Misplaced Pages

Dan Hornsby: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 02:58, 29 June 2023 editChubbles (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers62,351 edits Some copyediting, removal of contentious claims, rectification of damage from family memorialization← Previous edit Revision as of 19:58, 30 June 2023 edit undoCaroleHenson (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Rollbackers136,508 edits →Bands: cite orderNext edit →
(58 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}


{{Infobox musical artist {{Infobox musical artist
| name = Dan Hornsby | name = Dan Hornsby
Line 19: Line 18:
| website = | website =
}} }}
'''Isaac Daniel (Dan) Hornsby''' (February 18, 1900 – May 18, 1951) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, producer and arranger, studio engineer, band leader, ] (A&R) man with ], and radio personality.<ref name="TCO" />


Hornsby began performing in the 1920s, and over the years, he formed or backed up bands. He often played multiple roles, from an idea for a song, to when it was produced. His songs were a combination of country and folk music. Hornsby acquired country, folk, and blues talent for Columbia Records and MGM, including ] and ].
'''Isaac Daniel Hornsby''' (1 February 1900 – 18 May 1951) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, producer and arranger, studio engineer, band leader, A&R man with ], and radio personality.


The ] had a display of his music archive artifacts for Columbia Records in 2013. Hornsby was inducted into the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame in 1986.
==Before career==
]
] (also a lifelong singer songwriter musician)]]


==Personal life==
His father Joseph Todd Hornsby<ref name="genealogy">{{cite web|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/l/Rex-Mclaurin/GENE1-0075.html|title=Rex-Mclaurin - User Trees - Genealogy.com|publisher=familytreemaker.genealogy.com|accessdate=2015-04-08}}</ref> was a contractor and a part-time ] ].<ref name="Bluegrass">Bluegrass Unlimited, ''Jack Tottle, Dan Horsby, Jim Scancarelli, Hub Nitchie, August, 1989, p. 33-35''</ref>
{{multiple image
| total_width = 350
| align = left
| direction=horizontal
| image1 = Louise Hornsby.jpg
| caption1 = Wife Louise (Wise) Hornsby
| image2 = JWgreyScale2x1wTxt.jpg
| caption2 = Granddaughter ], a singer-songwriter
| footer =
}}
Hornsby was born in Georgia on February 18, 1900.<ref name="Draft">{{citation |title=Isaac Daniel Hornsby |work=World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration, Imaged from Family History Library microfilm |access-date=|via=ancestry.com}}
</ref><ref name="1910 Cen" /> His parents were Anna May Hornsby, born in Kentucky, and Joe T. Hornsby, a painter born in Georgia.<ref name="1910 Cen" /> His father was a contractor and a part-time ] ].<ref name="Bluegrass">Bluegrass Unlimited, ''Jack Tottle, Dan Horsby, Jim Scancarelli, Hub Nitchie, August, 1989, p. 33-35''</ref> Hornsby spent most of his childhood in ] where he lived in 1910<ref name="Ward" /> with his parents and two younger sisters, Cynthia and Helen.<ref name="1910 Cen">{{Citation |year=1910 |title=Isaac D Hornsby, Fort Worth, Texas |work=1910 Federal Census|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |via=ancestry.com}}</ref> Hornsby registered for the draft at age 18 and was a student at ] for two years. He lived in ], at that time.<ref name="Draft" /><ref name="Ward" />


At 19, he worked as a painter with the W.E. Browne Decorating Co. in ], and while painting a hotel, met Louise Wise of ]. She sang and danced.<ref name="Ward">{{Cite book |last1= Ward|first1=Brian |last2=Huber |first2=Patrick |year=2018 |title=A & R Pioneers |publisher=County Music Foundation Press, Vanderbilt University Press |location=Nashville |page=128–131 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVVgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |isbn=978-0-8265-2175-0 }}</ref> They married about 1920<ref name="Ward" /> and had three daughters and two sons.<ref name="obit2">{{cite news |date=May 19, 1951 |title=Daniel Hornsby obituary |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-obituary-for-da/127296399/ |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref> Their children were Louise, Joseph, Dorothy, Helen, Robert, and Silvia.<ref name="1940 Cen">{{Citation |year=1940 |title=Isaac D Hornsby, Fort Worth, Texas |work=1940 Federal Census|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |via=ancestry.com}}</ref> Hornsby died on May 18, 1951,<ref name="obit2" /><ref name="TCO2" /> and was buried at the Crest Lawn Cemetery in ].<ref name="obit">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-obituary-for-da/127296147/ |title=Dan Hornsby obituary|newspaper=Atlanta Constitution | date=May 22, 1951 | page=29 }}</ref>
Dan Hornsby (Isaac Daniel) was born in ]. A the age of 19 Dan Hornsby worked as a painter with the W.E. Browne Decorating Co. in ] when he met Louise Wise of ]. She sang and danced in a road show, and they met at the hotel, which Hornsby was painting. They married and had five children. His granddaughter ], became a singer-songwriter in the late 20th and early 21st century.


], Dan Hornsby's granddaughter, became a singer and songwriter in the late 20th and early 21st century. She inherited her grandfather's music archive and has worked to keep the memory of his music career alive.<ref name="TCO">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-she-wants-grandpa/127279922/ |title=She wants Grandpa in hall of fame|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer |date=February 12, 2003 | page=67}}</ref>
==Beginning of career==
After the marriage Louise quit the stage, but Dan drifted towards ], although he did not have any formal musical training. However, he played trumpet, piano, and singing with various dance bands in Atlanta in the 1920s. Hornsby formed his basic group '''Dan Hornsby Quartet''': ] (], guitar and ]), ] (piano and high ]), ] (guitar and bass guitar) and Dan Hornsby (lead singer and ]).


==Career==
The Atlanta Baking Company asked Hornsby to do a show on ] in Atlanta, ]. The group name was changed to '''Bamby Baker Boys''' and Hornsby became the first commercial performer of the WSB radio station, which started airing in 1922. His pleasant disposition and sense of humor earned him a nickname "Cheerful Dan" "the man with the two octave voice". Hornsby also recording his different octave voices under another name “Tom Dorsey” and he was “Uncle Ted” in a novelty popular recorded song of his era. He was a music engineer as well as producer of recorded music in Atlanta for Columbia Records being a popular singer, songwriter, and musician.


==Main career== ===Bands===
{{multiple image
Hornsby's performance on radio was noticed by ]. His main role was a sort of ], but he had many roles at Columbia Records during the 1920s and early 1930s, including production of his own recordings like "On Mobile Bay" and "]" “]” or with '''Young Brothers Tennessee Band''': "Are you from Dixie" and "], Bill Bailey, won't you please come home", "]", "]", and other songs, including a few original folk songs he wrote & sang for Columbia. For example, Dan Hornsby was the first recorded voice of the "Arkansas Traveler" and was the producer of the first recording of "]".{{fact}}
| total_width = 500
| align = right
| direction=horizontal
| image1 = Dan Horsby with band.jpg
| caption1 = Dan Hornsby (front row, second from left with a trumpet) with one of his bands
| image2 = TheSkilletLickers.jpg
| caption2 = ] (without Hornsby)
| footer =
}}
Hornsby entered ] in the 1920s.<ref name="Ward" /> He formed the Dan Hornsby Quartet with Perry Bechtel, Taylor Flanagan, and Sterling Melvin.<ref name="Grammy" />

Of the performers:<br/>
* Perry Bechtel played the ], ], and guitar<ref name="Grammy" />
* Taylor Flanagan was a high ] and played the piano<ref name="Grammy" />
* Dan Hornsby, the lead singer, played trumpet and piano, and was the ]<ref name="Ward" /><ref name="Grammy" />
* Sterling Melvin played the bass guitar, guitar, and was a tenor banjoist<ref name="Grammy" /><ref name="WSB programs" />

The quartet became a trio in 1927 when Perry Bechtel left the group. The trio played on a ] program in Atlanta.<ref name="WSB programs">{{cite news |date=October 6, 1927 |title=WSB Programs |url=https://www.newspapers.Aucom/article/the-atlanta-constitution-wsb-programs-fo/127297184/ |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=June 28, 2023}}
</ref>

Besides his quartet and trio, Hornsby created or joined ], Young Brothers Tennessee Band, Georgia Organ Grinders, Low Stroke and His North Georgians,<ref name="Ward" /> and Bamby Baker Boys.<ref name="Grammy" />

===Radio===
In 1922, Atlanta's ] went on air, making Bamby Baker Boys, Hornsby's group, the first commercial performers on the station.<ref name="Grammy" />
In the 1920s and 1930s, Hornsby was a radio announcer in Atlanta.<ref name="TCO2">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-granddaughter-ext/127295820/ |title=Granddaughter extols legacy of country music pioneer |first1=Joe |last1=DePriest |newspaper= The Charlotte Observer|date=February 12, 2003 }}</ref> He had his own program, sponsored by a bakery, on Atlanta's ] station where he acquired the nickname "Cheerful Dan". He sang in two octaves and had speaking roles under the name "Tom Dorsey" for drama shows. He also often wrote the scripts and performed for recordings with Gid Tanner and the Skillet-Lickers for Columbia Records.<ref name="Ward" />

===Talent scout===
Hornsby began his career as a ] with ] and then worked for MGM, during which he looked for talented performers — often in the country and blues genres — and signed those he chose to a contract.<ref name="TCO" /> Hornsby discovered ] for MGM<ref name="TCO" /> and ] and the ],<ref name="TCO" /><ref name="Ward" /> ], ], ], and ] at Columbia.<ref name="TCO" /> In 1931, he recruited Alton and Rabon Delmore (later known as ]) for Columbia Records.<ref name="Ward" />

He recruited African American musicians, including Robert Hicks, a blues singer who played the guitar.<ref name="Ward" /> Hornsby, who met Hicks at a barbecue restaurant, named him "Barbecue Bob" and used an image of Hicks in a chef's apron and hat, by a barbecue pit of roasting pork for marketing.<ref name="Ward" /> He had white bands and performers in recording sessions with Black musicians, which was highly unusual ].<ref name="Ward" />

{{multiple image
| total_width = 600
| align = center
| direction=horizontal
| image1 = Hank Williams Promotional Photo.jpg
| caption1 = Williams in a promotional photo for ] in 1951
| image2 = Bessie Smith (1936) by Carl Van Vechten.jpg
| caption2 = ] by Carl Van Vechten in 1936
| image3 = Gid Tanner.jpg
| caption3 = ]
| footer =
}}

===Production===
]
Columbia selected a producer to record his songs, like "Dear Old Girl" and "O, Susanna". By 1931, he and his band recorded more than two dozen sides.<ref name="Ward" /> "Arkansas Traveler" was first recorded with Hornsby's voice.<ref name="Grammy" />

He then produced his recordings, such as "]", "]", and "]", for its inaugural recording.<ref name="Grammy" /> He produced recordings with the Young Brothers Tennessee Band, like "]" and "]".<ref name="Grammy" />

===Songwriter===
He wrote, sang, and produced a few original folk songs for Columbia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Minton |first=John |author-link= |date= |title=78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/78_Blues/ZZQRQ4PRYKsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=dan%20hornsby |location= |publisher=University Press of Mississippi1-60473-327-6 |pages=169, 256 |isbn=}}</ref>


On August 28, 1928, a building collapsed in ], killing six people and injuring twice as many.<ref name="remembercliffside">{{cite web|url=http://remembercliffside.com/history/articles/bhumphries.html|title=Remember Cliffside|publisher=remembercliffside.com|accessdate=2015-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170019/http://remembercliffside.com/history/articles/bhumphries.html|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hornsby composed a song, "Shelby Disaster":<ref name="TCO" /><ref name="Bluegrass"/><ref name="archive">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/DanHornsby-TheShelbyDisaster|title=Dan Hornsby - The Shelby Disaster: Dan Hornsby: Free Download & Streaming: Internet Archive|accessdate=2015-04-08}}</ref>
Hornsby worked with ] and his group ]. Hornsby appeared usually in the role of city slicker, judge or sheriff, and he used the nickname '''Tom Dorsey'''.


{{Listen {{Listen
Line 45: Line 106:
| description = ''The Shelby Disaster'' by Dan Hornsby, recorded in 1928 | description = ''The Shelby Disaster'' by Dan Hornsby, recorded in 1928
}} }}

On 28 August 1928 a building collapsed in ] killing six people and injuring twice as many.<ref name="remembercliffside">{{cite web|url=http://remembercliffside.com/history/articles/bhumphries.html|title=Remember Cliffside|publisher=remembercliffside.com|accessdate=2015-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170019/http://remembercliffside.com/history/articles/bhumphries.html|archive-date=2015-04-02|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hornsby composed a song title ''Shelby Disaster'':<ref name="Bluegrass"/><ref name="archive">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/DanHornsby-TheShelbyDisaster|title=Dan Hornsby - The Shelby Disaster : Dan Hornsby : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive|accessdate=2015-04-08}}</ref>


{{Blockquote| {{Blockquote|
Line 63: Line 122:
where buildings never crumble,<br /> where buildings never crumble,<br />
that city of the soul. that city of the soul.
|Dan Hornsby|''The Shelby Disaster''}} |Dan Hornsby|''The Shelby Disaster''&thinsp;<ref name="TCO" />}}


===Great Depression and radio===
During the Great Depression this Hornsby song sold over 9,000 copies of the song for Columbia Records. Together with ] Hornsby also wrote ''History in a few words''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/asl.3797441a227/ |title=3797441a227: History in a few words |access-date=2009-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329050057/http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/asl.3797441a227/ |archive-date=2012-03-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> published in 1931 by ]
The ] (1929–1939) affected the phonographic industry, and Hornsby lost his job with Columbia Records despite selling over 9,000 copies of "The Shelby Disaster". Together with ], Hornsby wrote ''History in a few words''&thinsp;<ref name="TCO" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/asl.3797441a227/ |title=3797441a227: History in a few words |access-date=2009-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329050057/http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/asl.3797441a227/ |archive-date=2012-03-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> published in 1931 by ]<ref>{{cite book |author=Library of Congress |author-link=Library of Congress |date=1959 |title=Catalog of Copyright entries |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalog_of_Copyright_Entries/GDchAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&&pg=PA677 |location= |publisher= |page=677 |isbn=}}</ref>


] related to Dan Hornsby Trio]]
In 1931 he recruited Alton and Rabon Delmore (later known as ]) for Columbia Records.
He returned to radio and worked with several stations, including ] and WSB, where he was a scriptwriter, announcer, and entertainer until his death.<ref name="Ward" /> For ], he played Uncle Ned in a series of children's bedtime stories<ref name="Ward" /> and sang with the ] of ].<ref>{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |date=1977 |title=Storyville: Issues 73-86 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storyville/PYU4AQAAIAAJ?hl=en |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Storyville Publications |page=167 |isbn=}}</ref> In 1934, he joined ].<ref name="Ward" />


==Changes== ==Award and honor==
In 1986, Hornsby was inducted into the ],<ref name="Grammy" /> joining some of his friends and associates: ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sclfind.libs.uga.edu/sclfind/view?docId=ead/ms3837_1.xml;query=;brand=default |title=Georgia Music Hall of Fame Collection, Series 1: Administrative Files |author=Georgia Music Hall of Fame |date= |website= |publisher=Special Collections Library, University Libraries, University of Georgia |access-date= June 28, 2023}}
The ] also affected the phonographic industry and Hornsby lost his job with Columbia Records despite selling over 9000 recordings of "The Shelby Disaster". He then went back to radio and worked with several stations including ], where his roles included announcer, continuity man and even a comic in programs like "Down to Unkle Zeke's". For ], he sang with the ] of former Quartet guitarist ], and he played Uncle Ned in a series of children's bedtime stories such as "]", "]". In 1939 he appeared in the first television broadcast in Atlanta. Later he joined ] and then moved to other stations like ] and ].
</ref>


In 2013, Hornsby was given a display for the ] display in the ] in Los Angeles, California, for one year. Other artifacts were donated by his granddaughter, Nikki Hornsby, including records, posters, and recordings of Bessie Smith, Harry James, and others.<ref name="Grammy">{{cite news|url=https://www.shelbystar.com/story/news/2013/02/27/musician-who-wrote-song-about/34129944007/ |title=Musician who wrote song about 1928 Shelby Disaster recognized by Grammy Museum|first1=Jackie |last1=Bridges | date=February 27, 2013 }}</ref>
In 1986 Dan Hornsby was included into the ], joining the names of some of his friends and associates: ], ] and ].

In 2013 Dan Hornsby was given a display in the ] in Los Angeles, CA, for the year-long ] 360 Sound event.

==Bands==
] related to '''Dan Hornsby Trio''']]
]
] (without Hornsby)]]

During his career Hornsby both created or joined many music bands, including Dan Hornsby Trio, Dan Hornsby Novelty Quartet, Dan Hornsby Novelty Orchestra, Dan Hornsby & His Lion's Den Trio, Skillet Lickers, Young Brothers Tennessee Band, Bamby Baker Boys, Taylor Flanagan & His Trio, and Georgia Organ Grinders.


==Discography== ==Discography==

]

{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
! Year<ref>http://honkingduck.com/discog/olds_search.php?cs=a&match=Hornsby&ctx=sV0&submit=Matching+Search</ref><ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942|author1=Russell, T.|author2=Pinson, B.|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=9780198032045|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2usUpwMgx3gC|page=442|accessdate=2015-04-08}}</ref> ! Year<ref>http://honkingduck.com/discog/olds_search.php?cs=a&match=Hornsby&ctx=sV0&submit=Matching+Search</ref><ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942|author1=Russell, T.|author2=Pinson, B.|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=9780198032045|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2usUpwMgx3gC|page=442|accessdate=2015-04-08}}</ref>

Revision as of 19:58, 30 June 2023

Dan Hornsby
Background information
Birth nameIsaac Daniel Hornsby
Born(1900-02-01)February 1, 1900
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, US
DiedMay 18, 1951(1951-05-18) (aged 51)
GenresFolk music, pop music, jazz, Americana music
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, producer, musician, recording artist
Instrument(s)vocals, trumpet, piano
Years active1919–1951
LabelsColumbia Records, Bluebird Records
Musical artist

Isaac Daniel (Dan) Hornsby (February 18, 1900 – May 18, 1951) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, producer and arranger, studio engineer, band leader, artists and repertoire (A&R) man with Columbia Records, and radio personality.

Hornsby began performing in the 1920s, and over the years, he formed or backed up bands. He often played multiple roles, from an idea for a song, to when it was produced. His songs were a combination of country and folk music. Hornsby acquired country, folk, and blues talent for Columbia Records and MGM, including Bessie Smith and Hank Williams.

The Grammy Museum had a display of his music archive artifacts for Columbia Records in 2013. Hornsby was inducted into the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame in 1986.

Personal life

Wife Louise (Wise) HornsbyGranddaughter Nikki Hornsby, a singer-songwriter

Hornsby was born in Georgia on February 18, 1900. His parents were Anna May Hornsby, born in Kentucky, and Joe T. Hornsby, a painter born in Georgia. His father was a contractor and a part-time Baptist minister. Hornsby spent most of his childhood in Fort Worth, Texas where he lived in 1910 with his parents and two younger sisters, Cynthia and Helen. Hornsby registered for the draft at age 18 and was a student at North Georgia College for two years. He lived in Fulton County, Georgia, at that time.

At 19, he worked as a painter with the W.E. Browne Decorating Co. in Columbus, Georgia, and while painting a hotel, met Louise Wise of Little Rock, Arkansas. She sang and danced. They married about 1920 and had three daughters and two sons. Their children were Louise, Joseph, Dorothy, Helen, Robert, and Silvia. Hornsby died on May 18, 1951, and was buried at the Crest Lawn Cemetery in Upper Westside, Atlanta.

Nikki Hornsby, Dan Hornsby's granddaughter, became a singer and songwriter in the late 20th and early 21st century. She inherited her grandfather's music archive and has worked to keep the memory of his music career alive.

Career

Bands

Dan Hornsby (front row, second from left with a trumpet) with one of his bandsSkillet Lickers (without Hornsby)

Hornsby entered show business in the 1920s. He formed the Dan Hornsby Quartet with Perry Bechtel, Taylor Flanagan, and Sterling Melvin.

Of the performers:

  • Perry Bechtel played the bariton, banjo, and guitar
  • Taylor Flanagan was a high tenor and played the piano
  • Dan Hornsby, the lead singer, played trumpet and piano, and was the arranger
  • Sterling Melvin played the bass guitar, guitar, and was a tenor banjoist

The quartet became a trio in 1927 when Perry Bechtel left the group. The trio played on a WSB (AM) program in Atlanta.

Besides his quartet and trio, Hornsby created or joined Skillet Lickers, Young Brothers Tennessee Band, Georgia Organ Grinders, Low Stroke and His North Georgians, and Bamby Baker Boys.

Radio

In 1922, Atlanta's WSM Radio went on air, making Bamby Baker Boys, Hornsby's group, the first commercial performers on the station. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hornsby was a radio announcer in Atlanta. He had his own program, sponsored by a bakery, on Atlanta's WSM Radio station where he acquired the nickname "Cheerful Dan". He sang in two octaves and had speaking roles under the name "Tom Dorsey" for drama shows. He also often wrote the scripts and performed for recordings with Gid Tanner and the Skillet-Lickers for Columbia Records.

Talent scout

Hornsby began his career as a talent scout with Columbia Records and then worked for MGM, during which he looked for talented performers — often in the country and blues genres — and signed those he chose to a contract. Hornsby discovered Hank Williams for MGM and Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers, Riley Puckett, Bessie Smith, Clarence Ashley, and Charlie Poole at Columbia. In 1931, he recruited Alton and Rabon Delmore (later known as Delmore Brothers) for Columbia Records.

He recruited African American musicians, including Robert Hicks, a blues singer who played the guitar. Hornsby, who met Hicks at a barbecue restaurant, named him "Barbecue Bob" and used an image of Hicks in a chef's apron and hat, by a barbecue pit of roasting pork for marketing. He had white bands and performers in recording sessions with Black musicians, which was highly unusual at that time in the South.

Williams in a promotional photo for WSM in 1951Bessie Smith by Carl Van Vechten in 1936Gid Tanner

Production

Dan Hornsby during recording "Strolling Down The Lane"

Columbia selected a producer to record his songs, like "Dear Old Girl" and "O, Susanna". By 1931, he and his band recorded more than two dozen sides. "Arkansas Traveler" was first recorded with Hornsby's voice.

He then produced his recordings, such as "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", "I Want A Girl", and "You Are My Sunshine", for its inaugural recording. He produced recordings with the Young Brothers Tennessee Band, like "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" and "Little Brown Jug".

Songwriter

He wrote, sang, and produced a few original folk songs for Columbia.

On August 28, 1928, a building collapsed in Shelby, North Carolina, killing six people and injuring twice as many. Hornsby composed a song, "Shelby Disaster":

A sample of bluegrass music The Shelby Disaster by Dan Hornsby, recorded in 1928
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Let the tears of fond remembrance,
flow gently, full and free;
Let all who read my story,
extend their sympathy.

But the whispering hope of ages,
with true ambition shod,
leaps forth with reconstruction,
for hope is part of God.

And remember there's a city,
whose streets should be our goal,
where buildings never crumble,
that city of the soul.

— Dan Hornsby, The Shelby Disaster 

Great Depression and radio

The Great Depression (1929–1939) affected the phonographic industry, and Hornsby lost his job with Columbia Records despite selling over 9,000 copies of "The Shelby Disaster". Together with Clayton McMichen, Hornsby wrote History in a few words  published in 1931 by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.

Exhibition at The Grammy Museum related to Dan Hornsby Trio

He returned to radio and worked with several stations, including WGST and WSB, where he was a scriptwriter, announcer, and entertainer until his death. For Bluebird Records, he played Uncle Ned in a series of children's bedtime stories and sang with the big band of Perry Bechtel. In 1934, he joined RCA Victor Records.

Award and honor

In 1986, Hornsby was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame, joining some of his friends and associates: Gid Tanner, Clayton McMichen, and Riley Puckett.

In 2013, Hornsby was given a display for the Columbia Records display in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California, for one year. Other artifacts were donated by his granddaughter, Nikki Hornsby, including records, posters, and recordings of Bessie Smith, Harry James, and others.

Discography

Year Songs
1927
  • Are You From Dixie
  • Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
  • Dear Old Girl (Columbia 15769D)
  • The Banquet In Misery Hall
  • Cubanola Glide (Columbia 1268D)
  • Oh! Susanna (Columbia 1268D)
1928
  • On Mobile Bay (Columbia 15276D)
  • I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) (Columbia 15276D)
  • Goodbye Alexander
  • Oceana Roll
  • The Shelby Disaster (Columbia 15321D)
  • The Story Of C.S. Barnes (Columbia 15321D)
  • She Was Bred In Old Kentucky (Columbia 15381D)
  • Can't Yo' Hear Me Callin' Caroline (Columbia 15381D)
  • Ho! By Jingo (Columbia 1637D)
  • Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (Columbia 1637D)
  • Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight (Columbia 15578D)
  • I'm Sorry I Made You Cry (Columbia 15578D)
  • Arkansas Traveler Part 1 (with Clayton McMichen, Columbia 15253D)
  • Arkansas Traveler Part 2 (with Clayton McMichen, Columbia 15253D)
1929
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
  • The Vamp
  • Take Me Out To The Ball Game (Columbia 15444D)
  • Hinky Dinky Dee (Columbia 15444D)
  • Wynkyn, Blynkyn and Nod (Victor BS-037380)
  • All Alone
  • Lovin' Henry
  • Old Weary Blues
  • Four Thousand Years Ago
  • A Night In A Blind Tiger
1930
  • History In A Few Words (Columbia 15628D)
  • The Lunatic's Lullaby (Columbia 15628D)
1931
  • Katinka
  • A Sailor's Sweetheart (Columbia 15771D)
  • Three Blind Mice (Columbia 15771D)
  • So This Is Venice
1934
  • Whoa, Mule, Whoa
  • Hinkey-Dinkey-Dee
  • Prosperity And Politics
  • Practice Night With The Skillet Lickers
1939
  • I Found You Among The Roses
unknown
  • Little Brown Jug
  • You Are My Sunshine
  • Strolling Down The Lane

References

  1. ^ "She wants Grandpa in hall of fame". The Charlotte Observer. February 12, 2003. p. 67.
  2. ^ "Isaac Daniel Hornsby", World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, National Archives and Records Administration, Imaged from Family History Library microfilm – via ancestry.com
  3. ^ "Isaac D Hornsby, Fort Worth, Texas", 1910 Federal Census, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1910 – via ancestry.com
  4. ^ Bluegrass Unlimited, Jack Tottle, Dan Horsby, Jim Scancarelli, Hub Nitchie, August, 1989, p. 33-35
  5. ^ Ward, Brian; Huber, Patrick (2018). A & R Pioneers. Nashville: County Music Foundation Press, Vanderbilt University Press. p. 128–131. ISBN 978-0-8265-2175-0.
  6. ^ "Daniel Hornsby obituary". The Atlanta Constitution. May 19, 1951. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  7. "Isaac D Hornsby, Fort Worth, Texas", 1940 Federal Census, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940 – via ancestry.com
  8. ^ DePriest, Joe (February 12, 2003). "Granddaughter extols legacy of country music pioneer". The Charlotte Observer.
  9. "Dan Hornsby obituary". Atlanta Constitution. May 22, 1951. p. 29.
  10. ^ Bridges, Jackie (February 27, 2013). "Musician who wrote song about 1928 Shelby Disaster recognized by Grammy Museum".
  11. ^ "WSB Programs". The Atlanta Constitution. October 6, 1927. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  12. Minton, John. 78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South. University Press of Mississippi1-60473-327-6. pp. 169, 256.
  13. "Remember Cliffside". remembercliffside.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  14. "Dan Hornsby - The Shelby Disaster: Dan Hornsby: Free Download & Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  15. "3797441a227: History in a few words". Archived from the original on March 29, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  16. Library of Congress (1959). Catalog of Copyright entries. p. 677.
  17. Storyville: Issues 73-86. United Kingdom: Storyville Publications. 1977. p. 167.
  18. Georgia Music Hall of Fame. "Georgia Music Hall of Fame Collection, Series 1: Administrative Files". Special Collections Library, University Libraries, University of Georgia. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  19. http://honkingduck.com/discog/olds_search.php?cs=a&match=Hornsby&ctx=sV0&submit=Matching+Search
  20. Russell, T.; Pinson, B. (2004). Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A Discography, 1921-1942. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 442. ISBN 9780198032045. Retrieved April 8, 2015.

External links

Categories: