1925 in country music explained

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1925.

Events

• November 28 – Nashville radio station WSM begins a national institution with its first broadcast of the "WSM Barn Dance" – the weekly program that would go on to be known as the Grand Ole Opry.
• January 1925, the major labels were still releasing country material on pop labels. The record companies hadn't quite yet settled on the moniker of ‘hillbilly music’ for this new style of music. Descriptions included “Old- Time Tunes” (OKeh), “Old Familiar Tunes” (Columbia), “tunes from Dixie” (Brunswick), and “Olde Time Fiddlin’ Tunes from the Sunny South” (Victor). The term first appeared on an OKeh release from 1925, a recording of a string band from Watauga County, NC, who showed up at the New York recording studio without having decided what to call themselves. When Ralph Peer, who was supervising the sessions, asked for their names, one of the group's members responded, “We’re nothing but a bunch of hillbillies from North Carolina and Virginia. Call us anything.” So Peer released the sides under the name “the Hill Billies.”^[1]
• Aug 1924 thru March 1926 to 1930 "The Prisoner's Song" by Vernon Dalhart becomes country music's first-ever million-seller, and has two waves of popularity — during the early summer months and again at the end of the year. The song goes on to sell 7 million copies. On March 18, 1926, Dalhart re-cut electronic versions of both sides of Victor 19427, which were released with the same disc number, and are included in the sales figures.^[2] 1924 Prisoner's Song was take 2, and 1926 version was take 6; The Wreck of the Old 97 take 1 1924, and 1926 was take 4.

No dates

• Radio station WSM signs on the air, and is credited for helping spread the popularity of the fledgling country music genre.
• Beginning of "Old Familiar Melodies" series on Columbia Records.
• Bradley Kincaid joins the cast of WLS Barn Dance.

Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings

The following songs were extracted from records included in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954,^[3] record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference.

Rank	Artist	Title	Label	Recorded	Released	Chart Positions
1		"The Prisoner's Song"^[4]	Victor 19427			US BB 1925 #3, US #1 for 5 weeks, 20 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #1, 1,320,356 sales thru 1930^[5]
2		"When the Work's All Done This Fall"	Victor 19747			US Hillbilly 1925 #2, 900,000 sales (unconfirmed)^[6]
3		"Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues"^[7]	Columbia 15038			US Hillbilly 1925 #3, 102,000 sales^[8]
4	Vernon Dalhart	"The Death of Floyd Collins"^[9]	Victor 19779			US BB 1926 #21, US #3 for 1 week, 7 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #4, 403,055 sales
5		"The Titanic (The sinking of the Titanic)"^[10]	Okeh 40288			US BB 1925 #21, US #3 for 1 weeks, 10 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #5 500,000 sales
6	Vernon Dalhart	"The Pal That I Loved (Stole the Gal I Loved)"^[11]	Okeh 40177			US BB 1925 #37, US #4 for 1 week, 5 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #6
7		"Old Dan Tucker"^[12]	Okeh 40263			US BB 1925 #119, US #10 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #7
8		"Roving Gambler"^[13]	Victor 19596			US Hillbilly 1925 #8
9		"Way Down Home"^[14]	Victor 19637			US Hillbilly 1925 #9
10	Vernon Dalhart	"The Convict and the Rose"^[15]	Victor 19770			US BB 1926 #98, US #9 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #10
11		"Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister"	Columbia 15038			US Hillbilly 1925 #11
12	Vernon Dalhart	"Letter Edged in Black"^[16]	Brunswick 2900			US BB 1925 #120, US #10 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #12
13	Vernon Dalhart	"In the Baggage Coach Ahead"^[17]	Victor 19627			US BB 1925 #158, US #14 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #13
14		"Old Joe Clark"^[18]	Victor 19434			US Hillbilly 1925 #14
15	Fiddlin' John Carson	"Run, Nigger, Run"^[19]	Okeh 40230			US Hillbilly 1925 #15
16		"New River Train"^[20]	Victor 19596			US Hillbilly 1925 #16
17	Vernon Dalhart	"The Wreck of the Shenandoah"^[21]	Victor 19779			US BB 1926 #68, US #6 for 1 week, 3 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #17
18		"South"^[22]	Okeh 8194			US BB 1925 #144, US #12 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1925 #18
19		"Anytime"^[23]	Okeh 40239			US Hillbilly 1925 #19
20		"Hill Billie Blues"^[24]	Vocalion 14904			US Hillbilly 1925 #20

Births

• May 23 – Mac Wiseman, leading bluegrass artist from the 1940s onward (died 2019).
• August 7 – Felice Bryant, songwriter (with husband Boudleaux) of many 1950s and 1960s hits (died 2003).
• August 15 – Rose Maddox, fiddle player, leader of the Maddox Brothers and Rose, and early innovator of rockabilly (died 1998).
• August 28 – Billy Grammer, Grand Ole Opry member best known for his hit "Gotta Travel On" (died 2011).
• September 3 – Hank Thompson, singer who fused western swing and honky tonk for a series of successful records from the 1940s through 1970s (died 2007).
• September 26 – Marty Robbins, multi-genre singer-songwriter and television host (died 1982).
• December 3 – Ferlin Husky, honky-tonk styled singer of the 1950s through early 1970s, best known for "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove," and hits under his comic alias "Simon Crum" ("Country Music is Here to Stay") (died 2011).

Further reading

• Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993
• Whitburn, Joel. "Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954: The History of American Popular Music", Record Research Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, 1986 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Appalachian History . 2022-04-09 . Appalachian History . en-US.
2. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-30633. The prisoner's song / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-09 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
3. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Record Research . 1986.
4. Web site: Victor matrix B-30633. The prisoner's song / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-02 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
5. Web site: The Victor Talking Machine Company . 2022-04-06 . davidsarnoff.org.
6. Web site: Carl Tyler Sprague b. 10 May 1896 Manvel, Brazoria Co., TX, USA d. 21 Feb 1979 Bryan, Brazos Co., TX, USA: The Guild Sprague Site . 2022-04-18 . sprague.one-name.net.
7. Web site: Columbia matrix W140789. Don't let your deal go down blues / North Carolina Ramblers ; Charlie Poole - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
8. Book: Charles K. Wolfe . Classic Country: Legends of Country Music . 2002 . Routledge . 978-1-135-95734-6 . 83–84.
9. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-33374. Death of Floyd Collins / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
10. Web site: OKeh matrix S-72788. The Titanic / Ernest V. Stoneman - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
11. Web site: OKeh matrix S-72713. The pal that I loved stole the gal that I loved / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
12. Web site: OKeh matrix S-73039. Old Dan Tucker / Fiddlin' John Carson - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
13. Web site: Victor matrix B-31585. Rovin' gambler / Kelly Harrell - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
14. Web site: Victor matrix B-31905. Way down home / Gene Austin ; Carson Robison - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
15. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-33347. The convict and the rose / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
16. Web site: Brunswick matrix E15768-E15769. The letter edged in black / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
17. Web site: Victor matrix B-32226. In the baggage coach ahead / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
18. Web site: Victor matrix B-30582. Old Joe Clark / Fiddlin' Powers & Family - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
19. Web site: OKeh matrix 8709. Run, nigger, run / Fiddlin' John Carson - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
20. Web site: Victor matrix B-31584. New River train / Kelly Harrell - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-13 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
21. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-33373. Wreck of the Shenandoah / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
22. Web site: OKeh matrix 8769. South / Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
23. Web site: OKeh matrix S-72936. Anytime / Emmett Miller ; Walter Rothrock - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
24. Web site: Vocalion matrix 13333-13335. Hillbilly blues / Uncle Dave Macon - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-14 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.