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)

Sam McGee

From Paula_DHJ on 2/12/2011 7:45:39 PM

 When I started this group, I had thoughts of maybe doing a little write-up, once every couple of weeks on some particular musician or string band that might be of interest.  Well, as it turns out, I might not have the time to do it as regularly as I wanted to but, I'm still going to try to do it once in a while.  

So, I thought I would talk a little about Sam McGee.  Sam was born in 1894, near Nashville, Tennessee.  Likely, Sam and his brother Kirk, took an interest in music from their father, who was a fiddler.  Sam started out playing banjo, but was later introduced to the guitar by the railroad workers who used to gather and hang around outside his father's store.  

Sometime around 1925, Sam met Uncle Dave Macon, who became somewhat of a mentor to Sam.  Sam had a lengthy affiliation with Uncle Dave, and around 1927 Kirk joined the Fruit Jar Drinkers (Uncle Dave's Group) as well.  In the early 30's Sam and Kirk formed a group with Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, called the Dixieliners.  The Dixieliners enjoyed a great deal of success as one of the top string bands of the time.  

Both brothers took a hiatus from music for a while, but like many musicians of the 20's and 30's, enjoyed a renewed popularity in the late 50's and 60's, during the folk revival.  They continued to play into the 70's and had a long presence at the Grand Ole Opry.  

Sam was killed in an agricultural accident in 1975.

This is a pretty brief snapshot of Sam's life, but I think it pretty much hits a lot of the major points.  There are all kinds of songs, that Sam was involved in, that I love, but one of my favourites right now, is Railroad Blues.  It was recorded sometime in the late 20's, but I don't know the exact year.  Check it out.  

For a really detailed bio of Sam and Kirk check out:

www.bluegrassmessengers.com/sam-and-kirk-mcgee.aspx

2 Comments
	Marc Nerenberg says: 2/12/2011 8:30:02 PM Great thumbnail bio! I encourage you to continue doing this, even if not as frequently as you had hoped. Of course, now you gotta work out a Sam McGee song and post a video of yourself singin' it! Well, maybe "gotta" is a bit too imperative...let's say, it's a challenge!
	Paula_DHJ says: 2/15/2011 4:56:59 PM Hi Marc, Well I spent a couple nights trying to work out some kind of clawhammer arrangement for Railroad Blues, but I just can't figure out how to do it. So watch for a video of Easy Rider, coming soon to a group blog near you. I tried to record it a couple times tonight, but theres a few bugs I've gotta work out of it. Plus that fact that I don't know the song that well yet. Anyhow, thanks for the challenge.
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