Biography
References to mountains and the Appalachian States have appeared throughout old-timey and bluegrass music from the earliest days of recorded documentation in these styles, occasionally supplying researchers with useful leads on historic ensembles and at other times proving entirely misleading. Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers stands as a clear instance of the latter, directing musicologists toward the hollows and valleys of Kentucky when the actual base lay in Fresno, CA.
John Crockett, originally from West Virginia, established the family band, which belonged to the first wave of West Coast string bands captured for pioneering labels including Gennett during the late '20s and early '30s. The ensemble produced nearly two dozen sides, the majority spotlighting the leader's vocals under his apparent nickname "Dad." Fellow Crockett family members took turns on fiddle, guitar, banjo, and novelty instruments such as "bones" and the "Jew's harp" or rook. Collectors have gradually reconstructed an almost complete set of the group's recordings, among which the Paramount release "Take Me Back to Old Kentucky" ranks as the scarcest. Repertoire staples include a "Medley of Old Time Dance Tunes" along with renditions of standards like "Skip to My Lou." Arranged simply as a guitar duet, "Fresno Blues" emerged as the band's most atypical track and ultimately supplied the clue that clarified the group's true home base.
John Crockett, originally from West Virginia, established the family band, which belonged to the first wave of West Coast string bands captured for pioneering labels including Gennett during the late '20s and early '30s. The ensemble produced nearly two dozen sides, the majority spotlighting the leader's vocals under his apparent nickname "Dad." Fellow Crockett family members took turns on fiddle, guitar, banjo, and novelty instruments such as "bones" and the "Jew's harp" or rook. Collectors have gradually reconstructed an almost complete set of the group's recordings, among which the Paramount release "Take Me Back to Old Kentucky" ranks as the scarcest. Repertoire staples include a "Medley of Old Time Dance Tunes" along with renditions of standards like "Skip to My Lou." Arranged simply as a guitar duet, "Fresno Blues" emerged as the band's most atypical track and ultimately supplied the clue that clarified the group's true home base.