Rabon Delmore (December 3, 1916 - December 4, 1952)
rjblaustein
Alabama on December 3, 1916. The son of poor sharecroppers, Rabon and
his older brother Alton (December 25, 1908-June 8, 1964) learned to
sing in church. When they were still in their teens, the Delmore
brothers developed the tight, soulful harmony singing style that
became their trademark; Alton played a standard six-string guitar
while Rabon played the more unusual 4-string tenor guitar.
The Delmores recorded their first records for Columbia in 1931; in
1933 they joined the Grand Ole Opry and began recording for Bluebird
Records, a subsidiary of Victor. They also recorded with Fiddlin'
Arthur Smith as The Dixieliners.
The Delmores left the cast of the Opry in 1939 but continued to record
for King and Decca and made live appearances through the forties. The
Delmores put together a full country band in 1946, including steel
guitar, fiddle, harmonica, bass fiddle, and the electric lead guitar
of Merle Travis. The Delmores developed a swinging boogie style that
can be seen as the precursor of rockabilly; they had a number of major
country hits in the late forties and early 1950s. Their commercial
success came to an end in 1952 when Rabon Delmore succumbed to lung
cancer.
The Delmore Brothers were posthumously inducted to the Alabama Country
Hall of Fame in 1987, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, and
were also elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007 in recognition of
their 1949 hit recording of
"Blues Stay Away From Me." They were also elected to The Rockabilly
Hall of
Fame in recognition of their pioneering contributions to that style of
music.
You can read an excellent article about the Delmore Brothers on the
Native Ground Music website: http://www.nativeground.com/delmorebrothers.asp
There is a detailed article about the Delmores on The Rockabilly Hall
of Fame website: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/DelmoreBrothers1.html
Alton's daughter Debby Delmore has put together her own website
devoted to
the Delmore Brothers including some great photographs: http://www.
delmorebrothers.net/
To see a google map showing where Rabon Delmore and his brother Alton
were born and began their career as legendary country music
performers, go to:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=36.377068,-86.868896&spn=6.092844,9.591064&z=7&msid=108456232374072017347.000479c1b0ba29c7309fc
The Delmore Brothers' 1949 hit "Blues Stay Away From Me" appealed to
African-Americans as well as white country music fans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUk9UDoVyKk&feature=related
Various blues singers covered "Blues Stay From Me" including
B.B. King:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUijEbdwhN0&feature=related
Following in the footsteps of Jimmie Rodgers, the Delmores recorded
several yodeling songs, including "Lonesome Yodel Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd-ByLw4tDQ&feature=related
They also recorded older blues standards, such as "Careless Love":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjlfJuAq5bs&feature=related
Their later recordings had a strong rhythm and blues flavor, such as
"Trouble Ain't Nothing But The Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHd3Qbp9H_w&feature=related
The Delmore's 1933 recording of "I've Got The Big River Blues" was the
source of Doc Watson's "Deep River Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a03NI7QFME0
Doc Watson added his own magical touch to the song he renamed
"Deep River Blues":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAbrnjdtYw
The Delmore Brothers recorded a large number of railroad songs,
available on
including:
"Blue Railroad Train"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38E1GaqX6bw
"Hey Hey I'm Memphis Bound"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lROms0I5F0o&feature=related
"Freight Train Boogie"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQhQbGz3fy4&feature=related
"Tennessee Choo Choo"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw0SC68MwjM&feature=related
The Delmore's adaptation of boogie woogie helped to lay the
foundations of
rockabilly in the 1950s.
Hillbilly Boogie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_j4lqygsNk
Joel
> for King and Decca and made live appearances through the forties. The
> Delmores put together a full country band in 1946, including steel
> guitar, fiddle, harmonica, bass fiddle, and the electric lead guitar
> of Merle Travis.
Richard, unless my memory is playing tricks, the brothers and Merle
Travis and Grandpa Jones recorded as the Brown's Ferry Four, a
wonderful gospel quartette.
Joel
Steve Goldfield
I think Joel is correct; however, I think there were other versions of
the group,
not always with those four in it.
Steve
Judge Sturdy
The Delmores were the common denominator, but others, like Clyde Moody
and Red Foley sometimes recorded as part of the group. On at least one
session, they recorded as a trio.
Jim N.