Sidney Johnson "Fiddlin' Sid" Harkreader (February 26, 1898 — March 19, 1988) was an American Old-time fiddle player and

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

leader. He was an early member of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

, at first accompanying banjoist

Uncle Dave Macon David Harrison Macon (October 7, 1870 – March 22, 1952), known professionally as Uncle Dave Macon, was an American old-time banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known as "The Dixie Dewdrop", Macon was known for his chin whiskers, ...

and later performing on the program with his own band. In the 1940s, Harkreader formed and briefly toured with the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

band "The Round-Up Gang" before returning again to the Opry. Harkreader was born in

Gladeville, Tennessee Gladeville is an unincorporated community in Wilson County, Tennessee. The community is named for the surrounding cedar glades— a unique type of ecosystem that thrives in the thin or barren soil of south Wilson County. Gladeville is loca ...

, a small town in the

cedar glades A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community that is found in the central Eastern United States. Calcareous glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very shallow and little soil development. Du ...

region east of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. His father encouraged him to develop musical abilities, and Harkreader learned to play fiddle at local

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

s. Determined to become a professional entertainer, Harkreader first toured as a fiddler for the Loew

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...

circuit. Around 1923, he paired with Uncle Dave Macon to play old-time music in Nashville, and the following year, the two recorded several sides for

Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

.Wolfe, ''Encyclopedia of Country Music'', 228. On November 6, 1925, Harkreader and Macon delivered a performance before a sold-out crowd at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

, and the two began performing for the Grand Ole Opry (at the time called WSM's ''Barn Dance'') a few weeks later. Harkreader's typical repertoire included "Old Joe" (which he learned from fellow Opry pioneer

Humphrey Bate Humphrey Bate (May 25, 1875 – June 12, 1936) was an American harmonica player and string band leader. He was the first musician to play old-time music on Nashville-area radio. Bate and his band, which had been given the name "Dr. Humphrey ...

), "

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 c ...

," "Sugar Walks Down the Street," "Ain't Goin' to Rain No More," and "Go Away Mule."Hurst, 94. Harkreader recorded two dozen tracks for

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in ...

, the first set coming in 1927 accompanied by Hawaiian guitarist Grady Moore, and the second coming the following year accompanied by guitarist Blythe Poteet. In 1935, Harkreader returned to the Opry at the head of a string band, "Sid Harkreader and Company." The band consisted of Harkreader on fiddle and vocals, Emory Martin on

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, and Mack McGar on banjo. Around 1940, Harkeader formed "The Round-Up Gang" to record Western music, which had grown steadily in popularity in the previous decade. Harkreader eventually returned to the Opry, however, making guest appearances throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Harkreader is buried at Caraway Cemetery in Gladeville.

Discography

*''I Wish I Was A Single Girl Again/New River Train'' (

15035, April 1924)— 10" 78 RPM record on brown vinyl *''Nashville: The Early String Bands, Volume 1'' (

County Records County Records was a Virginia-based independent American record label founded by David Freeman in 1963. The label specialised in old-time and traditional bluegrass music. History Old-time music collector David Freeman started the County Record ...

CO-3521, 2000)— contains version of "Old Joe" recorded by Harkreader and Grady Moore in 1927 *''Just from Tennessee'' with

and Sam McGee, ( Old Homestead), released in 2012 *''Early Star of the Grand Ole Opry'' with Grady Moore (British Archive CDD424, 2013)

References

External links

*
Bluegrass Messengers: Sid Harkreader Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkreader, Sid 1898 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American musicians Grand Ole Opry members Musicians from Tennessee People from Wilson County, Tennessee Southern old-time fiddlers Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers