The Decca Hillbilly Discography, 1927-1945

(Hardback)

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Description

Through its Decca 5000 series of the 1930s and 1940s, the American Decca recording company became the most influential record label in the burgeoning hillbilly music category, the forerunner of today's country and western music. This discography provides systematic numerical listing and cross-referencing of all released recordings in the 5000 and 17,000 cajun series as well as records released under Decca's Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward series, also devoted to hillbilly music. A total of 1514 discs are covered ranging from records released by such major hillbilly music stars as Jimmie Davis, the Sons of the Pioneers and Ernest Tubb to those by less well-known solo artists and groups, including the Corn Cob Crushers and the Happy Hollow Hoodlums. Based on research in the original session books, ledgers and label copy books as well as interviews with musicians and singers who participated in Decca recording sessions, this is a discography of one of the most remarkable record series of the 20th century. The volume begins with an introduction which traces the early history of the Decca Record Company and its impact on hillbilly music of the 1930s and 1940s. Cary Ginell demonstrates that the Decca 5000 and other hillbilly series had a major role not only in documenting the history of hillbilly music but also in affecting its course by influencing future recording artists in the genre. Following a brief section which describes how to use the discography and the indexes, the discography itself is divided into four separate numerical listings - Decca 5000, Decca 17000, Decca/Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward recordings. Each listing includes information about recording dates, master numbers, unissued titles, song titles and legends, songwriter credits and release dates. Five indexes - artist, matrix and location, release dates, composer credits, and titles - provide enhanced access to the main listings.

Reviews

. . . The Decca Hillbilly Discography, 1927-1945 documents quite well an important record corporation's history and involvement in the recording of a truly American musical art form and is a very useful access tool for any music library, public or private.-Journal of Country Music
A compilation of a systematical listing and cross-referencing of all relased recordings in the Decca 5000 series (hillbilly), the 17000 series (Cajun), plus the Champiom 45000 and Montgomery Ward recordings. Listed are a total of 1514 discs include major 'hillbilly' stars like Sons of the Pioneers, Ernest Tubbs, Tex Ritter, The Carter Family, Roy Rogers, Red Foley and dozens of other famous and not so notable performers. Each Series is listed in a separate section and includes recording date, master number, unissued titles, issued song titles, writer credits and release dates. There are five indexes, cross-referenced for artist, matrix and location, release dates, composer and title. Researchers in American country and folk music will find much resource material in this meticulously assembled discography, once all included under 'hillbilly' classification.-Come-All-Ye
Divided into four separate numerical listings: Decca 5000, Decca 17000, Decca/Champion 45000, and Montgomery Ward recordings. . . . Five indexes--artists, matrix and location, release dates, composer credits, and title--provide access to the main listings.-Reference & Research Book News
Every so often one finds a book to which the words 'labor of love' can be applied, and this listing of the more than 1500 'hillbilly' records released by the Decca recording company during the years from 1927-1945 is just such a book. Ginell provides indexes to all of the records in Decca's 5000 and 17000 cajun series, as well as the records released in the Decc's Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward series: ...Ginell's effort may not have and may never find an audience - but as a labor of love it may be without peer, and if an academic library has any interests in reference works on specialized aspects of twentieth-century American popular music, Ginell's discography certainly qualifies in all respects.-Academic Library Book Review
Ginell (UCLA) has used his personal Decca catalog collection as a basis for an exhaustive look at the recordings that gave country and other rural music its first recorded success. This work is particularly valuable for the information garnered from interviews with musicians and singers who worked the many recording sessions for which there are no session notes. In all, 1,514 discs are described and listed by catalog record number. Entries include song titles, artists, and legend (primary instrumentation). An excellent introduction tells the history of Decca and hillbilly' music. Included in the discography are released and unreleased recordings in the Decca 5000 series, released recordings in the Champion 45000 series, released and unreleased recordings from the Decca 17000 (Cajun) series, and all Decca recordings released on the Montgomery Ward label. What makes this work especially estimable are the excellent indexes. The alphabetically arranged artist name index includes complete cross-references. Under each entry, a chronological listing of recording sessions and recorded works is provided. A matrix and location index allows users to follow the locations of recordings and tests, and includes record catalog number and date. Release date listings follow, arranged by series and record number. Composer credits and song title indexes complete the work. Ginell had provide an excellent tool to trace the beginnings of what has become one of music's major commercial successes.-Choice
Quite obviously books such as this one are very necessary and extremely useful for writers in order that accurate research may be made. I know also, from compiling the annual Christmas Quiz, that there are a great many other people interested in actual country music recording statistics and this is the sort of book that may readily appeal to them. It is the sort that one can pick up and browse, remember a few pertinent facts adn then go out and impress your friends at the local country club with your new found specialist knowledge of the early recordings of smoe artiste or other. . . .-International Country Music News
This title, the end result of nearly a decade's research, is an intriguing look back at the beginnings of country and western music that today sells millions of records around the world. Jack Kapp started American Decca in 1934, releasing his first product in the middle years of the Great Depression, selling records at 35 cents a pop. The Decca Hillbilly Discography includes listings for 1,514 discs, providing record number, date of release, song title, artist and type of recording. Interestingly, many genres of music turned up under the hillbilly' banner, including talking blues, sacred, western swing, string band, ragtime, ballads, jazz, Cajun, rags, polkas, stomps, reels, fox trots, jigs, and waltzes featuring fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjos, bass fiddles, steel guitars, drums, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, accordions, penny whistles, pianos, slide whistles, jews harps, kazoos, whoops, hollers, yodels and yells. Such familiar artists as the Sons of the Pioneers, Ernest Tubb and Jimmie Davis are here along with the Corn Cob Crushers, Margaret West and Her Sage Brush Harmonizers, the Ross Rhythm Rascals and The Kentucky Wonder Bean. Anyone who has ever listened to a radio will find this title endlessly fascinating and record collectors will discover each page to bear hidden treasure. The Decca Hillbilly Discography is another important book in the Greenwood Press series of Discographies, a laudable publishing event. Excellent.-The Coast Book Review
." . . The Decca Hillbilly Discography, 1927-1945 documents quite well an important record corporation's history and involvement in the recording of a truly American musical art form and is a very useful access tool for any music library, public or private."-Journal of Country Music
"A compilation of a systematical listing and cross-referencing of all relased recordings in the Decca 5000 series (hillbilly), the 17000 series (Cajun), plus the Champiom 45000 and Montgomery Ward recordings. Listed are a total of 1514 discs include major 'hillbilly' stars like Sons of the Pioneers, Ernest Tubbs, Tex Ritter, The Carter Family, Roy Rogers, Red Foley and dozens of other famous and not so notable performers. Each Series is listed in a separate section and includes recording date, master number, unissued titles, issued song titles, writer credits and release dates. There are five indexes, cross-referenced for artist, matrix and location, release dates, composer and title. Researchers in American country and folk music will find much resource material in this meticulously assembled discography, once all included under 'hillbilly' classification."-Come-All-Ye
"Divided into four separate numerical listings: Decca 5000, Decca 17000, Decca/Champion 45000, and Montgomery Ward recordings. . . . Five indexes--artists, matrix and location, release dates, composer credits, and title--provide access to the main listings."-Reference & Research Book News
"Every so often one finds a book to which the words 'labor of love' can be applied, and this listing of the more than 1500 'hillbilly' records released by the Decca recording company during the years from 1927-1945 is just such a book. Ginell provides indexes to all of the records in Decca's 5000 and 17000 cajun series, as well as the records released in the Decc's Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward series: ...Ginell's effort may not have and may never find an audience - but as a labor of love it may be without peer, and if an academic library has any interests in reference works on specialized aspects of twentieth-century American popular music, Ginell's discography certainly qualifies in all respects."-Academic Library Book Review
"Quite obviously books such as this one are very necessary and extremely useful for writers in order that accurate research may be made. I know also, from compiling the annual Christmas Quiz, that there are a great many other people interested in actual country music recording statistics and this is the sort of book that may readily appeal to them. It is the sort that one can pick up and browse, remember a few pertinent facts adn then go out and impress your friends at the local country club with your new found specialist knowledge of the early recordings of smoe artiste or other. . . ."-International Country Music News
"This title, the end result of nearly a decade's research, is an intriguing look back at the beginnings of country and western music that today sells millions of records around the world. Jack Kapp started American Decca in 1934, releasing his first product in the middle years of the Great Depression, selling records at 35 cents a pop. The Decca Hillbilly Discography includes listings for 1,514 discs, providing record number, date of release, song title, artist and type of recording. Interestingly, many genres of music turned up under the hillbilly' banner, including talking blues, sacred, western swing, string band, ragtime, ballads, jazz, Cajun, rags, polkas, stomps, reels, fox trots, jigs, and waltzes featuring fiddles, guitars, mandolins, banjos, bass fiddles, steel guitars, drums, clarinets, trumpets, saxophones, accordions, penny whistles, pianos, slide whistles, jews harps, kazoos, whoops, hollers, yodels and yells. Such familiar artists as the Sons of the Pioneers, Ernest Tubb and Jimmie Davis are here along with the Corn Cob Crushers, Margaret West and Her Sage Brush Harmonizers, the Ross Rhythm Rascals and The Kentucky Wonder Bean. Anyone who has ever listened to a radio will find this title endlessly fascinating and record collectors will discover each page to bear hidden trea

Author Bio

CARY GINELL is currently completing a biography on seminal western swing pioneer Milton Brown.