1934 in country music explained

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1934.

Events

• August – Decca Records, Inc. established in New York City^[1]
• July – Columbia Phonograph Company purchased by the American Record Corporation (ARC)^[2]

Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings

The Great Depression continued to wreak havoc on the American record industry in 1934. The Grigsby-Grunow Company, owner of Columbia Phonograph Company, failed, and Columbia was put up for sale. Columbia operations, catalogue and trademarks, as well as Okeh Records, were purchased by the American Record Corporation (ARC) for $70,000 in July 1934. Columbia's pressing and warehouse facilities, along with equipment and machines, were absorbed by ARC, but for the next four years, both labels were dormant. Decca Records, Ltd., London, UK, formed Decca Records, Inc. in the United States, and began operations in August 1934. Three former Brunswick managers, including Jack Kapp, were hired.

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		"Tumbling Tumbleweeds"^[4] ^[5]	Decca 5047			US BB 1934 #203, US #13 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1934 #1, National Recording Registry 2010, Grammy Hall of Fame 2002
2		"Down Yonder"^[6]	Bluebird 5562			US BB 1934 #139, US #10 for 1 week, 6 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1934 #2
3		"Brown's Ferry Blues"^[7]	Bluebird 5403			US Hillbilly 1934 #3
4		"The Cattle Call"^[8]	Decca 5015			US Hillbilly 1934 #4
5		"Take Me Back To Renfro Valley"^[9]	Conqueror 8164			US Hillbilly 1934 #5
6		"Milk Cow Blues"^[10]	Decca 7026			US Hillbilly 1934 #6
7	W. Lee O'Daniel and His Light Crust Doughboys with Leon Huff	"My Mary" (by Hamblen)^[11]	Vocalion 2872			US Hillbilly 1934 #7
8	Rambling Red Foley with the Cumberland Ridge Runners	"I Got The Freight Train Blues"^[12]	Perfect 12996			US Hillbilly 1934 #8
9	Delmore Brothers	"I've Got The Big River Blues"^[13]	Bluebird 5531			US Hillbilly 1934 #9
10		"Ragged but Right"^[14]	Bluebird 5587			US Hillbilly 1934 #10
11	W. Lee O'Daniel and His Light Crust Doughboys	"Beautiful Texas" (O'Daniel)	Vocalion 2621			US Hillbilly 1934 #11
12		"Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel"^[15]	Bluebird 5281			US Hillbilly 1934 #12
13		"Ridin' Down That Old Texas Trail" (by Dott Massey)^[16]	Melotone 13006			US Hillbilly 1934 #13
14		"Texas Plains" (by Hamblen)^[17]	Decca 5001			US Hillbilly 1934 #14
15		"Stone Pony Blues"	Vocalion 2680			US Hillbilly 1934 #15
16		"Since The Angels Took Mother Away"(by Jenny Lou Carson)^[18]	Bluebird 5336			US Hillbilly 1934 #16
17	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers	"On Tanners Farm"	Bluebird 5665			US Hillbilly 1934 #17
18	Sons of the Pioneers	"Way Out There"^[19]	Decca 5013			US Hillbilly 1934 #18
19		"Beautiful Texas" (O'Daniel)^[20]	Bluebird 5394			US Hillbilly 1934 #19
20		"A Little Talk With Jesus"^[21]	Bluebird 5540			US Hillbilly 1934 #20

Births

• March 18 – Charley Pride, singer and songwriter, country music's first African-American star (d. 2020)
• March 31 – John D. Loudermilk, singer and songwriter (died 2016).
• April 1 – Jim Ed Brown, pop-styled singer who enjoyed success as part of a family group (The Browns), as a solo artist and as part of a duet (with Helen Cornelius), spanning the 1950s through early 1980s (died 2015).
• August 5 – Vern Gosdin, "The Voice" of many honky tonk-styled hits from the 1970s through early 1990s (died 2009).
• August 27 – Frances Preston, music executive (died 2012).
• October 24 – Sanger D. Shafer, AKA "Whitey" Shafer, songwriter (died 2019).^[22]

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. 1954-08-28 . A 20-Year History of Decca: Saga of Industry and Vision . Billboard . 14 . Google Books.
2. Book: Frank Hoffman. Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. July 21, 2013. August 21, 2004. Taylor & Francis. 978-0-203-48427-2. 212.
3. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Record Research . 1986.
4. Web site: Decca matrix DLA 11. Tumbling tumbleweeds / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings. 2022-01-06. adp.library.ucsb.edu.
5. Web site: Complete National Recording Registry Listing . 2022-04-18 . Library of Congress.
6. Web site: BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5500 - 6000. 2022-01-06. www.78discography.com.
7. Web site: BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500. 2022-01-06. www.78discography.com.
8. Web site: Decca matrix C 9355. Cattle call / Tex Owens - Discography of American Historical Recordings. 2022-01-06. adp.library.ucsb.edu.
9. Web site: Conqueror 78rpm numerical listing discography: 8000 - 8499. 2022-01-18. www.78discography.com.
10. Web site: Decca matrix C 9428. Milk cow blues / Kokomo Arnold - Discography of American Historical Recordings. 2022-01-06. adp.library.ucsb.edu.
11. Web site: Vocalion 78rpm numerical listing discography: 2522 - 3000. 2022-01-18. www.78discography.com.
12. Web site: PERFECT 78rpm numerical listing discography (12500 - 13000). 2022-01-06. www.78discography.com.
13. Web site: Victor matrix BS-77228. I've got the big river blues / Delmore Brothers - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
14. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-82700. Ragged but right / Riley Puckett - Discography of American Historical Recordings. 2022-01-06. adp.library.ucsb.edu.
15. Web site: BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500. 2022-01-18. www.78discography.com.
16. Web site: MELOTONE 78rpm numerical listing discography: 13000 to end. 2022-01-18. www.78discography.com.
17. Web site: Decca matrix DLA 2. Texas plains / Stuart Hamblen Jubilee - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
18. Web site: Victor matrix BS-77319. Since the angels took mother away / Eva Overstake ; Evelyn Overstake ; Lucille Overstake ; Three Little Maids - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
19. Web site: Decca matrix DLA 10. Way out there / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
20. Web site: Victor matrix BS-76873. Beautiful Texas / Jimmie Davis - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
21. Web site: Victor matrix BVE-47245. A little talk with Jesus / Holiness Singers ; Ernest Phipps - Discography of American Historical Recordings . 2022-04-16 . adp.library.ucsb.edu.
22. http://www.kxxv.com/story/39781370/all-my-exs-live-in-texas-songwriter-dies-at-84 'All my Ex's live in Texas' songwriter dies at 84