“G RAG”

 

Figure 1. Andrew and Jim Baxter. Victor Talking Machine Company promotional photograph, circa 1927; “Wirz’ American Music” - Illustrated Andrew and Jim Baxter Discography.

 

When we think of old-time fiddle music, we often picture straight-laced British Isles jigs or Scotch-Irish reels. But in the late 1920s, a tune called 'G Rag' burst out of the North Georgia foothills and completely disrupted that expectation. It combined traditional Appalachian fiddling with African American ragtime syncopation.

The term “Rag” comes from “ragged time.” A fiddler would play notes just ahead of or behind the steady pulse of the guitar and banjo thereby creating an infectious, bouncy tension. It turned traditional string band music into something highly danceable, energetic, and modern for its time.

 

Black blues and ragtime guitarists, and White string band musicians, lived and worked side-by-side. They listened to each other, traded licks, and shared techniques. “G Rag” is the musical fruit of that cross-pollination.

 

G Rag was a product of one of the first integrated recording sessions with the Georgia Yellow Hammers (a white string band) and their Gordon County neighbor Andrew Baxter (an older Black-Cherokee fiddle player born in 1869). Baxter occasionally performed with the band, making the Yellow Hammers one of the few integrated bands at the time.

 

Though born in Georgia, Andrew and his son Jim (see Figure 1) who played guitar cemented their musical legacy in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte was a massive hub for early Southern music, and in August 1927, the Baxters traveled with the band to the Victor studio to make history.

 

Unfortunately, while traveling together by train to the session, segregation laws forced Andrew and Jim to sit in separate train cars. Once at the studio, they recorded separate songs but the musicians decided to team up for G Rag with Andrew on fiddle (see Figure 2).

 

The first actual recording of the tune was made in Chicago by Alabama’s Y. Z. Hamilton in January 1927 under the title “Hamilton’s Special Breakdown” (see Recommended Listening). Other recordings were made by the Georgia band, Seven Foot Dilly & his Dill Pickles in 1930 (“Georgia Bust Down”) and in 1939 by North Carolina’s J.E. Mainers Mountaineers (“Concord Rag”).

 

Andrew's unique playing—which blended old 19th-century square-dance tunes with the sliding notes of early blues—is now considered one of the finest surviving examples of historic Black rural fiddling.

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. “G RAG”, Victor 78 rpm 21195-B, recorded Charlotte, Virginia, August 9, 1927: Georgia Yellow Hammers with Andrew Baxter, fiddler (from the collection of Mark Farrell).

 

Recommended listening:

 

On YouTube search for “Georgia Yellow Hammers & Andrew Baxter-G Rag”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV57ZMG8I-0&list=RDTV57ZMG8I-0&start_radio=1

 

Search YouTube for “Wyzee Hamilton-Hamilton's Special Breakdown”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xb7BCfzGKw&list=RD8Xb7BCfzGKw&start_radio=1

 

Search YouTube for “Seven Foot Dilly & His Dill Pickles - Georgia Bust Down”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRuD7tF-wQc&list=RDxRuD7tF-wQc&start_radio=1

 

Search YouTube for “J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers-Concord Rag“

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjWDHkv95tA&list=RDsjWDHkv95tA&start_radio=1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lesley Riddle

was a crucial, yet often overlooked, figure who, as a "human tape recorder," profoundly influenced the Carter Family by sharing his unique repertoire of North Carolina blues and mountain music. While many of his songs were recorded by the Carters, key examples from his 1930s repertoire, such as the "Cannon Ball," "Coal Miner Blues," and "Let the Church Roll On," were instrumental in developing the iconic "Carter Scratch" guitar style. 

 

"The Cannon Ball" (often recorded as "Cannonball Blues") is a cornerstone country-blues track that bridges Black musical traditions and early white country music. The song was originally arranged, performed, and passed down by Lesley "Esley" Riddle, a brilliant African American blues guitarist who served as a crucial "secret weapon" for the Carter Family, the foundational group of country music. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The history and journey of this classic song involve unique personal struggles, a collaborative friendship across racial lines, and a rediscovery decades later.

🚂 The Origins and Composition

• Traditional Roots: Like many early blues numbers, the song had older traditional origins in Appalachian and African American communities.[1, 2]
• Lesley Riddle's Arrangement: Lesley Riddle, born in North Carolina, customized and mastered the specific arrangement of the tune. Family members of the Carter dynasty, including John Carter Cash, have stated that Riddle likely wrote or heavily adapted the version we know today.[1, 2, 3, 4]
• A Distinctive Style: Riddle lost his right leg in a cement factory accident and subsequently lost two fingers on his right hand in a shotgun mishap. These injuries forced him to create an innovative playing style using just his thumb and index finger to pick out melodies over heavy bass lines. "The Cannon Ball" perfectly showcased this technique.[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

🤝 Meeting A.P. Carter and "Song-Catching"

• The Partnership: Around 1928,P. Carter (the leader of the Carter Family) met Riddle in Kingsport, Tennessee. Recognizing Riddle's immense talent, Carter hired him to go on "song-catching" trips throughout the segregated American South. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• The Human Tape Recorder: Because Black and white musicians could rarely perform together openly at the time, they worked behind the scenes. Carter would write down the lyrics of old songs they heard, while Riddle—who possessed a flawless musical memory—acted as a "human tape recorder" to perfectly memorize the melodies.[1, 2, 3]
• Teaching Maybelle: Riddle spent weeks at a time staying with the Carters. He taught "The Cannon Ball" directly to"Mother" Maybelle Carter, who adapted his unique fingerpicking style into her legendary "Carter Scratch"—the foundational guitar technique of country music. [1, 2, 3]

📻 The Carter Family Recording

The Carter Family recorded their version under the title "Cannonball Blues" in May 1930 for Victor Records. Maybelle's intricate, rolling guitar solo on the track was a direct replication of how Riddle picked it on his own front porch. Despite his massive contribution to their catalog, Jim Crow-era racial barriers prevented Riddle from recording his own commercial music or receiving formal copyright credits at the time. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

 

🔍 Decades of Obscurity and Rediscovery

• Stepping Away: By the 1940s, Riddle moved to Rochester, New York, stepped away from the music industry, and eventually sold his guitar.[1, 2]
• The L.A. Connection: In the mid-1960s, folk musician and historianMike Seeger watched Maybelle Carter perform "The Cannon Ball" in Los Angeles. Blown away by the guitar part, Seeger asked Maybelle where she learned it. She immediately answered, "Esley Riddle of Kingsport, Tennessee."(Note: The Carters called him "Esley" because the young children in the family couldn't pronounce Lesley). [1, 2, 3]
• The Final Recordings: Seeger successfully tracked Riddle down in New York, convinced him to play music again, and recorded his home sessions between 1965 and 1978. These historic tracks were released on the 1993 albumStep By Step: Lesley Riddle Meets The Carter Family, allowing the world to finally hear Riddle play his signature version of "The Cannon Ball" in his own voice. [1, 2, 3, 4]

If you want to know more about Lesley Riddle's legacy, I can dive into how he taught Maybelle to use a pocketknife as a slide, or share details about other Carter Family songs he preserved. What would you like to explore next? [1, 2]

 

• Rochester, New York:He moved here in 1937 (some sources say 1942) after getting married. He spent several decades in the city working outside of the music industry until musicologist Mike Seeger tracked him down there in the 1960s.
• Buffalo, New York:He also spent time living and working in Buffalo during the Great Depression era. [1, 2, 3]

Before moving north, he lived in Kingsport, Tennessee and Burnsville, North Carolina, where he famously worked alongside A.P. Carter as a "human tape recorder" to collect and preserve early country and blues music. [1, 2, 3]