Bill Cox (folk musician) explained

Bill Cox
Background:solo_singer
Birth Name:William Jennings Cox[1]
Alias:Luke Baldwin
Dixie Songbird
Clyde Ashley
Birth Date:1897 8, mf=yes
Birth Place:Eagle, West Virginia, U.S.
Instrument:Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Genre:Country, folk
Occupation:Singer-songwriter, musician
Years Active:1927–1940
Past Member Of:Cliff Hobbs

William Jennings Cox (August 4, 1897 – December 10, 1968) was an American folk singer known as the "Dixie Songbird", active from 1927 to 1940.

Born in Eagle, West Virginia, the son of a railroad worker, he began playing guitar and singing at parties around Charleston, West Virginia in the 1920s. From 1928, he had his own radio program on station WOBU, and won a recording contract with Gennett Records. He recorded over forty songs between 1929 and 1931, including many cover versions of Jimmie Rodgers' songs, which the station played whenever Cox was unavailable.[2]

He moved to the American Record Corporation in 1933, under producer Art Satherley, and often recorded duets with the much younger singer Cliff Hobbs (1916 - 1961). They recorded some sixty songs together during the 1930s, including "Filipino Baby" and "Sparkling Brown Eyes".[2]

After retiring in 1940, Cox ended up falling on hard times. He was rediscovered in 1966 living in poverty in a converted chicken coop, but died before he was able to make further public appearances.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Champion S-16443 – Luke Baldwin – 1931. R. Connor. Montgomery. August 4, 2017.
  2. http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/printartist.php?id=10291 "Bill Cox", Hillbilly Music