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FiddlerPaul71 |
charliejone Says:
Friday, April 21, 2023 @1:32:42 AM
This is a beautiful photo capturing the passion and talent of the pianist. The way Jim Booker is fully immersed in the fnf music and his instrument is truly captivating.
Miranda34 Says:
Tuesday, August 22, 2023 @9:55:45 PM
This is a beautiful and Mini Crossword memorable photo
writerrad Says:
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 @12:39:32 PM
Hi Paul, as you may know I am ding work on the Booker 1927 recordings for Gennett. Some short conclusions. "Taylor's Kentucky Boys was not an actual group,, but a label Gennett Records used for instrumental tunes by people Dennis Taylor brought to Gennett int he April and August 1927 sessions for Gennett. If any sort of vocal existed, even a few shouts of lyric on Soldier's Joy or "Maxwell Girls" the name of a singer was used.
Jim Booker Jr. (his father Jim Booker Sr. died in 1903 but many tales of learning from a fiddler named Jim Booker amng KY musicians combine those who learned from Sr and Jim Booker Jr.) was probably called to the April Session because Doc Roberts had gone off the reservation and went to Chicago and made records with a couple other labels than Gennett under a couple other names in April 1927. Actually, Roberts had figured out that Taylor was taking a share of royalties normally given to the artist and he wasnt getting as much. It must have been heated insofar as Dennis Taylor's farm adjoined Roberts' farm, though Taylor was more of a business guy than farmer and had absolutely no musical talent. It was his wife who was involved in practicing up groups before they were taken to Gennt. When Roberts complained to Gennett, the head A & R guy at Genett told Roberts that Gennett did not mind if Roberts made some extra money by recording on another company as long as he used another name. So Roberts went to Chicago, which seems to be where one shopped around for recordings, and made about 8 records either as the KY Thoroughbreds and the Quadrilleers. He may have made more that came out under other names.
So Taylor got Jim Booker to go down to the next session for Gennett on April 26 where he made a bunch of records. He didnt have Roberts to record for these planned session. Roberts was probably not back from Chicago or was still "off the reservation" with Taylor and Gennett/
By August the head man at Gennett had told both Taylor and Roberts they had to work together. The August 26 session actually starts with some classic recordings with Roberts playing fiddle, and John Booker, Jim's brother, not his son as some sources get wrong. I first heard of the Bookers about 23 years ago when my friend of that time Kerry Blech told me these recordings were the best guitar backup for fiddle to study (I was then a guitarist mostly). They made a several instrument recordings with both Joe Booker, not Jim Jr,, and Doc Roberts, with John playing guitar that were to be released as Taylor;s Kentucky Boys, but only one was released, They were not released because Roberts claimed they were not good, though Charles Wolfe speculated that Roberts just didnt want anything he did released under the Taylor's label.
The session concluded with Joe Booker who had played fiddle on the not issued Kentucky Boys recordings, backing Roberts on two great fiddle tunes. Again this is among the best guitar backing of fiddles.
Much has been written eroneously claiming Taylors Ky Boys was an extant string band from KY either lead by or adding the Black booker players. Like many combinations on old time recordings, it was a combination that only existed in the studio, probably a label to market the tunes, after the recordings were made, a name created to market the records.
By 1927 so much of what was issued as old time music records were by groups who identity had to do with what record company people thought could market the music, rather than to record existing bands, including creating images the public thought fit their stereotypes of old time music. Beneath all this, was struggle and contradiction, struggle between the recording company and small fry like Dennis Taylor and big fry like say Ralph Peer, involved in marketing the records internationally. Ralph Peer gave the name "Cannon's Jug Stompers" to the different groups of musicians who recorded for him in Memphis under Cannon's direction from 1927 to 1930. No such group ever performed in public. Likewise with Taylors which is often misindentified as a KY string band either led by Jim Booker, or that added Jim Booker as a fiddler. It was a label Dennis Taylor and Gennett put on recordings, probably to ensure Taylor got the money he was getting from Gennett that often amounted to 900 1920s bucks a month from these recordings. Then Gennett was doing these as stencil recordings often sold to other labels and released under names of other groups that probably Taylor and the musicians knew nothing about.
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