|
About The Artist
Although she did not realize it at the time, Georgia teenager Roba Stanley could claim the honor of being the first female country singer. Her father Rob Stanley was like his better-known neighbor Gid Tanner, a Dacula, Gwinnett County farmer and local fiddler of some renown. Roba was born to parents Robert and Mattie (Potter) Stanley in 1911. Her parents were married on December 3, 1899 in Gwinnett, Georgia. In August 1924, Rob, Roba and family friend William Patterson were in the Georgia capital where Ralph Peer and OKeh Records were holding sessions. This threesome cut two numbers as the Stanley Trio. Peer, who was impressed by young Roba's solo voice, asked her to do two numbers on her own — "Devilish Mary" and "Mister Chicken." Roba and her father also played several times on WSB radio and in some political campaigns. Stanley later did two more record sessions in Atlanta, in December 1924 and July 1925, with her most notable number being a song called "Single Life," which contained the lines "I am single and no man's wife/And no man shall control me" which might be suggestive of a proto-women's libber." However, it was not to be. Barely three months later, she met and fell in love with a young man from Miami surnamed Baldwin. The couple married, moved to Miami and her evolving career came to a sudden end. Her new husband did not approve of her singing out in public. She gave her guitar away after four months in Florida. The Baldwins reared three children in the Sunshine State and eventually moved to the college town of Gainesville. In 1977, historians Gene Wiggins and Charles Wolfe learned that Roba was still living. Interest in her career revived and she was interviewed and even made a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and was saluted from the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Two of her early numbers were reissued on the Rounder LP Banjo Pickin' Girl. As the late Charles Wolfe concluded in an article reviewing her life in 2003: "Roba passed away in 1986, still bemused at her pioneer status." Credits & Sources
|
Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
|
| ||||
Rec. No. | Side | Song Title | ||
40213 | A | Devilish Mary (w/Bill Patterson) | ||
40213 | B | Mister Chicken (w/Bill Patterson) | ||
40271 | A | Nellie Gray (as the Stanley Trio) | ||
40271 | B | Whoa Mule (as the Stanley Trio) | ||
40295 | A | All Night Long (w/Bob Stanley) | ||
40295 | B | Railroad Bill (w/Bob Stanley, Bill Patterson) | ||
40436 | A | Single Life | ||
40436 | B | Little Frankie (w/Bill Patterson) | ||
45036 | A | Old Maid Blues | ||
45036 | B | (Other Side by Ernest Stoneman) |
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.