Abstract Organized in 1901, the Atlanta Federation of Musicians is a significant chapter of the American Federation of Musicians, representing around 700 musicians throughout Georgia, including the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Columbus and Macon. The American Federation of Musicians, Local 148-462 (Atlanta, Ga.) records reflect the work of the union and local. The collection includes council meeting minutes, local meeting minutes, membership ledgers, financial ledgers, newspaper...

Abstract:

Anne and Horace Bolton were promoters for the Central Alabama Music Park (C.A.M.P.), an outdoor venue in Jemison, Alabama, which hosted concerts by Country music and Bluegrass artists. The collection contains press releases, fact sheets, phonograph records, posters, contracts, artifacts, and approximately 460 press photographs, many of them autographed by the artists.

Abstract: William S. Carrier ("Billy") was a guitarist and member of the popular Swanee River Boys, playing white southern gospel as well as traditional folk songs and African-American spirituals. In 1941, the group joined WSB Radio's "Barn Dance," broadcast from Atlanta. In 1952, Carrier left the Swanee River Boys, but he continued to perform in the Landmark Church Quartet until May 1956. His papers contain fifty-seven photographs and a photocopy of a datebook recording Swanee River Boys engagements,...

Abstract:

Classically trained pianist Bob Strain served as a council member of the Gay Spirit Visions (GSV), an organization that organizes gatherings for gay men to explore their spirituality and identity in a safe, nurturing, and sacred environment. His papers, 1994-2014, undated, include correspondence, newsletters, poems, and photographs related to Bob Strain's involvement with the organizations he served, including Gay Spirit Visions (GSV) and the Atlanta Radical Faeries Circle.

Abstract:

Fiddler and vocalist Bobby Atcheson (1920-1978) was a popular performer on the WSB "Barn Dance" radio program in the 1940s, and performed on WATL radio with his wife, Jane. His papers include correspondence, handbills, news clippings, and articles, and photographs of the Atchesons and other country music performers. The papers are photocopies of originals.

Abstract: Dennis "Boots" Woodall (1921-1988) was a guitarist who belonged to several bands that performed on Atlanta radio before World War II. After Air Corps service, he returned to Atlanta and founded his own band, the Radio Wranglers, which became well known on radio and on WAGA-TV (as the TV-Wranglers). His collection consists of 119 photographs, including individual shots of Woodall, group photos of him and other country musicians, pictures of other country music groups, and an artist's sketch...

Abstract:

Country musician Clayton McMichen (1900-1970) performed as a fiddler on WSB Radio in Atlanta from 1922 and recorded with the Skillet Lickers from 1926. He had an active career after leaving Atlanta in 1931, later fronting the Georgia Wildcats and retiring from music in 1955.

Abstract A talented musician, Joseph "Cotton" Carrier become a well-known broadcaster on Atlanta radio and television, beginning on WSB's "Barn Dance" in 1942. Later in his career, he worked alternately as a songwriter and promoter. His papers consist of photocopied printed materials, part of one reel of microfilm, and twenty-three photographs, and contain biographical material, including information on his professional activities for WSB Radio, WAGA-TV, and the Lowery Music Group, and some details...

Abstract:

Ruey Culbertson ("Curley") Collins (1915-1986) played the fiddle, guitar, and banjo in country and western bands of the 1930s-1980s, in his native Kentucky, Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia. The collection documents his career with ephemera including clippings, programs, and advertisements; photographs; periodical articles and book excerpts; correspondence; legal documents; and writings. The material dates 1928-1956, 1964-1969, 1975-2002, and is in photocopied form.

Abstract: W.L. "Doug" Spivey was a guitarist and vocalist, and an original member of the Pine Ridge Boys, a country group created by Pop Eckler. After retiring from the Atlanta country/gospel music scene, Spivey became an evangelist. He died January 13, 1987. His papers contain photocopied news clippings and handbills from the 1940s, a photocopy of a publication featuring photographs of and biographical information on numerous country music groups, and two images of handbills and nine photographs of...

Abstract:

Eddie Wallace (born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1924), was a founding member of "The Sunshine Boys," a male vocal quartet specializing in spiritual music, that appeared on radio, in motion pictures, and on recordings from 1943. His papers consist of copies of correspondence, newsclippings, magazines, programs, and other printed material and reproductions of photographs and posters.

Abstract: Emma Kelly was a lifelong resident of Statesboro, Georgia. Having learned to play the piano at the age of six, she continued to perform for civic clubs and special events across the state for the rest of her life. The locally famous "Miss Emma" achieved world-renown when author John Berendt devoted an entire chapter to her in his novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The Emma Kelly collection includes documentary materials and artifacts...

Abstract:

Frances Lee Wallace (1921-2001) grew up in the Atlanta area of Lakeland Heights. A piano student since childhood, she began playing professionally in about 1940, when she was hired to play in the basement of Davison's department store in downtown Atlanta. The collection documents Frances Wallace's many musical activities during her long career as a pianist and organist in Atlanta, and it provides a glimpse of Atlanta's musical scene during the middle years of the twentieth century.

Abstract:

Gene Wiggins was the author of several articles and books on country music. This collection consists of thirty-four photographs he collected in the course of his research on the history of country music, including images of performers, handbills and newsclippings.

Abstract: Henry W. Grady Cole (1909-1981) was a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, who primarily performed with his wife, Hazel. Later their son, Jackie, joined his parents as a performer. The Coles became popular on Atlanta's WGST and later performed on WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Cole papers include an autobiographical statement by Grady Cole, correspondence, contracts, invoices, news clippings, sheet music and lyrics written by the Coles and others, and 24 images of handbills, sheet music...

Abstract:

Horace "Harpo" Kidwell (1910-2003) was one of the most popular, well-known harmonica players active in Atlanta's early country music scene. He appeared on WSB Radio's "Cross Roads Follies" program, 1941-1953, and later on radio and television broadcasts from Cincinnati. His papers consist of fifty-two photographs, sheet music for one of his compositions, a letter, and photocopies of handbills, programs, a logbook, and clippings.

Abstract:

Hoyt Pruitt was a dobro player, although he also played straight guitar and sang, and was actively involved in Atlanta's country music radio scene, appearing on various programs, including "Fulton County Jamboree" on WJTL and WAGA's "Dixie Fun Barn" in 1939-1940 and 1946-1948. His papers contain newsclippings relating to his career in the 1960s, and nineteen photographs of him and other country music figures.

Abstract: Jack Holden (born Milton Jackson) teamed up with Fairley Holden as a guitar and vocal duo on WATL in Atlanta. The pair moved to Ohio and built an active and successful performing career as "The Holden Brothers." After wartime service, they followed separate careers. Jack moved to Atlanta in 1949, where he continued a performing and radio career, frequently performing with his wife, Frances Thompson Holden (using the stage name "Frances Kay"). The Jack Holden papers contain photocopies of...

Abstract:

Claude Davis (born Claude W. Dennis, 1895) was a country musician and singer. In the 1930s he was a member of the Carolina Tarheels, a group that pursued an active performing career on radio and on stage in the Southeast. The Katherine Smith Collection contains correspondence, newsclippings, song sheets, and photographs relating to Claude Davis.

Abstract:

Riley Puckett (1894-1946), a vocalist, guitarist and banjo player, was one of the most recorded performers in early country music. He performed with many Atlanta area country groups and frequently on Atlanta radio. The collection consists of a brief biography of and list of recordings made by Riley Puckett, and nine photographic images of Puckett, his family, and contemporary country musicians.