WSB, on September 18, 1922. Until going off the air in 1926, they remained one of the station's most popular acts. In 1925, only Vernon Dalhart sold more records on the Columbia label than Puckett. In 1924, Puckett accompanied fiddler Gid Tanner to New York, where, on March 7 and 8, they recorded twelve songs and tunes for the Columbia Phonograph Company. They were the first country-music artists to record for that firm. These recording sessions yielded vocal selections by Puckett and fiddle tunes by Tanner. One of Puckett's songs, "Rock All Our Babies to Sleep", (Columbia #107-D, with "Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane", on the reverse side), established him as probably the first country-music artist to yodel on records. It pre-dated
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 ...
first yodeling recordings by three years. Yodeling was employed as an embellishment by numerous country music vocalists well into the 1940s. On November 4, 1929, Puckett, Clayton McMichen, Lowe Stokes, Fate Norris, Bert Layne, Uncle Fuzz (prob. Frank Walker, Tom Dorsey (aka Dan Hornsby) recorded in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, the track, "A Night in a Blind Tiger" on Columbia Records, and continued recording together on Blue Bird Records in March 1934, in
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Puckett was a charter member of the influential string band Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, and continued to record with the group through their last session in 1934. Puckett recorded as a solo artist into the early 1940s, creating a discography of more than 200 records on such labels as Columbia, Decca, and Bluebird. His repertoire included novelty songs, religious songs, traditional folk songs, cowboy songs, and ballads from the field of popular music. He was one of the nationally known pioneer country music artists, who gained experience and exposure at the Georgia Old-Time Fiddlers Conventions, held in Atlanta between 1913 and 1934. In addition to making records, he appeared in stage shows and worked on radio stations in Atlanta and other Georgia cities, as well as selected eastern and midwestern cities. He died of blood poisoning on July 13, 1946, in
East Point, Georgia East Point is a suburban city located southwest of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,358. The city name is derived from being at the opposite end o ...
. He had developed a pimple on his neck which turned into a boil. He ignored medical attention and continued to work until he became very ill. A doctor lanced the boil but it was too late, as
sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...
had already set in, and he died in the hospital. He is buried at Enon Baptist Church. Riley Puckett was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1986.


References


External links


Encyclopedia of Country, Western & Gospel Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puckett, Riley 1894 births 1946 deaths People from Dallas, Georgia American country singer-songwriters American street performers Blind musicians Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) American blind people American musicians with disabilities