Charles E. Moody

Charles Ernest Moody (a.k.a. Charbles Earnest Moody) was a gospel songwriter from Gordon County, Georgia, United States. He was a member of the 1920s string band Georgia Yellow Hammers from Calhoun, Georgia, which included members Bill Chitwood, Bud Landress, and Phil Reeve. The Yellow Hammers were a very popular string band with their biggest hit being "Picture on the Wall" which sold more than sixty thousand copies in 1928. Moody's individual songwriting talents were, however, dynamic.

After studying music in Dalton, Georgia, with A. J. Sims, Moody continued his studies at the Southern Development Normal School in Asheville, North Carolina, while directing music for a Tunnel Hill, Georgia, Methodist church. At some time prior to 1927 when he moved to Calhoun to teach in public schools, he began his affiliation with the Georgia Yellow Hammers. In 1938, being married with a family, Moody moved back to Tunnel Hill but in 1940 relocated to Calhoun.

After the Yellow Hammers disbanded, Moody was the choir director of the Calhoun First Methodist Church for many years. "Kneel at the Cross" and "Drifting too Far From the Shore" are hits for which Moody is most widely known as songwriter. Moody was born October 8, 1891, and died June 21, 1977. Moody married Fannie Brownlee (b. Mar. 3, 1894, d. Feb. 24, 1950), They had three children: Charles Brownlee Moody (b. 1928), Frances Moody Jones, Virginia Mae Moody Worth.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1891, Died 1977

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, lyricist

= 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
Victor BS-054512 10-in. 10/7/1940 Kneel at the cross Blue Sky Boys Male vocal duet, with guitar and mandolin composer, lyricist  
OKeh W402030 10-in. 8/1/1928 Kneel at the cross Fortner Family Mixed Quartet Mixed vocal quartet, with piano composer, lyricist  
Brunswick TATL933 10-in. 3/20/1930 Kneel at the cross The Moody Quartet Male vocal quartet, with organ composer, lyricist  
Brunswick SA2596 10-in. 11/25/1936 Kneel at the cross Chuck Wagon Gang Mixed vocal quartet, with guitar lyricist, composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Moody, Charles E.," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114050.

Moody, Charles E.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114050.

"Moody, Charles E.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114050

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