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Johnny Barfield

John Alexander Barfield (3 March 1909 - 16 January 1974) was an American country and old-time music performer, best known for his 1939 recording of "Boogie Woogie", the first country boogie.

He was born in Tifton, Georgia, and in his youth played guitar on street corners with his brother Coot. They recorded for Columbia Records in Atlanta in 1927, but the recordings were not released. Soon afterwards, Johnny Barfield became acquainted with Clayton McMichen and Bert Layne of the Skillet Lickers, touring with the group and recording with some of its offshoots, including McMichen's group, the Georgia Wildcats. By 1932 he was performing both solo, and as a member of Layne's band. In 1939, he won a recording contract with Bluebird Records, and released his version of "Boogie Woogie", a song derived from "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" recorded in 1928 by Pinetop Smith. Barfield's song is considered the first country boogie, and became popular on jukeboxes.

Barfield recorded again in 1940 and 1941, but failed to repeat his earlier success. He continued to perform for several years. He died in 1974, aged 64.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 3, 1909 (Georgia), Died January 16, 1974

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1939 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-32 of 32 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-054553 10-in. 10/8/1940 Berry pickin' time Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar and violin vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071022 10-in. 9/29/1941 Ice man blues Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071023 10-in. 9/29/1941 Please pull down your curtains Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071024 10-in. 9/29/1941 I can't help it, I still love you Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071025 10-in. 9/29/1941 Won't you come back to me my precious darling? Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071026 10-in. 9/29/1941 The numbers blues Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BS-071027 10-in. 9/29/1941 It's all over now, I'm glad we're through Johnny Barfield Male vocal solo, with guitar composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
(Results 26-32 of 32 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Barfield, Johnny," accessed April 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112913.

Barfield, Johnny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112913.

"Barfield, Johnny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112913

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