December old-time birthdays
Kerry
1 Armin Barnett; Helga Sermat
2 Herman Crook; Paul Hostetter; Moe Asch (1905); Isham Monday (1879)
3 Rabon Delmore; Richard Blaustein; Donald Boothby
5 Geoff Seitz; Ralph Blizard (1918); Charlie Acuff (1919); Ray
Whitley (1901)
6 China Poplin (1904)
7 Gail Gillespie; Cyrus McQueen; Hoyt “Slim” Bryant (1908)
8 Jean Ritchie; Jeff Todd Titon (1943); Joe Nelson; Rick Fogel
(1945)
9 Joe Thompson (1918); Gus Garelick; Posie Foddrell (1898)
11 Dolly Good (1915)
12 Christian Wig; Mike Resnick; Leo Johnson (1888); Mose Coffman
(1905)
13 Ethel Park Richardson (1883); Jim Nelson; Nate Dalton
14 Bert Layne (1889); Charles Seeger; Earl Thomas, jr.; DeFord Bailey
(1899)
15 Rayna Gellert; Mitchell "B" Lilly; John Hammond sr (1910); A.P.
Carter (1893)
16 Earl Bolick; Robert Gardner (1897)
17 Dallas Jones (1889); Frankie Miller;; Karl Davis (1905); Henry
Bandy (1876)
18 Chris Jong; Karen Leigh; Peg Leg Sam Jackson (1911); Judy Angus
Waldron; Wilf Carter; Henry Luther
Baucom (1902); Harvey Sampson (1909); Marc Perdue
19 Bill Carlisle (1908)
21 Marvin Gaster; Shell Coffey (1894); Matokie Slaughter (1919)
23 Vernon Solomon (1924)
24 Lulu Belle Wiseman (1913); Bill Sluys; Blackwell Lunsford (1878)
25 Alton Delmore (1908); Laurie Walton (1946); Gwen Foster (1903)
26 Uncle Charlie Osborne (1890); Ernie Hodges; Armeaneus Porter
Hamblen (1875); George Stoneman (1882)
27 Bob Naess; Ron Nagy; Molly Stouten; John Herrmann
28 Susan Staton; Barb Bloomfield (1942); Ezra Buzzington (1879); Drake
Walsh (1930)
29 Frank Blade; Frank C. Stanley (1868)
30 Judy Larson; John Hartford (1937); Dave Ross; Tom Legenhausen
(1955); Brendan Doyle (1953); Brid Nolan (f/ot)
31 Stefan Curl; Judith Bows; Bonnie Zahnow(1953)
rjblaustein
Kerry's birthday list has inspired me to write birthday tributes to
great old time musicians, which I've been posting on FaceBook. Here's
my latest; hope you enjoy it!
Best wishes, Richard
Herman Crook December 2, 1898 - June 10, 1988
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Today at 10:35pm | Edit Note | Delete
Herman Crook was born in Scottsboro in Davidson County, Tennessee,
fifteen miles northwest of the state capital, Nashville,on December 2,
1898. One of six children in a musical family, Herman began playing
the harmonica with his brother Matthew while still a little boy,
developing a unique twin harmonica style. After Herman's father died
in 1901, his mother moved her family to Nashville where she died in
1909.
Herman worked at a variety of jobs growing up in Nashville but
continued to play music with friends and family members. When
Nashville's first radio station WDAD
opened in 1925, Herman and his brother Matthew formed a band featuring
their twin harmonicas accompanied by two guitarists and a banjo
player.
George D. Hay, who left the WLS Barn Dance in Chicago to join the
staff of
the National Life and Accident Insurance company's new radio station
WSM
("We Serve Millions") in November of 1925, heard the Crook Brothers'
band and invited them to join his new WSM Barn Dance in 1926. The
Crook Brothers became the second old time band to play on WSM; a
harmonica playing physician, Dr. Humphrey Bate, the leader of WSM's
very first band, enjoyed the music of the Crook Brothers and welcomed
them warmly.
In 1927 George D. Hay renamed his program The Grand Ole Opry, inspired
by
African-American harmonica player DeFord Bailey's rendition of "Pan
American Blues." Thanks to WSM's powerful 50,000 watt radio signal,
the Grand Ole Opry quickly won loyal fans throughout the heartland of
the United States. The Crook Brothers recorded four sides for Victor
Records in 1928. A young banjo player named Lewis Crook joined the
band in 1929 on the recommendation of Dr. Bate. By 1930, Matthew Crook
left the group and fiddler Kirk McGee took his place, changing the
sound of the band. Fiddler Floyd Ethridge replaced Kirk McGee
and played with the Crook Brothers band during the 1930s.
All in all, Herman Crook played on the Grand Ole Opry for sixty-two
years, rarely missing a Saturday night show. Herman Crook was a
regular participant in the backstage old time music sessions that took
place in Roy Acuff's dressing room
across the alley from the Ryman auditorium and later at Opryland. A
virtuoso harmonica player who could play fiddle tunes note for note,
Herman Crook was loved and admired by Roy Acuff and other Opry
oldtimers.
When he died in June of 1988, Roy Acuff remarked , "Herman Crook, a
gentleman who defines honor, dignity, and class. He is truly missed."
Crook Brothers Band, "Going Across The Sea," Victor (1928)
Recorded 10/05/28 Catalog Number: vi40099
http://www.juneberry78s.com/otmsampler/192%20Crook%20Brothers%20String%20Band%20-%20Going%20Across%20The%20Sea.mp3
Herman Crook plays and sings "Lost John" and "Unclouded Day" on Ralph
Emery's
"Nashville Now" television program on The Nashville Network:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jurmPOMrlfA
Roy Acuff introduces Herman Crook and The Crook Brothers playing
"Sugar In The Gourd" on the 61st anniversary show of the Grand Ole
Opry in 1986:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C8_OQNE6FM
The Crook Brothers play "Black Mountain Rag" on the Grand Ole Opry in
1966:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrW-PXyxEOc&feature=related
To read an excellent history of the long career of the Crook Brothers
Band on the Grand Ole Opry, go to: http://www.crookbrothersband.com/Biography.html
You can browse the official Crook Brothers website by going to:
http://www.crookbrothersband.com/index.htm
To see a google map showing where Herman Crook was born and spent his
long career as a pioneer performer on the Grand Ole Opry, go to:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108456232374072017347.000479b5d94b865f34c9d&ll=36.332828,-86.743927&spn=0.381121,0.8741&z=11
To read Herman Crook's obituary in the New York Times, go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/11/obituaries/herman-crook-89-harmonica-player-of-grand-ole-opry.html
rjblaustein
>
> Herman Crook plays and sings "Lost John" and "Unclouded Day" on Ralph
> Emery's
> "Nashville Now" television program on The Nashville Network:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jurmPOMrlfA
>
> Roy Acuff introduces Herman Crook and The Crook Brothers playing
> "Sugar In The Gourd" on the 61st anniversary show of the Grand Ole
> Opry in 1986:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C8_OQNE6FM
>
> The Crook Brothers play "Black Mountain Rag" on the Grand Ole Opry in
> 1966:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrW-PXyxEOc&feature=related
>
> To read an excellent history of the long career of the Crook Brothers
> Band on the Grand Ole Opry, go to:http://www.crookbrothersband.com/Biography.html
>
> You can browse the official Crook Brothers website by going to:http://www.crookbrothersband.com/index.htm
>
> To see a google map showing where Herman Crook was born and spent his
>
> To read Herman Crook's obituary in the New York Times, go to:http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/11/obituaries/herman-crook-89-harmonic...
Here's a cut of The Crook Brothers Band playing "Liberty" on a 1962
Starday LP "Opry Old Timers":
http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ec6ae650ad&view=audio&msgs=1254fb57e5ab42bb&attid=0.1&zw