|
 |
|||||||||||
|
About The Artist
Ernest Van Stoneman ranked as one the most important country music recording stars having his first releases on the OKeh label in 1925. In the next few years he had dozens of additional recordings on various labels including Edison, Gennett, and Victor. After 1928 his career began to decline somewhat and hit bottom with the onset of the Great Depression. As the father of a large family that relocated to the DC area, they survived years of dire poverty, persisted in music, and eventually climbed back to prominence. Stoneman was born in 1893 in the Iron Ridge community near the Carroll-Grayson County line in the Blue Ridge area of southwest Virginia, one of the nation's richest section's repositories of traditional music. He grew up absorbing that culture from childhood. When he married Hattie Frost in November 1918, an even more musical family than his own, his musical immersion went even deeper. Meanwhile, he learned the carpenter trade and was working at that occupation in Bluefield, West Virginia when he heard the first recordings of Henry Whitter. Believing that he could do as good or better, Ernest began saving his money to go to New York and try out. He did so in November 1924 and visited the office of the General Phonograph Company (OKeh Records). Upon hearing the demos, he thought he had recorded them a bit fast and decided to do them over in February 1925. His first release "The Titanic"/"The Face that Never Returned" sold quite well and inaugurated a career that would endure (with a long break in the middle) until the age of stereo. With the growth of the town of Galax it became his home base. Stoneman's early recordings for OKeh were done under the direction and management of A & R pioneer Ralph Peer and when Peer moved from that label to Victor, Ernest went with him in 1926 (although he still did sessions with OKeh in 1927). He also recorded for Edison where his sessions were released on both disc and cylinder. Avoiding exclusive contracts, he also recorded for Gennett where the recordings also appeared on Champion and a variety of Sears-Roebuck labels. In 1927, he did a session for the Plaza Corporation where his masters appeared on Banner and other labels. This meant that he often cut the same titles for more than one firm with releases under a bewildering assortment of names. In late July 1927, Peer, with help from Stoneman, held field recordings in Bristol which included not only his own string band (known sometimes as the Dixie Mountaineers or the Blue Ridge Cornshuckers, later as the Stoneman Family), but several other groups including the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. Ironically, the latter two would have careers that eclipsed his own. Members of his own band included such figures as his wife Hattie, in-laws Bolin and Irma Frost, fiddler Kahle Brewer and wife Edna, Walter Mooney, and his wife's cousin Alex "Uncle Eck" Dunford who would record several solo numbers featuring his unique voice and droll humor. Stoneman did additional sessions for Victor, Gennett, and Edison in 1928. In 1929, he was on recordings credited to Frank Jenkins, Oscar Jenkins (on Paramount), and Fields Ward. His work with the latter was under the name Justin Winfield, but most of them were not released until the 1960s. His recording career was on the wane and with the onset of the Great Depression he and teen-age son Eddie had a session for Vocalion in 1934. Thereafter he cut no more discs until 1960 with the more modern Stoneman Family. However, some of the numbers recorded in this early era that were unreleased later came out on various LP and CD collections. Following the crash of October 1929, much of Stoneman's musical and carpenter work began to dry up. Having signed notes for other friends, he soon faced financial disaster. By 1932, his home was repossessed and he escaped other creditors by the skin of his teeth. With his ever growing family, they survived dire poverty in Washington, D. C. until World War II when they moved from dire to mid-level poverty. After the war, he and some of his children revived their careers as The STONEMAN FAMILY (q. v.). The children of Ernest and Hattie Stoneman:
Credits & Sources
|
Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
|
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 1993 | A | Hand Me Down My Walking Cane | ||
| 1993 | B | When the Roses Bloom Again | ||
| 2157 | A | Pass Around the Bottle | ||
| 2157 | B | Bully of the Town | ||
| 2158 | A | The Fatal Wedding | ||
| 2158 | B | Sinful to Flirt | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 151 | A | The Girl I Left Behind In Sunny Tennessee | ||
| 151 | B | Katy Cline | ||
| 152 | A | Barney Mccoy | ||
| 152 | B | Pretty Snow Dear | ||
| 153 | A | May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister | ||
| 153 | B | Silver Bell | ||
| 309 | A | An Old Fashioned Picture (By Vernon Dalhart) | ||
| 309 | B | Barney Mccoy | ||
| 312 | A | May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister | ||
| 312 | B | Mother's Grave (By Vernon Dalhart) | ||
| 665 | A | Bully Of The Town | ||
| 665 | B | Pass Around The Bottle | ||
| 666 | A | The Fatal Wedding | ||
| 666 | B | It's Sinful To Flirt | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 7755 | A | Pass Around The Bottle | ||
| 7755 | B | Bully Of The Town | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 51788 | A | Bad Companions | ||
| 51788 | B | When the Work?s All Done This Fall | ||
| 51823 | A | Wreck of the C. & O. | ||
| 51823 | B | Sinking of the Titanic | ||
| 51864 | A | Watermelon Hanging on the Vine | ||
| 51864 | B | The Old Hickory Cane | ||
| 51869 | A | Wild Bill Jones | ||
| 51869 | B | John Henry | ||
| 51909 | A | My Little German Home Across the Seas | ||
| 51909 | B | Bury Beneath the Willow | ||
| 51935 | A | Once I Had a Fortune | ||
| 51935 | B | Two Little Orphans | ||
| 51938 | A | Hand Me Down My Walking Cane | ||
| 51938 | B | Tell Mother Will Meet Her | ||
| 51951 | A | The Bully of the Town | ||
| 51951 | B | Bright Sherman Valley | ||
| 51994 | A | We Courted In the Rain | ||
| 51994 | B | Kitty Wells | ||
| 52026 | A | The Fate of Talmadge Osborne | ||
| 52026 | B | The Fatal Wedding | ||
| 52290 | A | He Was Nailed to the Cross for Me | ||
| 52290 | B | When the Redeemed Are Gathered In | ||
| 52299 | A | The East Bound Train | ||
| 52299 | B | The Unlucky Road to Washington | ||
| 52312 | A | Down on the Banks of the Ohio | ||
| 52312 | B | We Parted at the Riverside | ||
| 52350 | A | All Go Hungry Hash House | ||
| 52350 | B | Sally Goodwin | ||
| 52369 | A | There?ll Come a Time | ||
| 52369 | B | The Old Maid and the Burglar | ||
| 52386 | A | Careless Love | ||
| 52386 | B | It Is Sinful to Flirt | ||
| 52461 | A | Fallen By the Wayside | ||
| 52461 | B | The Prisoner?s Lament | ||
| 52479 | A | I Remember Calvary | ||
| 52479 | B | He Is Coming After Me | ||
| 52489 | A | Goodbye Dear Old Stepstone | ||
| 52489 | B | All I?ve Got?s Gone | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 3368 | A | May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister | ||
| 3368 | B | The Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee | ||
| 3369 | A | Silver Bell | ||
| 3369 | B | Pretty Snow Deer | ||
| 3381 | A | Katy Kline | ||
| 3381 | B | Barney McCoy | ||
| 6044 | A | The Poor Tramp Has to Live | ||
| 6044 | B | Kenny Wagner?s Surrender | ||
| 6052 | A | Long Eared Mule | ||
| 6052 | B | Round Town Gals | ||
| 6065 | A | Sweet Bunch of Violets | ||
| 6619 | A | New River Train (as Justin Winfield) | ||
| 6619 | B | John Hardy (as Justin Winfield) | ||
| 6733 | A | (Grayson & Whitter) | ||
| 6733 | B | Say Darling Say (as Justin Winfield) | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 16500 | A | Bully Of The Town (as Sim Harris) | ||
| 16500 | B | Sinful To Flirt (as Sim Harris) | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 8136 | A | Are You Washed In The Blood? | ||
| 8305 | B | Little Old Log Cabin In The Lane | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 40288 | A | The Titanic | ||
| 40288 | B | The Face that Never Returned | ||
| 40312 | A | Freckled Faced Mary Jane | ||
| 40312 | B | Me and My Wife | ||
| 40384 | A | Sinful to Flirt | ||
| 40384 | B | The Dying Girl's Farewell | ||
| 40405 | A | Piney Woods Girl (w/ Emmett Lundy) | ||
| 40405 | B | The Long Eared Mule (w/ Emmett Lundy | ||
| 40408 | A | Jack and Joe | ||
| 40408 | B | The Lightning Express | ||
| 40430 | A | Uncle Sam and the Kaiser | ||
| 40430 | B | Dixie Parody | ||
| 45009 | A | Blue Ridge Mountain Blues | ||
| 45009 | A | All I've Got's Gone | ||
| 45009 | B | All I?ve Got?s Gone | ||
| 45009 | B | Blue Ridge Mountain Blues | ||
| 45015 | A | The Sailor?s Song | ||
| 45015 | B | The Fancy Ball | ||
| 45036 | A | The Kicking Mule | ||
| 45036 | B | (by Roba Stanley) | ||
| 45044 | A | Asleep at the Switch | ||
| 45044 | B | The Orphan Girl | ||
| 45048 | A | Kitty Wells | ||
| 45048 | B | In the Shadow of the Pine | ||
| 45051 | A | The Religious Critic | ||
| 45051 | B | When My Wife Can Return to Me | ||
| 45054 | A | The Texas Ranger | ||
| 45054 | B | Don?t Let Your Deal Go Down | ||
| 45059 | A | The Old Hickory Cane | ||
| 45059 | B | May I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister | ||
| 45060 | A | Silver Bell | ||
| 45060 | B | My Pretty Snow Deer | ||
| 45062 | A | The All Go Hungry Hash House | ||
| 45062 | B | He?s Going to Have a Hot Time By and By | ||
| 45065 | A | Katie Kline | ||
| 45065 | B | Are You Angry with Me Darling | ||
| 45084 | A | The Fatal Wedding | ||
| 45084 | B | The Fate of Talmadge Osborne | ||
| 45094 | A | Lonesome Road Blues | ||
| 45094 | B | Round Town Gal | ||
| 45125 | A | The Road to Washington (as Mr. and Mrs. Ernest V. Stoneman) | ||
| 45125 | B | The Mountaineer?s Courtship (as Mr. and Mrs. Ernest V. Stoneman) | ||
| 7011 | A | Wreck on the C. & O. (12 inch disc) | ||
| 7011 | B | John Hardy (12 inch disc) | ||
| Unknown-1 | A | Jack And Joe | ||
| Unknown-1 | B | Lightning Express | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 20223 | A | In the Golden Bye and Bye | ||
| 20223 | B | I Will Meet You in the Morning | ||
| 20224 | A | I Love to Walk with Jesus | ||
| 20224 | B | Hallelujah Side | ||
| 20235 | A | Sourwood Mountain | ||
| 20235 | B | Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane | ||
| 20237 | A | West Virginia Highway | ||
| 20237 | B | All Go Hungry Hash House | ||
| 20294 | A | Going Up Cripple Creek | ||
| 20294 | B | Sugar in the Gourd | ||
| 20302 | A | Ida Red | ||
| 20302 | B | Old Joe Clark | ||
| 20531 | A | Going Down the Valley | ||
| 20531 | B | The Sinless Summer[land] | ||
| 20532 | A | The Great Reaping Day | ||
| 20532 | B | I Would Not Be Denied | ||
| 20533 | A | I?ll Be Satisfied | ||
| 20533 | B | When the Redeemed Are Gathering In | ||
| 20540 | A | Peek-a-Boo Waltz | ||
| 20540 | B | Down Where The Watermelons Grow (ByPhil Reeve and Ernest Moody) | ||
| 20671 | A | Story of the Mighty Mississippi | ||
| 20671 | B | Flight of Lucky Lindbergh (By Ernest Rogers) | ||
| 20672 | A | The Poor Tramp Has to Live | ||
| 20672 | B | The Fate of Talmadge Osborne | ||
| 20799 | A | The Old Hickory Cane | ||
| 20799 | B | Till the Snowflakes Fall Again | ||
| 20835 | A | Old Time Corn Shuckin? Part 1 | ||
| 20835 | B | Old Time Corn Shuckin? Part 2 | ||
| 20844 | A | Sweeping Through the Gates | ||
| 20844 | B | Are You Washed in the Blood | ||
| 20880 | A | Mountaineer?s Courtship (with Irma Frost) | ||
| 20880 | B | (Uncle Eck Dunford and Hattie Stoneman) | ||
| 21071 | A | The Resurrection | ||
| 21071 | B | I Am Resolved | ||
| 21129 | A | The Dying Girl?s Farewell | ||
| 21129 | B | Tell Mother I Will Meet Her | ||
| 21186 | A | No More Goodbyes | ||
| 21186 | B | I Know My Name Is There | ||
| 21264 | A | Possum Trot School Exhibition, Part 1 | ||
| 21264 | B | Possum Trot School Exhibition, Part 2 | ||
| 21518 | A | A Serenade in the Mountains, Part 1 | ||
| 21518 | B | A Serenade in the Mountains, Part 2 | ||
| 21648 | A | The Two Little Orphans | ||
| 21648 | B | The Raging Sea, How It Roars | ||
| 40030 | A | The Broken Hearted Love | ||
| 40030 | B | We Parted By the Riverside | ||
| 40078 | A | There?s a Light Lit Up in Galilee | ||
| 40078 | B | Down to Jordan and Be Saved (with Uncle Eck Dunford) | ||
| 40206 | A | Too Late | ||
| 40206 | B | The Spanish Merchant?s Daughter (with Hattie Stoneman) | ||
| ||||
| Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
| 02632 | A | There's Somebody Waiting For Me | ||
| 02632 | B | Texas Ranger | ||
| 02655 | A | Broke Down Section Hand | ||
| 02655 | B | Nine Pound Hammer | ||
| 02901 | A | My Only Sweetheart | ||
| 02901 | B | All I Got's Gone | ||
Hillbilly-Music.com
Yes, Hillbilly Music. You may perhaps wonder why. You may even snicker. But trust us, soon your feet will start tappin' and before you know it, you'll be comin' back for more...Hillbilly Music.
Hillbilly-music.com ...
It's about the people, the music, the history.
Copyright
Copyright © 2000—2024 Hillbilly-Music.com
Content is copyright
by Hillbilly-Music.com except where noted. Articles and photos attributed
to others are used by this site with the owner's permission and require
you to obtain permission to re-use or reprint. Except where noted, all
information is from the collection and archives of Hillbilly-Music.com.
Voting Member of: