A group for the discussion of songsters and string bands from the 20's and 30's, and pickers who enjoy playing this music.
50 Members, Created 1/30/2011 - 
Administrators: Paula_DHJ (owner)
From Paula_DHJ on 4/4/2012 4:25:30 PM
George Wade & His Cornhuskers
I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on the history of local musicians from the 20’s and 30’s. There is very little information regarding string bands from around this area during that time period, or any time period for that matter. It seems that there were a few really popular ‘dance bands’ and there is very little information about those either. These bands usually featured a drummer, maybe a couple of sax players, maybe a clarinet player, pianist, tenor banjo, and maybe a fiddler or two. I have a real interest in this, as my grandmother was the piano player for Don Johnson and His Serenaders, a band that played at the dance pavilions around Enterprise, and Beaver Lake to name a couple. They also used to have a regular spot on CKWS radio every Sunday night, although I’m not sure if my grandmother ever participated in that. Anyhow, if there were very few string bands, and dance bands, there were even fewer that ever got recorded. This brings me to the subject of this post.
I decided to write about a Canadian string band, that actually recorded twelve 78’s in or around 1933 (some sources say thirteen, but I’m not sure). George Wade & His Cornhuskers were from the Toronto area, and this is where they were mainly based, but they were known to play dances in all across southeastern Ontario from Toronto to Montreal. They toured the Maritimes in 1933, and western Canada in 1935. Sometime in the late 20’s they started playing a regular spot on CFRB radio in Toronto. Around 1933 they started doing a spot on CRBC radio, which eventually became CBC radio. This syndicated radio broadcast allowed The Cornhuskers to be heard all across Canada.
George Wade was a square dance caller, and on most of the recordings I’ve heard, the lyrics to the song have been changed into calls, and he’s calling them on the recording. The number of musicians in the band varied widely over the years, and depending on what they were doing. A small group was used for the recordings, and radio shows, and there may have been up to fifteen musicians for dances. They had a banjo player named Doc Boyd. Other than his name, I cannot find out any information about this guy. I don’t know if he played tenor or 5-string, and on the few recordings I’ve heard, I can’t make out the banjo. Also, I’ve seen a picture of the band with Doc Boyd holding a banjo, but its so blurry, I can’t tell what it is. The neck looks to long for a tenor, but I also don't see a 5th string peg. It might even be a 6-string, because it kind of looks like there might be three tuning pegs visible on the bottom side of the peg head.
From what I can tell, the band split up, or ceased to exist the way it had, sometime in the early 40’s, and this may have had something to do with the start of the War. There are a few videos on YouTube with recordings of the Cornhuskers. Check them out for a rare sound of Canada’s first country band, and one of the very few who ever got to record.
If anyone else out there knows anything about these guys, I would love to hear from you.
3 Comments | |
 | Paul R says: |
 | Paula_DHJ says: |
sbee says: | |
Post a Comment | |
| You must be logged in and a member of this group to post a comment. | |
|
Saint James Infirmary Blues - clawhammer style banjo |
|
Standing in the Wind - "thumb lead" clawhammer - Marc Nerenberg |
|
On The Street Again - Marc Nerenberg |
|
A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - live: clawhammer banjo, accordion, fiddle |
|
A Hard Rain is A-Gonna Fall - clawhammer style banjo |
|
This Land Is Your Land - Marc Nerenberg - clawhammer style |
|
Mr. Frog Went A-Courtin' |
|
Lonesome Valley |
|
TOBY Redux - (revived & revised & in colour) a song by BRIEN LAVENE |
|
TOBY Redux (Revived and Revised) - a song by Brien Lavene |
