Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown" format to the singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful. In 1952, Hank Williams told Ralph Gleason, "He's the biggest singer this music ever knew. You booked him and you didn't worry about crowds. For drawing power in the South, it was Roy Acuff, then God." Acuff began his music career in the 1930s and gained regional fame as the singer and fiddler for his group, the Smoky Mountain Boys. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, and although his popularity as a musician waned in the late 1940s, he remained one of the Opry's key figures and promoters for nearly four decades. In 1942, Acuff and Fred Rose founded Acuff-Rose Music, the first major Nashville-based country music publishing company, which signed such artists as Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and the Everly Brothers. In 1962, Acuff became the first living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born September 15, 1903 (Maynardville), Died November 23, 1992 (Nashville)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1956
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, leader, violin, composer, lyricist, songwriter, Musical group, arranger, instrumentalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 127 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-071019 | 10-in. | 9/29/1941 | The precious jewel | Wade Mainer ; Sons of the Mountaineers | String band, with vocal | composer | |
Victor | D6VB-2963 | 10-in. | 9/30/1946 | All the world is lonely now | Buckeye Boys ; Cliff Carlisle | Male vocal solo, with string band | songwriter | |
Columbia | B13 | 10-in. | 3/22/1937 | Great speckle bird no.2 | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, composer, lyricist, leader | |
Columbia | HCO807 | 10-in. | 5/28/1942 | Wreck on the highway | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, leader, composer, vocalist, lyricist | |
Columbia | HCO808 | 10-in. | 5/28/1942 | Fire ball mail | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | HCO809 | 10-in. | 5/28/1942 | I'll reap my harvest in heaven | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | Musical group, leader, vocalist | |
Columbia | HCO810 | 10-in. | 5/28/1942 | Night train to Memphis | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | H811 | 10-in. | 6/1/1942 | Prodigal son | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | HCO812 | 10-in. | 6/1/1942 | Low and lonely | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | H813 | 10-in. | 6/1/1942 | Write me sweetheart | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, Musical group, leader, instrumentalist, violin, composer, lyricist | |
Columbia | HCO818 | 10-in. | 6/1/1942 | They can only fill one grave | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader, instrumentalist, violin, composer, lyricist | |
Columbia | H820 | 10-in. | 6/4/1942 | Don't make me go to bed and I'll be good | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | H822 | 10-in. | 6/4/1942 | Not a word from home | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal duet | vocalist, Musical group, leader, composer, lyricist | |
Columbia | H823 | 10-in. | 6/4/1942 | Do you wonder why | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader, composer, lyricist | |
Columbia | H824 | 10-in. | 6/4/1942 | I'll forgive you but I can't forget | Roy Acuff ; Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | C1581 | 10-in. | 10/20/1936 | Great speckle bird | Roy Acuff ; Crazy Tennesseans | String band, with male vocal solo | Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | C1582 | 10-in. | 10/20/1936 | My mountain home sweet home | Roy Acuff and his Crazy Tennesseans | String band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, composer, lyricist, leader | |
Columbia | C1589 | 10-in. | 10/21/1936 | Wabash Cannon Ball | Roy Acuff and his Crazy Tennesseans | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, Musical group | |
Columbia | C1590 | 10-in. | 10/21/1936 | Freight train blues | Roy Acuff ; Crazy Tennesseans | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, Musical group | |
Columbia | C1598 | 10-in. | 10/22/1936 | New greenback dollar | Roy Acuff ; Crazy Tennesseans | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | C1599 | 10-in. | 10/22/1936 | Steamboat whistle blues | Roy Acuff ; Crazy Tennesseans | Male vocal solo, with two guitars | Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | HCO2203 | 10-in. | 1/28/1947 | I talk to myself about you | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, Musical group, leader | |
Columbia | HCO2204 | 10-in. | 1/28/1947 | Freight train blues | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, vocalist | |
Columbia | HCO2205 | 10-in. | 1/28/1947 | (Our own) Jole Blon | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | Male vocal solo, with string band | vocalist, Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, arranger, leader | |
Columbia | HCO2206 | 10-in. | 1/28/1947 | Tennessee Central (Number 9) | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | Male vocal solo, with string band | vocalist, Musical group, instrumentalist, violin, leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Roy Acuff ," accessed May 21, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/300313.
Roy Acuff . (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 21, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/300313.
"Roy Acuff ." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Roy Acuff
Discogs: Roy Acuff
Allmusic: Roy Acuff
Grove: Roy Acuff
RILM: Roy Acuff
RISM: Roy Acuff
IMDb: Roy Acuff
Britannica: Roy Acuff
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Acuff, Roy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83042805
Wikidata: Roy Acuff - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q455773
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/32182376
MusicBrainz: Roy Acuff - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d7db24ec-d95b-409a-9841-afd946701435
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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