The History of Flatpicking Guitar in the USA
Part Two: The Pioneer Era

by Dan Miller

Last month, in the first installment of this series of articles about the history of flatpicking guitar music, I divided flatpicking's evolution into four eras:

1) The Pioneer Era (1920s through early 1960s)
2) The Heroes Era (mid-1960s through early 1980s)
3) The Second Generation Era (mid-1980s through 2000)
4) The Next Generation Era (2000 to present day)

In this second article in the series, we will take a closer look at some of the key performers of the Pioneer Era (1920s through the early 1960s) and present some musical examples. While there are many guitar players who had an influence on both their peers and future generations of guitar pickers, those who had the most direct and significant influence included old-time musicians: Riley Puckett and Roy Harvey; early country performers Maybelle Carter, Charlie Monroe, and Jimmie Rodgers; western style players such as Derwood Brown, Sleepy Johnson, and Herman Arnspiger; and bluegrass players George Shuffler, Don Reno, Lester Flatt and Jimmy Martin. In this article I will provide a short biographical sketch of some of these guitarists followed by transcribed examples of their guitar work.

Riley Puckett

Born near Alpharetta, Georgia in 1894, Riley Puckett was blinded in his infancy, reportedly by a misapplication of eye medication. As a student at the Georgia Academy for the Blind he was taught how to play the piano and later taught himself how to play the banjo. Even though he won contests playing the banjo at Old-Time Fiddler's Conventions during his teenage years and often performed on banjo at dances, he became most prominently known as a vocalist and guitar player. His vocal renditions of tunes such as "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" earned him the nickname "Bald Mountain Caruso." Puckett's work with the Home Town Boys, a band made up of Atlanta-area musicians who performed together between 1922 and 1926, was often featured on Atlanta's WSB radio, making them one of the area's most popular bands.

Puckett's reputation began to spread beyond the Georgia borders after he accompanied Gid Tanner to a recording session in New York for the Columbia Phonograph Company. The twelve songs that were recorded on March 7^th and 8^th in 1924 featured Puckett's vocal numbers and fiddle tunes by Tanner. Puckett became one of the original members of Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. He recorded with the group through 1934 and continued to record solo and with other groups into the early 1940s. His record catalog includes over 200 tunes recorded for Columbia, Decca, and Bluebird. Riley Puckett passed away in July 1946 at the age of 52.

Puckett's guitar style featured dynamic bass runs and short bursts of single-note linear passages. These runs would form the foundation of what would later develop into the bluegrass guitar style. Below, I present a transcription of Puckett's guitar work on the tune "Molly Put the Kettle On". Since the Skillet Lickers ensemble consisted of two fiddle players, banjo, and guitar, Puckett's guitar had to provide the band's bottom end and the drive. His active bass/strum style filled the bill.

This version of "Molly Put the Kettle On" was recorded in 1931 in the key of C. Joe Carr transcribed Puckett's guitar work for an early edition of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine in January of 1997 (Volume 1, Number 2). In his notes, Joe stated:

"After a solo guitar intro, Puckett builds interest with bass runs on this simple two chord song. Measures 5-8 feature alternating bass/strum type rhythm. In measure 10, a passing note (Eb) is followed by a strum of only two strings or so. Strum these open strings while you are moving your fingers to the G7 chord. Measures 23-16 contain a useful rhythm lick and measures 17-20 are a variation of that phrase. To get the most from this transcription, transpose the licks to other common keys such as G, A and D.

Roy Harvey

Like Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers, Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers were another string band that recorded popular songs with banjo, fiddle, and guitar. The group recorded between 1925 and 1930 (Poole died of alcoholism in 1931). The group's most influential work was recorded with Poole playing banjo, Posey Rorrer on fiddle and Roy Harvey playing the guitar.

Because the ensemble did not include string bass, Harvey's guitar work was very active, providing bass lines and connecting runs. His runs are more prominent than you would find in practically any other bluegrass recording, yet his style of guitar accompaniment would continue to have an impact on guitar players in all forms of acoustic music.

In Volume 11, Number 1 of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, columnist Dix Bruce transcribed Roy Harvey's accompaniment to the North Carolina Rambler's song, "Blue Eyes." In that article, this is what Dix had to say about Roy Harvey's guitar style:

Roy's style is unmistakable and varies only slightly from song to song. He has a handful of licks that fit and he works them in again and again. He's a little like Lester Flatt in that regard. In my mind, both players are just perfect at what they do. Listen to Roy's playing on "Leaving Home", "Take a Drink on Me", "Hungry Hash House", or just about anything else he recorded with Poole. On some recordings the guitar is more audible than others, but it always defines the chord structure and moves the band through the progression.

Below I have provided Dix's transcription of "Blue Eyes".


Jimmie Rodgers

Although Jimmie Rodgers recording career only lasted six years, due to his death from tuberculosis in 1933, he is known worldwide as "The Father of Country Music." He was the first nationally known country music star and thus his plaque in the Country Music Hall of Fame points to him as "the man who started it all". His singing and guitar playing had a major influence on future country music stars such as Bill Monroe, Hank Snow, Gene Autry, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard just to name a few. In some way Rodgers' singing and guitar playing has had an influence on anyone who has played bluegrass and country music, including "The Father of Bluegrass", Bill Monroe and "The Father of Flatpicking", Doc Watson.

Born to a railroad man in September, 1897 in Geiger, Alabama, Jimmie Rodgers was sent to live with his aunt after his mother passed away in 1904. During the time Jimmie spent with her, his aunt, who had earned degrees in both music and English, exposed Jimmie to a wide range of musical styles. Between 1904 and 1909 Jimmie spent time living with various relatives in Alabama and Mississippi. About a year after he went back to live with is father, at the age of eleven, he won a talent contest singing "Steamboat Bill". He decided right then that he wanted to be an entertainer and left home with a traveling tent show. His father tracked him down and brought him back home, but Jimmie left again, this time with a medicine show. His father hunted him down once again and at that point gave him a choice between going to school or working for the railroad. Jimmie chose the railroad and he began working as a water boy on his father's gang. Later he became a brakeman on the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad.

In 1924 Rodgers contracted tuberculosis and had to temporarily give up life working for the railroad. He turned back to performing music, once again going on the road with a traveling tent show. Over the next three years Rodgers alternately worked either for the railroad or as an entertainer. Early in 1927 Jimmie found a job in Asheville, North Carolina, working on the radio at WWNC with a band he put together called the Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers. In July of 1927 Rodger's bandmates, who were from Bristol, Tennessee, heard that Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company was coming to Bristol to record regional musicians. The band quickly headed up to Bristol and on August 3^rd auditioned for Peer. Peer liked what he heard and invited the band to come back and record the next day. That evening the band got into an argument and Jimmie went in and performed by himself. During that session Jimmie recorded two songs, "Sleep, Baby, Sleep," and "The Soldier's Sweetheart."

Although Rodgers first recordings were not hugely successful, Jimmie was determined to make it as an entertainer and in November of 1927 he went to New York City to arrange another recording session. Four songs were recorded during this session, including the popular "T for Texas" which was released as "Blue Yodel" and would sell nearly a half a million copies in just two years. From that time forward Rodgers became increasingly popular, performing before sold-out crowds, touring with Will Rogers, appearing in a movie (The Singing Brakeman), and recording with Louis Armstrong. Eventually, tuberculosis got the best of Rodgers and he passed away in May of 1933.

In addition to being the first country singing star, Rodgers typically accompanied himself with the guitar during live shows, and on many recordings, had an enormous influence on future generations of guitarists. His strong rhythm work and unique lead lines worked well in the solo setting and established the image and technique of the country music singer accompanying himself on the guitar. Below we have provided a transcription of Rodgers' guitar intro to "Blue Yodel Number 8" also known as "The Muleskinner Blues".

Maybelle Carter

Although Maybelle Carter played the guitar with a thumbpick and index finger, she has had as much of an influence on flatpicking guitarists as any other "Pioneer Era" guitar player; her tasteful guitar work not only helped define early country music, but is easily played with a flatpick. Her guitar technique, which involved playing the melody line on the bass and middle strings while continuing to play rhythmic strums, is so prominent that it is defined as "Carter Style" and is typically the point where bluegrass guitar players begin their study.

Born Maybelle Addington in May of 1909, Maybelle Carter came to prominence as a member of the original Carter Family, formed in 1927 by her brother-in-law, A.P. Carter (Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra). The original Carter Family band was a trio made up of A.P., Maybelle, and Maybelle's cousin Sara Carter (who was A.P.'s wife). Like Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family also auditioned for Ralph Peer at the Bristol sessions in 1927.The band signed with Victor in 1928 and recorded nearly 300 sides between 1928 and 1943.They became one of the most loved and influential groups in country music history with songs such as "Worried Man Blues," "Wabash Cannonball," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," "Wildwood Flower," and "Keep on the Sunny Side". Maybelle later went on the road with her daughters Helen, Anita, and June and became affectionately known as "Mother Maybelle".

Today Maybelle's guitar style and the tunes that the Carter Family made famous are a common starting place for those who are learning how to flatpick the guitar. Her technique of playing the melody of a song on the bass strings while continuing to strum rhythm is a very logical step for someone transitioning from playing rhythm guitar to playing lead lines and taking guitar solos. It is also a great style to use for those who play solo guitar since the rhythm does not drop out when the lead break is executed.

In the musical examples that follow, I will first provide a very basic version of "Wildwood Flower" that I have arranged in the Carter Style. This is the kind of solo that would be presented to a beginning flatpicker when they were first starting to learn how to play lead breaks to bluegrass songs. I will then provide one of Maybelle Carter's solos to the song "Jimmie Brown the Newsboy" as transcribed by Dix Bruce.

Charlie Monroe

During the 1930s "brother duet" acts became popular in country music and Bill Monroe and his older brother Charlie, billed as the Monroe Brothers, were among the most popular. Bill and Charlie formed the Monroe Brothers in 1934 and played together until 1938.

In Volume 6, Number 1 of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, Dix Bruce presented a transcription of Charlie Monroe's guitar work. Here is what he said about Charlie in that article:

Charlie's playing with Bill in the mid-1930s is a textbook example of the role of rhythm guitar in a small string band. It's perfect rhythmically and harmonically and a great compliment to the duo's singing and Bill's ferocious lead mandolin work. I chose "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" because the song is both a well-known standard and the recording is especially clean and clear. It's the first cut on Just a Song of Old Kentucky-The Monroe Brothers, Vol. Two (Rounder 82161-1074-2) and was originally recorded 10/12/1936.

Charlie establishes a fairly simple backup pattern (though at these brisk tempos nothing is exactly "simple") of bass notes and strums at the beginning of the song and stays with this same basic approach, varying it only slightly, throughout. At recurring points in a verse, chorus, or behind Bill's solos, Charlie might add a simple run. Overall it's another example of a great musician creating a sound that repeats again and again as a song unfolds. This is the same philosophy you'll find in innovators like Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe in his bluegrass days, and Doc Watson. They find something that's simple, something that works, something they are capable of playing, and make it the basis of a song or solo.

The transcription of Charlie Monroe's accompaniment to "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" is provided below.

The pioneering guitarists who have been featured in this segment built the foundation for the work of the guitar players who would follow them. Any aspiring flatpicking guitar student would do well to learn as many examples from the playing styles of these pioneers as they can find before starting to learn any of the techniques of the players who would follow in the Heroes Era or beyond. Going back to the roots and the source and working forward is always the best way to ensure that one's guitar skill and knowledge develops thoroughly.

Too often, beginning and intermediate bluegrass guitar students will only study transcriptions of their current favorite players, who are typically performing in a full ensemble setting. In not studying some of the older styles, which were developed in a solo or small ensemble format, they are lost when asked to perform in either of those settings. While the active accompaniment styles of players like Riley Puckett and Roy Harvey may not fit with a full bluegrass band, their styles are perfect when applied to a small ensemble setting, and so it's of great benefit to go back and study what these pioneers where doing.

Charles Sawtelle was one of the more modern players who understood the value of the old styles of playing and he applied this style to his accompaniment when in a small ensemble setting. An example of his playing in this setting can be found at the following URL: http://www.flatpick.com/Jan07lesson/january1.html.

Charles typically played in a full band setting; however, the accompaniment that he played here, since he was backing up just a mandolin, was very different from what he would have played with a full band. Charles was a master of providing the accompaniment that fit perfectly in any given musical situation. One of the reasons he was able to do that so well was that he had thoroughly studied the guitar styles of the early flatpicking guitar pioneers.

In the next segment we will take a look at a few more of the Pioneer Era guitarists, including bluegrass players George Shuffler, Don Reno, Lester Flatt, Red Smiley, and Jimmy Martin.

Until next time,
Dan Miller