Andrew and Jim Baxter
Encyclopedia
Andrew Baxter, African-American fiddle player, and Jim Baxter, African-American-Cherokee singer/guitar player, were father and son, respectively, and performed their fiddle/guitar duet from Gordon County, Georgia
in the 1920s as the Baxter Brothers. The Baxter Brothers were associated with the Georgia Yellow Hammers
, also from Gordon County.
The Georgia Yellow Hammers and the Baxter Brothers traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to record for Victor in the summer of 1927. Because of the Jim Crow laws
, the Baxters had to ride several cars behind the Yellow Hammers on the train ride to Charlotte. In Charlotte, each group recorded their individual sessions, with one exception: Andrew Baxter played fiddle on "G Rag" with the Yellow Hammers. This integrated recording session was extremely rare in the 1920s. It is thought that "G Rag" is one of the earliest integrated recordings of Georgia musicians.
Among their recordings is "40 Drops", a tribute to Georgia corn moonshine, an instrumental with vocal comments - a style typical of instrumental recordings of the 1920s.
Gordon County, Georgia
Gordon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 44,104. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 52,044. The county seat is Calhoun.- History :...
in the 1920s as the Baxter Brothers. The Baxter Brothers were associated with the Georgia Yellow Hammers
Georgia Yellow Hammers
The Georgia Yellow Hammers is an old-time string and vocal quartet from Gordon County, Georgia from the 1920s. The group featured Charles Moody, Jr. on guitar; Bud Landress on banjo; Phil Reeve on guitar; and Bill Chitwood on fiddle....
, also from Gordon County.
The Georgia Yellow Hammers and the Baxter Brothers traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina to record for Victor in the summer of 1927. Because of the Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
, the Baxters had to ride several cars behind the Yellow Hammers on the train ride to Charlotte. In Charlotte, each group recorded their individual sessions, with one exception: Andrew Baxter played fiddle on "G Rag" with the Yellow Hammers. This integrated recording session was extremely rare in the 1920s. It is thought that "G Rag" is one of the earliest integrated recordings of Georgia musicians.
Among their recordings is "40 Drops", a tribute to Georgia corn moonshine, an instrumental with vocal comments - a style typical of instrumental recordings of the 1920s.
Sources
- Wayne W. Daniel, Pickin' on Peachtree: A History of Country Music in Atlanta, Georgia (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), 76-77.
- The Encyclopedia of Country Music, ed. Paul Kingsbury (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), s.v. "Georgia Yellow Hammers."
- Gene Wiggins and Tony Russell, "Hell Broke Loose in Gordon County, Georgia," Old Time Music 25 (Summer 1977): 9-21.
- Charles K. Wolfe, "The Georgia Yellow Hammers," in Classic Country: Legends of Country Music (New York: Routledge, 2001).
- Tony Russell, Old Time Music Journal
- Gene Wiggins, Old Time Music Journal
External links
- http://oldbluebus.blogspot.com/2006/10/baxter-brothers-georgia-yellow-hammers.html