Tennessee Ramblers (Sievers/Mack)
The Tennessee Ramblers were an American old-time string band originally consisting of William "Fiddlin' Bill" Sievers (1875–1954) on fiddle, his son James "Mack" Sievers on banjo and vocals, daughter Willie Sievers (1909–1998) on guitar, and cousin Walter McKinney (d. 1960) on steel guitar. The band was one of the most popular performing groups in East Tennessee during the 1920s through the 1940s, gaining initial fame as a backing band in fiddle contests held at Market Hall in Knoxville, Tennessee, and later performing at fairs and other gatherings around the eastern United States. They recorded several sides for Brunswick/Vocalion in 1928 and 1929, which were issued on the Vocalion label. After the death of William Sievers in 1954, siblings James and Willie formed a Hawaiian music group known as Mack's Novelty Hawaiians. Willie Sievers' guitar solos recorded with the band in 1928 and 1929 are among the first by a female lead guitarist in Country music. |
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1929
Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick | K100 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | Garbage can blues | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K101 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | Tennessee traveler | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K102 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | Ramblers’ march | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K103 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | In my dear old sunny South | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K104 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | [Unkjnown title(s)] | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K105 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | Hawaiian medley | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | K106 | 10-in. | 8/27/1929 | Give the fiddlers a dram | Tennessee Ramblers | Vocal, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL307-AL308 | 10-in. | 2/17/1928 | A fiddler’s contest | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL309-AL310 | 10-in. | 2/17/1928 | Arkansas traveller | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL311-AL312 | 10-in. | 2/17/1928 | Satisfied | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL313-AL314 | 10-in. | 2/17/1928 | Cackling pullet | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL315-AL316 | 10-in. | 2/17/1928 | The preacher got drunk and laid his Bible down | Tennessee Ramblers | Instrumental trio, with male vocal solo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL325-AL326 | 10-in. | 2/18/1928 | [Unknown title(s)] | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group | |
| Brunswick | AL327-AL328 | 10-in. | 2/18/1928 | Medley of mountain songs | Tennessee Ramblers | Fiddle (violin), guitar, and banjo | Musical group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Tennessee Ramblers (Sievers/Mack)," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110936.
Tennessee Ramblers (Sievers/Mack). (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110936.
"Tennessee Ramblers (Sievers/Mack)." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Tennessee Ramblers (Musical group : Tennessee) - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2006084282
Wikidata: Tennessee Ramblers - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7700142
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/143287227
MusicBrainz: The Tennessee Ramblers - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c1200715-c1e0-4601-a1b4-896cfafbb814
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.