Salty Holmes
Floyd Holmes (March 6, 1910 – January 1, 1970), better known as Salty Holmes, was an American country musician and Western B-movie actor. Holmes was born in Glasgow, Kentucky. He became a virtuoso on the harmonica, specializing in the style known as "talking harp" which imitated the human voice (much like Sonny Terry). He also played the jug and guitar. He formed the group The Kentucky Ramblers in 1930, who changed their name to The Prairie Ramblers in 1933 and began broadcasting on Chicago radio station WLS-AM with new vocalist Patsy Montana. They continued performing and recording under this name until 1952, playing country, hillbilly music, gospel, and pop songs. They were the backing group on Montana's platinum hit "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart". Group members included Jack Taylor on bass, Chick Hurt on mandolin, and Alan Crocket and, later, Tex Atchison on fiddle. They made over 100 recordings between 1933 and 1940, including as session musicians. The Prairie Ramblers have been called a "hot string band" and "a hot fiddler band". Both their "aggressive rhythms" and Chick Hurt's mandolin playing inspired Bill Monroe, the "Godfather of bluegrass", and a mandolin virtuoso. While a member of the Prairie Ramblers, Holmes befriended Gene Autry, who invited him to Hollywood to star in Westerns in 1936 and 1944; among the films Holmes appeared in are Arizona Days and Saddle Leather Law. In a scene of Arizona Days, Holmes played two harmonicas using his mouth and nose. The Prairie Ramblers also backed Autry on some of his recordings in the 1930s. He collaborated with Jean Chapel as Mattie & Salty, playing regularly on the Grand Ole Opry; the two married in 1947 and divorced in 1956 and had two daughters named Barbara Holmes Hale and Lana (Chapel) who was part of their act as a young child. |
Birth and Death Data: Died January 1, 1970
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1955
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, harmonica, songwriter, lead vocal, composer, jug, lyricist, yodeling, speaker, instrumentalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 285 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-77242 | 10-in. | 12/6/1933 | I want my mama | Salty Holmes ; The Prairie Ramblers | Harmonica solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, harmonica | |
| Victor | BS-77243 | 10-in. | 12/6/1933 | Kentucky blues | Salty Holmes ; The Prairie Ramblers | Harmonica solo, with instrumental trio | instrumentalist, harmonica | |
| Victor | F4PB-4083 | 10-in. | 5/24/1955 | Mama blues | Roy Smeck | composer | ||
| Columbia | C1443 | 10-in. | 7/17/1936 | Hinky dinky parley voo no. 2 | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2125 | 10-in. | 2/25/1938 | What would you give in exchange for your mother-in-law | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2312 | 10-in. | 9/13/1938 | Monkeys is the cwaziest people! | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal duet | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist, lead vocal | |
| Columbia | C2313 | 10-in. | 9/13/1938 | Somebody's smile | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2322 | 10-in. | 9/14/1938 | Back yard stomp | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2362 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | I'm a-ridin' up the old Kentucky mountain | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | Female vocal solo, with string band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2365 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | The strawberry roan | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | String band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2390 | 10-in. | 11/17/1938 | I married a mouse of a man | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2400 | 10-in. | 12/6/1938 | Little old locket of gold | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | Female vocal solo, with string band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2413 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | Chiselin' daddy | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2414 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | I married a mouse of a man | Sweet Violet Boys | String band, with female vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2415 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | The funny old hills | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2416 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | Hitch up the horse and buggy | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2417 | 10-in. | 1/26/1939 | I wonder if you feel the way I do | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2418 | 10-in. | 1/31/1939 | Please come home | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo and male ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2419 | 10-in. | 1/31/1939 | Somebody's smile | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo and male ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2420 | 10-in. | 1/31/1939 | Happy cowboy | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo and male ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
| Columbia | C2421 | 10-in. | 1/31/1939 | They're burning down the house I was brung up in | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2422 | 10-in. | 1/31/1939 | I still love you | Prairie Ramblers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2423 | 10-in. | 2/1/1939 | Han'some Joe (from the land of the Navajo) | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | Female vocal solo, with string band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2425 | 10-in. | 2/1/1939 | I'm goin' west to Texas | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | Female vocal solo, with string band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
| Columbia | C2426 | 10-in. | 2/1/1939 | I'm a-ridin' up the old Kentucky mountain | Patsy Montana ; Prairie Ramblers | Female vocal solo, with string band | instrumentalist, harmonica |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Holmes, Salty," accessed December 11, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/204647.
Holmes, Salty. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 11, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/204647.
"Holmes, Salty." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 11 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Holmes, Floyd - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nb99185451
Wikidata: Salty Holmes - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7406247
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/1605147484231449360004
MusicBrainz: Salty Holmes - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b8f8355b-4879-496e-99e4-ccf3a1cde6ba
Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1559989 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/1559989
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