Biography
Originating from the Tennessee-North Carolina border region, fiddler G.B. Grayson ranked among the earliest artists to capture several enduring folk standards on record, among them "Tom Dooley," "The Banks of the Ohio," and "Train 45." Born in 1888, he lost his sight as an infant yet went on to build a career in music. Many of his strongest Victor sessions resulted from partnerships with guitarist and harmonica player Henry Whitter. "Tom Dooley" proved especially durable thanks to the Kingston Trio’s revival of it in the ’50s and carried particular weight for Grayson, whose grand uncle, a North Carolina sheriff, had arrested Tom Dooley in person. Grayson died in 1930 after an automobile accident.