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About the Group
They wrote that Doc, Karl and Harty took to "mountain music" at an early age and could often be seen together at the Davis' barn or the Taylor's blacksmith shop playing their tunes on their guitar and mandolin. In this case, it was 'birds of a feather' did indeed flock together. When Doc returned from the world war, the three boys formed a string band and called themselves the Krazy Kats. They got themselves quite a following in central and eastern Kentucky. Later, they were heard singing over radio station WHAS in Louisville, KY. Then, in 1930, a friend of theirs, Bradley Kincaid, helped get the group on WLS in Chicago and from that point, they became the now infamous "Cumberland Ridgerunners".
Hugh Cross was one of the vocalists at one time. Known as a husky chap and was reared on a mountain farm near Oliver Springs, TN. He was married and had two daughters (Katherine Doris and Coloris Lou) and a son (Jack). When he wrote Daddy's Little Girls, he had is daughters in mind. Karl Davis and Hartford Taylor, known as the Renfro Valley Boys, were boyhood pals who secretly practiced on the guitar and mandolin until they considered themselves expert enough to appear in public. They were born and raised in Mt. Vernon, KY. Red Foley was part of the group and also sang with Lulu Belle as "Burrhead". Linda Parker was a part of the group and known as the "Sunbonnet Girl" who sang the old quiet ballads of the hills. Karl was a tall, lanky, good-natured person and was the only bachelor in the group at one time. Harty was married and had a daughter named Betty Taylor.
John Lair was their manager and announcer on their Saturday night programs. Often, he'd play the 'jug' with them. His home was in Mt. Vernon, KY at the time, but he also had lived in Chicago for several years. He was married and had a daughter named Ann. John Lair would direct many of the interesting sketches of 'mountain life' that they did. One of the regular sketches they did was "Coon Creek Social". Timeline and Trivia Notes Group members
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This group had quite a history and saw several changes in makeup. In a folio
called "Doc Hopkins and Karl and Harty of the Cumberland Ridgerunners" published
back in 1936, it seems to detail the roots of this group. As fate would have it,
Doc Hopkins, Karl and Harty all attended the infamous "Red Bud School" near Mt.
Vernon, KY - in the Renfro Valley area where another infamous barn dance started and still
exists today.
The Cumberland Ridge Runners were a versatile crew, always happy and
willing to do their best, whether it was midnight or six in the morning.
The feeling that came across from this group was that they were like a
chapter out of the past, suggesting 'the days of long rifles and coonskin
caps of pioneer Kentucky'. Many of their songs had their roots in those same
hills, passed along from memory until the group put them on paper.
Homer "Slim" Miller was rated one of the best old-time fiddlers as well
as being the clown of the group. They wrote that he usually played
jokes on one of his partners or was making faces at the control room.
He made Indianapolis, In his home at the time. At the time, he had a
daughter named Betty. Later, he became associated with the Renfro Valley Barn Dance when
John Lair talked him into it.
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