Cleve Chafin was a carnival musician who recorded old-time music

Old-time music

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...

 during the 1920s.

Biography

Chafin was from Wayne County, West Virginia

Wayne County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...

, the son of Alice Adkins and Bob Chafin. He first recorded a solo session in Richmond, Indiana

Richmond, Indiana

Richmond is a city largely within Wayne Township, Wayne County, in east central Indiana, United States, which borders Ohio. The city also includes the Richmond Municipal Airport, which is in Boston Township and separated from the rest of the city...

 for Gennett Records

Gennett Records

Gennett was a United States based record label which flourished in the 1920s.-Label history:Gennett records was founded in Richmond, Indiana by the Starr Piano Company, and released its first records in October 1917. The company took its name from its top managers: Harry, Fred and Clarence Gennett....

 on November 16, 1927, but the recordings were never issued. He may also have recorded a session for Paramount Records

Paramount Records

Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...

 in 1928 with two men named Stevens and Bolar as Fruit Jar Guzzlers

Fruit Jar Guzzlers

-Biography:Fruit Jar Guzzlers is one of the most mysterious old-time groups to ever record. In 1928, another old-time musician Cleve Chaffin from Wayne County, West Virginia had supposedly recorded a session with two men named Stevens and Bolar for Paramount Records as Fruit Jar Guzzlers. The...

. In Chicago, Illinois, Chaffin recorded six songs with John & Emery McClung

John & Emery McClung

John & Emery McClung were musicians who recorded old-time music during the 1920s. They also recorded as The West Virginia Snake Hunters and The McClung Brothers. John Edward McClung was born on August 1, 1906 in Mount Hope, West Virginia and died on February 15, 1991...

 for Paramount Records

Paramount Records

Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...

. These records were released as by Cleve Chaffin and The McClung Brothers. Chaffin continued his professional music career, but never recorded again. He died on December 10, 1959 in Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...

at the age of 74.

According to the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910, a Cleve Chafin, who was born in Kentucky and aged 22, was a prisoner at the city jail in Cabell County, West Virginia at the time of the census.

Unreleased 1927 Gennett recordings

• Sweet Bunch Of Daisies
• Aged Mother
• The Night My Mother Died
• Curtain Of Night
• Wreck Of The C&O
• Railroad Bill

Cleve Chaffin & The McClung Brothers

• Babylon Is Falling Down/I Got A Home In The Beulah Land (Paramount #3160) (3/1929)
• Trail Blazer's Favorites/Alabama Jubilee (Paramount #3161) (3/1929)
• Rock House Gamblers/Curtains Of Night (Paramount #3170) (3/1929)

Various artists compilations

• My Rough And Rowdy Ways Volume One (Yazoo #2039) (1998)
• Old Time Music Of West Virginia Volume Two (County #CD-3519) (1999)
• The Half Ain’t Never Been Told Volume Two (Yazoo #2050) (1999)
• Country Music Classic (Vintage78 #C-53) (cassette)
• Paramount Old Time Recordings (JSP) (3-CD set) (2006)

External links

• [ Allmusic]