Earl McDonald

Earl McDonald (October 2, 1885 – April 28, 1949) was an American singer and jug blower, noted as a pioneer in creating and recording jug band music.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He formed his first jug band in 1902 and toured widely, performing in New York City and Chicago by 1914. Later he established the Original Louisville Jug Band and the Old Southern Jug Band, which recorded in 1924 with the singer Sara Martin and the fiddle player Clifford Hayes, joining with Hayes to form the Dixieland Jug Blowers for recordings. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he performed regularly with his band, the Ballard Chefs, on radio station WHAS, helping to popularize jug band music, and made over 40 recordings.

McDonald died in Louisville in 1949 and was buried in an unmarked grave. A gravestone was provided in 2009 at the instigation of supporters of the annual Jug Band Jubilee.

Birth and Death Data: Born October 2, 1885, Died April 28, 1949

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1931

Roles Represented in DAHR: jug, composer, leader, vocalist, songwriter, speaker

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 51 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-37220 10-in. 12/10/1926 Boodle-am Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet instrumentalist, jug, vocalist  
Victor BVE-37221 10-in. 12/10/1926 Florida blues Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37222 10-in. 12/10/1926 Don't give all the lard away Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37223 10-in. 12/10/1926 Banjoreno Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37224 10-in. 12/10/1926 Skip, skat, doodle-do Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug, vocalist  
Victor BVE-37225 10-in. 12/10/1926 Louisville stomp Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37226 10-in. 12/11/1926 House rent rag Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with monologue instrumentalist, jug, speaker, songwriter  
Victor BVE-37227 10-in. 12/11/1926 Memphis shake Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37228 10-in. 12/11/1926 Carpet Alley breakdown Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-37229 10-in. 12/11/1926 Hen party blues Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38635 10-in. 6/6/1927 National blues Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38636 10-in. 6/6/1927 Southern shout Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38637 10-in. 6/6/1927 Garden of joy Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38638 10-in. 6/6/1927 You'd better leave me alone, sweet papa Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38639 10-in. 6/7/1927 Only Mother cares for me Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38640 10-in. 6/7/1927 Love blues Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38641 10-in. 6/7/1927 I never did want you Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with talk instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38642 10-in. 6/7/1927 If you can't make it easy, get a job and go to work Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-38645 10-in. 6/7/1927 When I stopped runnin' I was at home Dixieland Jug Blowers Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-69449 10-in. 6/16/1931 My good gal's gone Louisville Jug Band ; Jimmie Rodgers Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-69450 10-in. 6/16/1931 Please don't holler, Mama Ben Ferguson Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, jug  
Victor BVE-69451 10-in. 6/16/1931 Try and treat her right Ben Ferguson Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble and vocal chorus instrumentalist, jug  
Columbia W143805 10-in. 3/30/1927 She's in the graveyard now Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo leader, vocalist, composer  
Columbia W143806 10-in. 3/30/1927 Casey Bill Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band ; Earl McDonald Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo vocalist, leader, composer  
Columbia W143807 10-in. 3/30/1927 Louisville Special Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band Instrumental ensemble leader, composer  
(Results 1-25 of 51 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "McDonald, Earl," accessed March 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112702.

McDonald, Earl. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112702.

"McDonald, Earl." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112702

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