The Delmore Brothers

The Delmore Brothers The 1930's saw the development of two styles that were to irrevocably change the nature of country music. One was the infusion of jazz into the old-time string band, which created Western Swing, and the other was the sudden rise in popularity of close-harmony duet singing.

To the casual fan, the Delmore Brothers might be seen as just another duet act from the 1930's, along with the Callahan Brothers, The Monroe Brothers, the Shelton Brothers, the Rice Brothers, or the Bolick Brothers (The Blue Sky Boys). However, the Delmores were far more than just another duet act: they were one of the first of these acts, and they retained their popularity longer than any of the rest. They sang original songs, and sang them in such a unique musical style, that they influenced generations of country and bluegrass performers. Today, they are seen as a vital transitional group in country music development; they link the blues, ragtime, and shape-note sacred singing of the rural 19th-century South with polished, complex, media-oriented styles of the thirties and forties. The Delmores are also transitional in another sense, for they were among the first country acts to appeal to a wider audience; they enjoyed some of the first "crossover" hits in Beautiful Brown Eyes and More Pretty Girls Than One. You can hear echoes of the Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers in their singing, to be sure, but you can also hear touches of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, the early Mills Brothers, and even the Boswell Sisters. The Delmores were rather eclectic in their own musical taste, and their broad-minded creativity helped expand the definition of country music for millions of listeners.

Though much of the Delmore's success came from their own innate skill and drive, part of it also came from being in the right place at the right time. Whitney Ballet has written of how the development of the hand mike helped change the style of American pop singers, how it moved singers away from the loud piercing style of the acoustic era to the subtle nuances of the Tormes and Fitzgeralds. A similar argument could be offered for the development of radio having a similar effect on country music styles. In the 1920s, it was necessary for the Carter Family or Riley Puckett to generate volume enough to be heard under rather primitive staging conditions, but by 1930, radio had made it possible to sing softly and still be heard, and by the mid-1930s, sound systems had developed to a point where in-person concerts could accomplish the same end. The first generation of country music stars - Rodgers, the Carters, the Skillet lickers - could not depend on radio to establish their reputations; in many cases, their artistic style was not suited to the new radio medium. However, the second generation of country stars sensed the absolute need to fit their art to the medium, and the Delmores were among the first of this generation. Thus, their carefully-crafted harmonies could be appreciated, and their strikingly effective lyrics could be understood.

Both Delmore Brothers were born in Elkmont, in north Alabama; Alton was born on Christmas Day, 1908, and Rabon arrived on December 3, 1916. Their parents were tenant farmers who struggled to eke out a living in the rocky red clay of north Alabama, and for much of their lives, the brothers saw little but hard times. Musical talent ran in the family; the boys' mother and uncle were skilled gospel singers who could read and write music. Uncle Will was a well-known gospel music teacher, who had composed and even published several hymns. Often, the entire Delmore Family would sing at the revival meetings and "all day singings" held at tiny churches throughout the South. Alton was taught as a young boy to read the old shape-note music by his mother and by attendance at various summer singing schools held in rural churches.

By the time Rabon was ten, in 1926, the Delmores were playing together and singing the close harmony they later became famous for. They sang informally around the community and at local fiddling contests. Alton admitted later in life that a major influence on their singing had been the amateur gospel quartet that flourished (and still flourish) in the rural South. The brothers began to regularly win first place in singing at the area fiddling contests, and local newspapers began to praise them in print. Encouraged by this success, Alton began writing to radio stations and record companies asking for a try-out; he got firm but polite refusals. Then, the Delmores met the Allen Brothers, at that time (about 1930) a successful team for Victor, who had recorded Salty Dog and other popular blues-based songs. The Allens suggested that the Delmores stress their original material at auditions and in letters. Alton did this and soon landed an audition for the brothers with Columbia records in 1931. Alton and Rabon traveled to Atlanta, where they recorded a single record; the Depression was hitting the record industry hard, so the boys' promised contract simply never came. But in Atlanta, the brothers met several of their musical idols, including Riley Puckett, Clayton McMichen, Fiddlin' John Carson, and Blind Andy Jenkins. (Carson recorded the very first country record in 1923, and Jenkins had composed hundreds of early country ballads, including "Floyd Collins.") These greats of a passing age all praised the young men's singing, and the brothers returned home more confident than ever.

Alton then began writing to Harry Stone, manager of Nashville radio station WSM. That station's Saturday night "Barn Dance," which had been re-christened "The Grand Ole Opry" only four years earlier, was quickly gaining popularity throughout the South. Alton recalled later, "We all knew that the Grand Ole Opry was the greatest show on the air at the time, or at least people in the South thought so, and we were Southerners." But for a year, Stone wrote back offering little encouragement. The brothers hung on. "We were still playing school houses and any other place we could book and still the old fiddler's contest, and we brought home some money nearly every time - precious money that kept some food on the table, along with daddy's help. We were treated almost as celebrities in our home, Limestone County, Alabama, but we didn't have the money to make the real thing." Finally, in 1932, the boys auditioned successfully for the Opry, and they were given a regular 30-minute slot, replacing the Pickard Family.

The Delmore's stay on the Opry was stormy and controversial at times, but it gave them the exposure and national attention they needed. They became popular with the listeners at once, and soon they were receiving more mail than any other Opry performer except Uncle Dave Macon. The brothers actually read their mail, made up lists of numbers that were requested, and even sent personal letters in reply. They had an unusual rapport with their audience, but were disappointed at not being able to get any tour bookings. (To the early Opry artists - at least those who were trying to work on their music full-time - personal appearances were necessary to supplement the meager wages paid them by the station.) In April of 1933, the brothers went to Chicago to make their first Bluebird records for Victor; they drove up with another popular singing group from the Opry, the Vagabonds. Eli Oberstein, who did so much of Victor's hillbilly and blues field recording in the 1930's, was in charge of the session; he was to supervise the Delmore's recordings throughout their stay with Bluebird. The seventeen sides from this Chicago session (which included two of their most enduring numbers, Brown's Ferry Blues and Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar) gave them even wider exposure. For a time, in fact, they were the most successful recording group on the Opry. This added fame soon made it possible for them to book personal appearances, and soon they were touring with artists like Uncle Dave Macon and Fiddlin' Arthur Smith.

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