Vernon Dalhart - Country Music's first Mega Pop Star on Vintage Mp3 Audio Recordings
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Vernon Dalhart (6 April 1883 - 14 September 1948)First recording artist to bring "Hillbilly", or "Mountaineer" songs to mainstream America. |
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Vernon Dalhart was native of Jefferson, Texas. His real name was Marion Try Slaughter.
Marion had an interest in music early in life, and studied at the Dallas Conservatory of Music.
His first pseudonym, Vernon Dalhart, was chosen for his early stage performances, beginning
in 1912. He would use many alias names, during his career.
Dalhart´s first records were issued late in 1916. He had an exclusive contract with Edison, until 1919, but was permitted to record for other labels. Prior to 1924, most of Dalhart´s recordings were a mix of popular and dialect songs By the early 1920´s, a number of new record labels had appeared. These companies needed to find ways to compete with the record giants, Victor and Columbia. One way to do this was to produce material for new niche markets. Old time mountain ballads, fiddlers, and banjo performers were one such subject which was doing fairly well in the American south. Dalhart must have been very familiar with these ballads and type of music, given his Texas roots. The first song he recorded in this style was "The Wreck On The Southern Old 97", for Edison in 1924. He then approached Victor, to record the same title, and they approved the idea, as long as he also performed an appropriate song for the flip side. This would become "The Prisoner´s Song". Country music was about to have its first million seller. |
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This Victor record was first issued in 1924, as an acoustic. This offer is the electrically
recorded version, made shortly after the industry introduction of the microphone, in 1925.
The origin of the song is a bit uncertain. It is believed to be derived from an old folk song. The arrangement has been claimed by several people, including Dalhart (from his cousin, Guy Massey), Carson Robison (Dalhart´s recording and composing partner), and some contribution claimed by Nat Shilkret (an important Victor producer, at the time). Victor credits the composer as Guy Massey. The original was acoustically recorded in August 13, 1924 |
| The Prisoner's Song | Mountaineer's Song - with viola and guitar | ??/??/25 | 3:06 |
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This is the same train wreck ballad Dalhart recorded for Edison, but with a shortened title.
It is a descriptive ballad of a train which was pressed to keep its schedule over a dangerous mountain pass.
Original acoustic version was recorded on August 13, 1924. This is the electrically recorded version. |
| Wreck of the Old 97 | Mountaineer's Song - with harmonica and guitar | ??/??/25 | 3:10 |
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The origin of this famous American nonsense song, seems to be lost to history.
Some form of it seems to have existed during the Civil War, and it was probably a
popular song on the Minstrel Stage. There are references which even claim that it existed during
Revolutionary War times. It has gone through numerous revisions.
This version was performed on the budget Harmony label. It is an acoustic version, even though it was recorded in 1928, three years after the introduction of the electrical recording process. This is a very lively recording, in pristine condition. Published under Dalhart´s common alias, Mack Allen. |
| Polly Woddle Doodle | - with violin, banjo, jaw harp and guitar | 7/25/28 (acoustic) | 2:53 |
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Its not as old as you might think. It was written by Thomas Allen in 1905, to
mark the replacement of the mule drawn system for the new mechanized barges.
This is another Harmony label issue, which was still using the old acoustic recording
method in 1929.
Thomas Allen´s original lyrics used the phrase "fifteen miles on the Erie Canal". This record uses the common variation "fifteen years on the Erie Canal". Don´t let it confuse you - just enjoy! |
| Low Bridge Everybody Down | - with piano, banjo, and jaw harp | 1/21/29 (acoustic) | 2:47 |
| Written in 1864, by Henry A. Coard, as "The Gipsie´s Warning". It is a beautiful and lamentful ballad, which warns a young maiden about the perils of her intended relationship with a heartless man. |
| The Gypsy´s Warning | - with violin, guitar, and harmonica | 4/12/27 | 3:03 |
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Columbia issued a number of special series and ethnic subjects.
This record is from their "Hillbilly" 15000-D series. It is mainly a musical
expansion of the song with the same title, and has some really exceptional fiddling and playing.
The performers in this issue are called, "Dalhart´s Texas Panhandlers". Dalhart sings the vocal refrains. |
| Better Get Out of My Way | - with string band and harmonica | 2/16/26 | 2:57 |
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The last half of the 1920´s were Dalhart´s peak career years. These times had
many rapid changes. Radio was becoming very popular. Phonograph records had lost their
monopoly on mechanical music reproduction. The stock market crash of 1929 forced people to keep records
out of their budget, and just listen to their radios. Dalhart made a number of appearances on radio, but
none of them resulted in any lasting contracts. His recording sessions became infrequent.
The success of the "Prisoner´s Song" and the following years had earned him a lot of money,
but much of it was invested in the market, before the crash. By World War 2, Dalhart´s career was
over, and he was employed as a security guard in a defense plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Vernon Dalhart died of a heart attack in 1948, while working as a night clerk at a hotel in Bridgeport. |
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Vernon Dalhart