Wade Mainer
Encyclopedia
Wade Mainer was an American singer and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

ist. With his band, the Sons of the Mountaineers, he is credited with bridging the gap between old-time mountain music and Bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 and is sometimes called the "Grandfather of Bluegrass." In addition, he innovated a two-finger banjo fingerpicking style, which was a precursor to modern three-finger bluegrass styles.

Originally from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Mainer's main influences came from the mountain music of his family. In a career that began in 1934 and spanned almost six decades, Mainer transitioned from being a member of his brother's band into the founder of his own ensemble, the Sons of the Mountaineers, with whom he performed until 1953, when he became more deeply involved with his Christianity and left the music industry. After working at a General Motors factory and attending gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 revivals, Mainer was convinced that he should restart his career as a Christian gospel musician and began to tour with his wife in this capacity. He continued to release albums until 1993.

Personal life

Mainer was born near Weaverville, North Carolina
Weaverville, North Carolina
Weaverville is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,646 in 2007. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Weaverville is located at ....

, on a mountain farm in Buncombe County on April 21, 1907. His family was poor during his childhood and they lived in a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...

. Mainer credited his father who was, in Mainer's words, "a good singer — real stout voice", as of one of his influences. During his career as a musical artist, Mainer would perform many of the old songs that he had heard from his father.

Mainer grew up listening to traditional mountain music and was largely influenced by his brother-in-law Roscoe Banks. He first learned to play the banjo at square dance
Square dance
Square dance is a folk dance with four couples arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going counter-clockwise until getting to Couple 4. Couples 1 and 3 are known as the head couples, while Couples 2 and 4 are the side couples...

s, where he would pick up instruments left by performers and practice on them. After moving to Concord, North Carolina
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...

 and working in a series of jobs at cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....

s, he became a part of his brother J.E.'s band, known as J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers
J. E. Mainer
J. E. Mainer was an American old time fiddler who followed in the wake of Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers.-Biography:...

. His entry into the band in 1934 marked the beginning of a nearly six-decade career in music. J.E. played the fiddle while Wade performed on the banjo for the string band, and they played at fiddlers' conventions and other gatherings.

Mainer married Julia Brown in 1937, shortly after forming his own band. Brown was a singer and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist popularly know at the time as Hillbilly Lilly. She had performed from 1935 until 1937 at WSJS
WSJS
WSJS is a radio station based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that broadcasts at 600 AM. It has a news/talk radio format and its slogan is "The Triad's News Radio", where "Triad" refers to the Piedmont Triad.-Programming:...

 Radio in Winston Salem. Brown is considered to be a pioneering female musical artist and later joined Mainer during his performances.

Musical career

Mainer's first recordings came in 1934 and are compiled on Ragged But Right: 30's Country Bands. Mainer performed with The Mountaineers on tracks such as Maple on the Hill, Seven and a Half and Johnson's Old Grey Mule. Also included on the compilation are Mainer's later collaboration Short Life and It's Trouble with Zeke Morris, his solo effort Riding on That Train 45 and a sample song Mitchell Blues from his band the Sons of the Mountaineers. Throughout his career, he was noted for his unique and innovative two-finger banjo fingerpicking style, which some view as a precursor to three finger bluegrass banjo styles. Mainer took jobs at local radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s to increase the visibility of his relative's ensemble, recording classics such as Take Me in the Lifeboat. During this time, he appeared on many regional stations including WBT
WBT (AM)
WBT is a radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, broadcasting on the AM dial at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina. It is owned by Greater...

 in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...

, WPTF
WPTF
WPTF, NewsRadio 680, is a talk radio station serving the Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group...

 in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, WNOX
WNOX
WNOX is a radio station in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. It broadcasts a news-talk format.WNOX operates a 100,000-watt transmitter, located on Cross Mountain north of Briceville, Tennessee...

 in Knoxville and WPAQ
WPAQ
WPAQ is an Americana, and Bluegrass formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Mount Airy, North Carolina, serving the Piedmont of North Carolina and the Southside and Southwestern sections of Virginia...

 in Mount Airy
Mount Airy, North Carolina
Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,388.-History:Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem and Galax, Virginia. It was named for a nearby plantation...

.

Mainer performed in a series of live radio shows with The Mountaineers, sponsored by Crazy Water Crystals laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...

s. In 1934, J.W. Fincher, the head of the company, observed their popularity at the first gig, the Crazy Water Crystal Barn Dance, a radio program out of Charlotte. Under the name J. E. Mainer's Crazy Mountaineers
J. E. Mainer
J. E. Mainer was an American old time fiddler who followed in the wake of Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers.-Biography:...

, they toured the American South on live radio shows and recorded fourteen songs for Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...

. Maple on the Hill, which according to the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

 was their biggest hit, had originally been composed in the 1890s by Gussie L. Davis.

Mainer was in his brother J.E.'s band for two years, until he left for more traditional work, which at the time was far more profitable than his musical career. Making only five dollars a week under sponsorship, Mainer found that he could earn up to three times as much working at a yarn mill, which he described as being "gold" for the era. After leaving his brother's group in 1936, he began to perform duet work with Zeke Morris, who was a fellow band mate from The Mountaineers. After a time working on this project, Mainer left to form the short-lived "Smilin' Rangers" which later became "Sons of the Pioneers". Zeke Morris then got together with his brother Wiley to form The Morris Brothers
The Morris Brothers
The Morris Brothers were an American country music group particularly popular in the 1930s, although they continued to play together occasionally until the 1970s.-Biography:The Morris Brothers were born in Old Fort, North Carolina...

.

Sons of the Mountaineers

Mainer named this new band Sons of the Mountaineers. Its initial lineup included Jay Hugh Hall and Clyde Moody
Clyde Moody
Clyde Moody , also known as the "Hillbilly Waltz King" and sometimes as "The Genial Gentleman of Country Music" was one the great founders of American Bluegrass music....

 as guitarists with Steve Ledford as a fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

r. Among the musicians who would join the group later were Jack and Curly Shelton, Tiny Dodson, Red Rector and Fred Smith. The band got its start performing on the radio and recording songs for Bluebird Records and their first hit, entitled "Sparkling Blue Eyes" was recorded in 1939. From 1935 through 1941, Mainer recorded over 165 songs for the record label RCA Victor in various lineups, ranking him among one of the most prolifically recorded country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artists of that period.

The Sons of the Mountaineers briefly stopped playing during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 because Mainer could not afford to squander the valuable gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

 required for the journey to the radio stations. One notable exception, however, came in 1942, when they were invited to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 by Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...

. There in Washington D.C., they played several tunes, including "Down in the Willow Garden
Down in the Willow Garden
"Down in the Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly" is a traditional Appalachian murder ballad about a man facing the gallows for the murder of his lover: he gave her poisoned wine, stabbed her, and threw her in a river. It originated in the 19th century, probably in Ireland, before becoming...

", a song personally requested by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During this time, they also appeared in a version of The Chisholm Trail in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. At wars' end, the band was reorganized and once again began to play at stations across North Carolina. Recordings at this time were sporadic, due to the declining popularity of the genre. In 1953, after having renewed his commitment to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, Mainer left the group and exited the industry for a time.

Later life

In 1953, Mainer and his wife settled in Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...

, where he found work at a General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 factory. Although renouncing both the music industry and his trademark instrument, the banjo, he and Julia did continue to sing at gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 revival meeting
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...

s. In the early 1960s, Molly O'Day
Molly O'Day (singer)
Molly O'Day was an American country music vocalist who had some degree of fame and commercial success in the late 1940s. Despite her short recording career, 5 years, she became a legend in her own lifetime...

 convinced him that he could use the banjo in gospel recordings, which spurred a series of religiously-theme banjo albums beginning in 1961. He also began to record and tour with his wife.

Mainer retired from General Motors in 1973. Mainer has been credited with bridging the gap between old-time mountain music and Bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

 and musicians such as Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...

, Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...

 and Doc Watson
Doc Watson
Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...

 have all cited Mainer as a source of influence. He has also been called the "Grandfather of Bluegrass." His influence was not limited to the United States. Pete Smith, of the British newspaper The Advertiser, in a report for Mainer's 100th birthday, cited Mainer as "one of the most influential figures in the development of modern bluegrass," noting his picking style and his efforts in bringing bluegrass closer to the mainstream. In addition, Smith also credits him for making the banjo, an instrument previously described as "satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

ic," acceptable for spiritually-themed music. Mainer continued to live with his wife in Flint, where he celebrated his centenary in 2007 and performed at a concert for his 101st birthday in 2008.
Mainer died of congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

 on September 12, 2011. He was 104.

Awards and honours

In 1987, president Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 bestowed upon him a National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...

 for his contributions to American music. In 1996 he received the Michigan Heritage Award and the Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 Country Music Association and Services' Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998 both he and his wife were inducted into the Michigan Country Music Hall of Fame, while Mainer received North Carolina’s Surry Arts Council Lifetime Achievement.

Wade Mainer/Zeke Morris

Matrix Title Record # Recording date
99133 "Come Back To Your Dobie Shack" Bluebird 6551 February 14, 1936
99134 "Just As the Sun Went Down" Bluebird 6383 February 14, 1936
99135 "What Would You Give In Exchange" Bluebird 8073 February 14, 1936
99136 "Bring Me a Leaf From the Sea" Bluebird 6347 February 14, 1936
99137 "Brown Eyes" Bluebird 6347 February 14, 1936
99138 "Maple On the Hill - Part 2" Bluebird 6293 February 15, 1936
99139 "Going To Georgia" Bluebird 6423 February 15, 1936
99140 "Nobody's Darling But Mine" Bluebird 6423 February 15, 1936
99141 "Mother Came to Get Her Boy Back From Jail" Bluebird 6383 February 15, 1936
99142 "Where the Red, Red Roses Grow" Bluebird 6293 February 15, 1936
102612 "My Cradle Days" Bluebird 6489 June 15, 1936
102613 "Gathering Flowers From the Hillside" Bluebird 6489 June 15, 1936
102614 "My Mother Is Waiting" Bluebird 6551 June 15, 1936
102615 "If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again" Bluebird 6460 June 15, 1936
102616 "Nobody's Darling On Earth" Bluebird 6460 June 15, 1936
102617 "Shake Hands With Your Mother" Bluebird 6596 June 15, 1936
2530 "They Said My Lord Was A Devil" Bluebird 6653 October 12, 1936
2531 "Won't Somebody Pal With Me" Bluebird 6704 October 12, 1936
2532 "Hop Along Peter" Bluebird 6752 October 12, 1936
2533 "Just One Way To the Pearly Gates" Bluebird 6784 October 12, 1936
2534 "Dear Daddy, You're Gone Bluebird 6752 October 12, 1936
2535 "Been Foolin' Me, Baby" Bluebird 6704 October 12, 1936
2536 "I'll Be a Friend of Jesus" Bluebird 6784 October 12, 1936
2537 "Cowboy's Pony In Heaven" Bluebird 6653 October 12, 1936
7051 "Little Birdie" Bluebird 6840 February 16, 1937
7052 "I've Always Been a Rambler" Bluebird 6890 February 16, 1937
7053 "I'm Starting Life A New With You" Bluebird 6840 February 16, 1937
7054 "Little Rosebuds" Bluebird 6993 February 16, 1937
7055 "Train Carry My Gal Back Home" Bluebird 6890 February 16, 1937
7056 "In the Land Beyond the Blue" Bluebird 6936 February 16, 1937
7057 "A Change All Around" Bluebird 6993 February 16, 1937
7058 "Short Life and It's Trouble" Bluebird 6936 February 16, 1937
11812 "The Dying Boy's Prayer" Bluebird 7165 August 2, 1937
11813 "Free Again" Bluebird 7114 August 2, 1937
11814 "Answer To Two Little Rosebuds" Bluebird 7114 August 2, 1937
11815 "I'm Not Turning Backward" Bluebird 7165 August 2, 1937
11820 "Riding On That Train 45" Bluebird 7298 August 2, 1937
11821 "Little Maggie" Bluebird 7201 August 2, 1937
11822 "Little Pal" Bluebird 7201 August 2, 1937
11823 "Down In the Willow" Bluebird 7298/Victor 27497 August 2, 1937

Wade Mainer's Smilin' Rangers

Matrix Title Record # Recording date
11825 "Ramshackle Shack" Bluebird 7274 August 2, 1937
11826 "Memory Lane" Bluebird 7274 August 2, 1937
11827 "Wild Bill Jones" Bluebird 7249 August 2, 1937
11828 "I Want To Be Loved" Bluebird 7249 August 2, 1937
11816 "What Are You Goin' To Do Brother" Bluebird 7384 August 3, 1937
11817 "Companions Draw Nigh" Bluebird 7384 August 3, 1937
11818 "Mountain Sweetheart" Bluebird 7587 August 3, 1937
11819 "Don't Forget Me, Little Darling" Bluebird 7587 August 3, 1937

Wade Mainer and his Sons of the Mountaineers

Matrix Title Record # Recording date
18763 "Lonely Tomb" Bluebird 7424 January 27, 1938
18764 "Pale Moonlight" Bluebird 7483 January 27, 1938
18765 "All My Friends" Bluebird 7424 January 27, 1938
18766 "Since I Met My Mother-In-Law" Bluebird 7742 January 27, 1938
18767 "Don't Get Too Deep In Love" Bluebird 7483 January 27, 1938
18768 "Don't Leave Me Alone" Bluebird 7561 January 27, 1938
18769 "I Won't Be Worried" Bluebird 7561 January 27, 1938
18770 "Where Romance Calls" Bluebird 7753 January 27, 1938
18771 "Another Alabama Camp Meetin'" Bluebird 7753 January 27, 1938
18772 "Mitchell Blues" Bluebird 7845 January 27, 1938
26981 "Father Along" Bluebird 8023 September 26, 1938
26982 "Dear Loving Mother and Dad" Bluebird 8152 September 26, 1938
26983 "Can't Tell About These Women" Bluebird 7965 September 26, 1938
26984 "That Kind" Bluebird 7861 September 26, 1938
26985 "If I Had Listened To Mother" Bluebird 8137 September 26, 1938
26986 "She Is Spreading Her Wings For A Journey" Bluebird 8023 September 26, 1938
26987 "The Same Old You and Me" Bluebird 7924 September 26, 1938
26988 "Life's Evenin' Sun" Bluebird 8007 September 26, 1938
26998 "You're Awfully Mean To Me" Bluebird 7861 September 26, 1938
26999 "Home In the Sky" Bluebird 8007 September 26, 1938
27700 "A Little Love" Bluebird 7924 September 26, 1938
27701 "North Carolina Moon" Bluebird 8628 September 26, 1938
27702 "More Good Women Gone Wrong" Bluebird 7965 September 26, 1938
32625 "Sparkling Blue Eyes" Bluebird 8042 February 4, 1939
32626 "We Will Miss Him" Bluebird 8042 February 4, 1939
32627 "I Left My Home In the Mountains" Bluebird 8091 February 4, 1939
32628 "I Met Her At A Ball One Night" Bluebird 8091 February 4, 1939
32629 "You May Forsake Me" Bluebird 8120 February 4, 1939
32630 "Look On and Cry" Bluebird 8120 February 4, 1939
32631 "One Little Kiss" Bluebird 8145 February 4, 1939
32632 "Mama, Don't Make Me Go To Bed" Bluebird 8145 February 4, 1939
32633 "Crying Holy" Bluebird 8203 February 4, 1939
32634 "Heaven Bells Are Ringing" Bluebird 8203 February 4, 1939
41200 "Sparkling Blue Eyes No.2" Bluebird 8249 August 21, 1939
41201 "The Poor Drunkard's Dream" Bluebird 8273 August 21, 1939
41202 "Were You There" Bluebird 8273 August 21, 1939
41203 "The Gospel Cannon Ball" Bluebird 8249 August 21, 1939
41204 "The Great and Final Judgement" Bluebird 8288 August 21, 1939
41205 "What a Wonderful Savior Is He" Bluebird 8288 August 21, 1939
41206 "Why Not Make Heaven Your Home" Bluebird 8340 August 21, 1939
41207 "Mansions In the Sky" Bluebird 8340 August 21, 1939
41208 "Not a Word of That Be Said" Bluebird 8359 August 21, 1939
41209 "Drifting Through an Unfriendly World" Bluebird 8359 August 21, 1939
71014 "Shake My Mother's Hands For Me" Bluebird 8848 September 29, 1941
71015 "Anywhere Is Home" Bluebird 8965 September 29, 1941
71016 "I Can Tell You the Time" Bluebird 8965 September 29, 1941
71017 "He Gave His Life" Bluebird 8887 September 29, 1941
71018 "Ramblin' Boy Bluebird 8990 September 29, 1941
71019 "The Precious Jewel" Bluebird 8887 September 29, 1941
71020 "Old Ruben" Bluebird 8990 September 29, 1941
71021 "Precious Memories" Bluebird 8848 September 29, 1941

Studio albums

  • 1961: Soulful Sacred Songs
  • 1971: Sacred Songs of Mother and Home
  • 1973: The Songs of Wade Mainer
  • 1976: From the Maple to the Hill
  • 1980: Old Time Songs
  • 1984: Old Time Banjo Tunes
  • 1987: In the Land of Melody
  • 1989: How Sweet to Walk
  • 1990: String Band Music
  • 1993: Old Time Gospel Favorites
  • 1993: Carolina Mule


Compilation albums

  • 1979: Early Radio
  • 1983: Early and Great, Volume 1
  • ????: Early and Great, Volume 2
  • 1993: Early and Great, Volume 3


External links

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