Eck Robertson

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Alexander "Eck" Robertson (born November 20, 1887 Delaney, Arkansas, died February 15, 1975 Borger, Texas) was an American fiddle player, mostly known for being the first country musician to be recorded in 1922.

[edit] Biography

Robertson grew up on a farm in Texas where his family had moved about 1891. Apart from being a farmer, his father worked as a preacher in the community. At the age of five, Robertson began learning to play the fiddle, and later on even banjo and guitar. In 1904, he went with a travelling medicine show, performing on local dances until he got married and settled down in 1906. During the 1920s, he was a regular performer at the "Annual Old Confederate Soldiers' Reunions". He became friends with fiddler Henry C. Gilliland who accompanied him to New York City in the summer of 1922 when he had received a recording contract by the Victor Talking Machine Company. On June 30, 1922, Robertson recorded six tracks - one of them being the well-known "Sally Gooden". His rendition of "Sally Gooden" showcased his ability to interpret one melody with several variations. Although Robertson was the first country musician to be recorded, he was not the first one to be released. That record is held by Fiddlin' John Carson and his "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Going to Crow", released in July 1923. Robertson recorded relatively little in the following years, but he continued to perform extensively at dances, theaters, fiddlers' conventions and on radio. He was also a fine piano-tuner.

[edit] References

  • Stars of Country Music, (University of Illinois Press, 1975)

[edit] External links