'There'll be no kisses to-night'--Ashley's Melody Men (1929)

Hobart Ashley and his son Hugh hailed from Searcy County, Arkansas, and with various other local musicians, had a popular musical group in the northern Arkansas area in the 1920s.

Hugh (1915-2008) ran Ashley Music, a music store in Harrison, Arkansas, from 1946 until his death (and it's still in business, run by his widow). I had the honour of meeting Hugh there several times, and he told me of some of his recording experiences, including the making of this record.

It was recorded at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. Ralph Peer (Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family) produced. Only one microphone was used; it 'looked like a can'. (Western Electric 394-W 'condenser transmitter' fitted to a WE model 47 amplifier, most likely.) Peer had the banjo player stand in a corner of the room, well off-mike, to prevent his sound overpowering the balance of everything else on the recording.

Hugh sings and plays rhythm acoustic (''pickin' and grinnin''); his father plays the slide guitar. (I don't know the names of anyone else on this recording.)

Recorded 9th October 1929; matrix BVE.56331-2.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Arkansas
• Ozarks
• country music
• mountain music
• 78 rpm
• shellac
• gramophone
• Victor
• talking machine
• Orthophonic
• Hugh Ashley

[PerisphereRec]

Cheers, Ian!

[moproducer]

Hugh Ashley's family were neighbors when I was a kid, and I attended grade school with their daughter. I don't remember much about Hugh, since he was a very busy man (very busy people were an anomaly in Harrison, AR), but I did visit his music store often and bought guitar strings and picks from him.

He wrote a number of songs, covered by the likes of Porter Wagoner and Bill Carlisle. He was later elected mayor of Harrison, and although a typically laconic mountaineer, he was a nice guy.

[Cylinderphonograph]

That's really nice...

[gabbysbuddy]

Nice one Jay!