1926 in country music explained

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1926.

Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings

The following songs were extracted from records included in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954,^[1] 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"^[2]	Victor 19427			US BB 1926 #2, US #1 for 5 weeks, 20 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #1, 1,320,356 sales thru 1930^[3]
2		"Whitehouse Blues"^[4]	Columbia 15099			US Hillbilly 1926 #2
3	Vernon Dalhart	"There's A New Star In Heaven Tonight - Rudolph Valentino"^[5]	Columbia 718			US BB 1926 #37, US #4 for 1 week, 5 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #3
4		"O Bury Me Not On the Lone Prairie (The Dying Cowboy)"^[6]	Victor 20122			US Hillbilly 1926 #4
5		"Turkey in the Straw"^[7]	Columbia 15084			US BB 1926 #176, US #14 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #5
6		"Way Down the Old Plank Road"^[8]	Vocalion 15321			US Hillbilly 1926 #6
7	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers with Riley Puckett	"Ya Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around"^[9]	Columbia 15084D			US Hillbilly 1926 #7
8	Vernon Dalhart	"The Governor's Pardon"^[10]	Victor 19983			US BB 1926 #90, US #8 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #8
9		"Butcher's Boy"^[11]	Victor 20242			US Hillbilly 1926 #9
10		"My Carolina Home"^[12]	Columbia 15095D			US BB 1927 #205, US #16 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #10
11	Vernon Dalhart	"The Miami Storm"^[13]	Columbia 15100			US BB 1927 #174, US #14 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #11
12		"Breezin' Along with the Breeze"^[14]	Columbia 699D			US BB 1926 #10, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1926 #12
13	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers with Riley Puckett	"Bully of the Town"^[15]	Columbia 15074D			US Hillbilly 1926 #13
14		"The Freight Wreck At Altoona"^[16]	Columbia 15065D			US Hillbilly 1926 #14
15		"Monkey On A String"^[17]	Columbia 15099			US Hillbilly 1926 #15
16		"Jack O Diamond Blues"^[18]	Paramount 12373			US Hillbilly 1926 #16
17	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers with Riley Puckett	"Hand Me Down My Walking Cane"^[19]	Columbia 15091D			US Hillbilly 1926 #17
18		"Early Morning Blues"	Paramount 12387			US Hillbilly 1926 #18
19	Blind Lemon Jefferson	"Long Lonesome Blues"	Paramount 12354			US Hillbilly 1926 #19
20	Uncle Dave Macon	"Last Night When My Willie Come Home"^[20]	Vocalion 15319			US Hillbilly 1926 #20

Births

• January 2 – Harold Bradley, session guitarist. (died 2019).
• January 12 – Ray Price, "The Cherokee Cowboy," multi-faceted country performer from the 1950s onward (died 2013).
• December 21 – Freddie Hart, best known for his string of early to mid-1970s hits, including "Easy Loving" (died 2018).

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. "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.

Notes and References

1. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Record Research . 1986.
2. Web site: Victor matrix B-30633. The prisoner's song / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-02 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
3. Web site: The Victor Talking Machine Company . 2022-04-06 . davidsarnoff.org.
4. Web site: Columbia matrix W142658. White House blues / North Carolina Ramblers ; Charlie Poole - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
5. Web site: Columbia matrix W142578. There's a new star in heaven tonight—Rudolph Valentino / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
6. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-35541. O bury me not on the lone prairie / Carl T. Sprague - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
7. Web site: Columbia matrix W142041. Turkey in the straw / Riley Puckett ; Skillet Lickers ; Gid Tanner - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
8. Web site: Brunswick matrix E2753-E2754. Way down the Old Plank Road / Uncle Dave Macon ; Sam McGee - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
9. Web site: Columbia matrix W142040. Ya gotta quit kickin' my dog aroun' / Riley Puckett ; Skillet Lickers ; Gid Tanner - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
10. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-34666. The governor's pardon / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
11. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-31587. Butcher's boy / Kelly Harrell - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
12. Web site: Columbia matrix W142085. My Carolina home / Bob Nichols ; Riley Puckett - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
13. Web site: Columbia matrix W142683. The Miami storm / Vernon Dalhart - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
14. Web site: Columbia matrix W142355. Breezin' along with the breeze / Johnny Marvin - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
15. Web site: Columbia matrix W142035. Bully of the town / Riley Puckett ; Skillet Lickers ; Gid Tanner - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
16. Web site: Columbia matrix W141496. The freight wreck at Altoona / Al Craver - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
17. Web site: Columbia matrix W142638. Monkey on a string / North Carolina Ramblers ; Charlie Poole - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
18. Web site: Paramount Race Series (12000 - 12499): 78rpm numerical listing discography . 2022-03-31 . www.78discography.com.
19. Web site: Columbia matrix W142034. Hand me down my walking cane / Riley Puckett ; Skillet Lickers ; Gid Tanner - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
20. Web site: Brunswick matrix E2759-E2760. Last night when my Willie came home / Uncle Dave Macon ; Sam McGee - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-18 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.