Topic: The Baxter Brothers and The Georgia Yellow Hammers

[Chun]

I was wondering if anybody knew about The Baxter Brothers association with the Georgia Yellow Hammers?  I know they recorded "G rag" together...but I have a 78 of the Georgia Yellow Hammers playing "Mary, Don't You Weep" and "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight"...and I swear that sounds like the Baxter Brothers playing with them. It's not Bud Landress singing....that's for sure.
Any comments would be appreciated.
The record is up for auction and there has been some questions. Take a listen if you have it....it's a great recording.

Christian

[Stuart]

Go to: http://books.google.com/advanced_book_search

and in the "Find results   with the exact phrase" box, type in "Georgia Yellow Hammers." I just did and about ten pages came up. I don't have the time to go any further, but you might get a few leads that you can follow up on if you're close to a good library. You should also search for Baxter Brothers, but there's going to be about 34 pages to wade through.

[TonyGilroy]

Andrew and Jim Baxter were father and son.

[Bunker Hill]

I was wondering if anybody knew about The Baxter Brothers association with the Georgia Yellow Hammers?  I know they recorded "G rag" together...but I have a 78 of the Georgia Yellow Hammers playing "Mary, Don't You Weep" and "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight"...and I swear that sounds like the Baxter Brothers playing with them. It's not Bud Landress singing....that's for sure.
Any comments would be appreciated.
The record is up for auction and there has been some questions. Take a listen if you have it....it's a great recording.
Christian

I feel sure that in a 1970s issue of Tony Russell's Old Time Music magazine there was a lengthy feature on the Yellow Hammers with Andrew & Jim Baxter coming into the discussion. My OTMs have been stored away in the attic for over 15 years and far from accessible.

[Chun]

I found something that said the Baxters recorded with them off and on which was unusual for a string band in Georgia during the 1920s to be integrated.
The Victor recording of "G Rag" is the only recording that gives proper credit in the discography. I'm sure there are others. Someone I was talking to mentioned the fact that they may have been left off the credits because they were black.
Either way...that particular record is a great one.

Christian

[uncle bud]

The notes to Document's String Bands DOCD-5167 only mention Baxter playing on G Rag, and the notes to the Black Fiddlers DOCD-5631 mention Yellow Hammers fiddler Bill Chitwood knowing and playing with the Baxters. Tony Russell's Country Music Originals has a section on the Georgia Yellow Hammers that briefly mentions the Baxters (father and son is correct, BTW). Yellow Hammers guitarist Phil Reeve, who knew something of the record business and got their material copyrighted, also had a management contract with the Baxters.

I haven't heard the Georgia Yellow Hammers songs in question, aside from G Rag, so can't offer an opinion.

[eric]

Tony Russell's discography shows 7 tunes recorded on August 9, 1927, including G Rag.  Six tunes list Moody, Reeve, Landress and Evans.  The 7th, G Rag, shows Andrew Baxter on fiddle in addition to the others.  I would imagine this info came from the Victor session records.  But who knows?

[oddenda]

Integrated string bands were not that unusual in the S.E. Mention of them kept cropping up in my decade of research there. A good picker wasa goodpicker, regardless of race... even then. Willie Walker played in one!

Peter B.