Old-time music

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.

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.

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.

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.