1934 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1934.

List of years in country music (table)
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Events

• August – Decca Records, Inc. established in New York City^[1]
• July – Columbia Phonograph Company purchased by the American Record Corporation (ARC)^[2]

Top Hillbilly (Country) Recordings

The Great Depression continued to wreak havoc on the American record industry in 1934. The Grigsby-Grunow Company, owner of Columbia Phonograph Company, failed, and Columbia was put up for sale. Columbia operations, catalogue and trademarks, as well as Okeh Records, were purchased by the American Record Corporation (ARC) for $70,000 in July 1934. Columbia's pressing and warehouse facilities, along with equipment and machines, were absorbed by ARC, but for the next four years, both labels were dormant. Decca Records, Ltd., London, UK, formed Decca Records, Inc. in the United States, and began operations in August 1934. Three former Brunswick managers, including Jack Kapp, were hired.

The following songs were extracted from records included in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954,^[3] record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference.

Rank	Artist	Title	Label	Recorded	Released	Chart Positions
1	Sons of the Pioneers	"Tumbling Tumbleweeds"[4][5]	Decca 5047	August 8, 1934 (1934-08-08)	November 10, 1934 (1934-11-10)	US BB 1934 #203, US #13 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1934 #1, National Recording Registry 2010, Grammy Hall of Fame 2002
2	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers	"Down Yonder"[6]	Bluebird 5562	March 29, 1934 (1934-03-29)	July 18, 1934 (1934-07-18)	US BB 1934 #139, US #10 for 1 week, 6 total weeks, US Hillbilly 1934 #2
3	Delmore Brothers	"Brown's Ferry Blues"[7]	Bluebird 5403	December 6, 1933 (1933-12-06)	April 4, 1934 (1934-04-04)	US Hillbilly 1934 #3
4	Tex Owens	"The Cattle Call"[8]	Decca 5015	August 8, 1934 (1934-08-08)	October 11, 1934 (1934-10-11)	US Hillbilly 1934 #4
5	Linda Parker, Acc. By Cumberland Ridge Runners	"Take Me Back To Renfro Valley"[9]	Conqueror 8164	April 11, 1933 (1933-04-11)	December 1933 (1933-12)	US Hillbilly 1934 #5
6	Kokomo Arnold	"Milk Cow Blues"[10]	Decca 7026	September 10, 1934 (1934-09-10)	November 1934 (1934-11)	US Hillbilly 1934 #6
7	W. Lee O'Daniel and His Light Crust Doughboys with Leon Huff	"My Mary" (by Hamblen)[11]	Vocalion 2872	October 1, 1934 (1934-10-01)	November 1934 (1934-11)	US Hillbilly 1934 #7
8	Rambling Red Foley with the Cumberland Ridge Runners	"I Got The Freight Train Blues"[12]	Perfect 12996	March 21, 1934 (1934-03-21)	April 18, 1934 (1934-04-18)	US Hillbilly 1934 #8
9	Delmore Brothers	"I've Got The Big River Blues"[13][6]	Bluebird 5531	December 6, 1933 (1933-12-06)	July 5, 1934 (1934-07-05)	US Hillbilly 1934 #9
10	Riley Puckett	"Ragged but Right"[14]	Bluebird 5587	March 29, 1934 (1934-03-29)	August 15, 1934 (1934-08-15)	US Hillbilly 1934 #10
11	W. Lee O'Daniel and His Light Crust Doughboys	"Beautiful Texas" (O'Daniel)[11]	Vocalion 2621	October 10, 1933 (1933-10-10)	February 1934 (1934-02)	US Hillbilly 1934 #11
12	Jimmie Rodgers	"Jimmie Rodgers' Last Blue Yodel"[15]	Bluebird 5281	May 18, 1933 (1933-05-18)	December 1933 (1933-12)	US Hillbilly 1934 #12
13	Westerners (Massey Family)	"Ridin' Down That Old Texas Trail" (by Dott Massey)[16]	Melotone 13006	March 21, 1934 (1934-03-21)	May 1934 (1934-05)	US Hillbilly 1934 #13
14	Stuart Hamblen and His Covered Wagon Jubilee	"Texas Plains" (by Hamblen)[17]	Decca 5001	August 3, 1934 (1934-08-03)	September 1934 (1934-09)	US Hillbilly 1934 #14
15	Charlie Patton	"Stone Pony Blues"[11]	Vocalion 2680	February 14, 1934 (1934-02-14)	April 1934 (1934-04)	US Hillbilly 1934 #15
16	Three Little Maids	"Since The Angels Took Mother Away"(by Jenny Lou Carson)[18][15]	Bluebird 5336	December 12, 1933 (1933-12-12)	February 1934 (1934-02)	US Hillbilly 1934 #16
17	Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers	"On Tanners Farm"	Bluebird 5665	February 14, 1934 (1934-02-14)	October 17, 1934 (1934-10-17)	US Hillbilly 1934 #17
18	Sons of the Pioneers	"Way Out There"[19]	Decca 5013	August 8, 1934 (1934-08-08)	September 26, 1934 (1934-09-26)	US Hillbilly 1934 #18
19	Jimmie Davis	"Beautiful Texas" (O'Daniel)[20]	Bluebird 5394	August 5, 1933 (1933-08-05)	April 1934 (1934-04)	US Hillbilly 1934 #19
20	Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers	"A Little Talk With Jesus"[21]	Bluebird 5540	October 30, 1928 (1928-10-30)	July 10, 1934 (1934-07-10)	US Hillbilly 1934 #20

Births

• March 18 – Charley Pride, singer and songwriter, country music's first African-American star (d. 2020)
• March 31 – John D. Loudermilk, singer and songwriter (died 2016).
• April 1 – Jim Ed Brown, pop-styled singer who enjoyed success as part of a family group (The Browns), as a solo artist and as part of a duet (with Helen Cornelius), spanning the 1950s through early 1980s (died 2015).
• August 5 – Vern Gosdin, "The Voice" of many honky tonk-styled hits from the 1970s through early 1990s (died 2009).
• August 27 – Frances Preston, music executive (died 2012).
• October 24 – Sanger D. Shafer, AKA "Whitey" Shafer, songwriter (died 2019).^[22]

Deaths

Further reading

• Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
• Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
• Whitburn, Joel. "Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition." 2005.

References

1. "A 20-Year History of Decca: Saga of Industry and Vision". Billboard. 1954-08-28. p. 14 – via Google Books.
2. Frank Hoffman (August 21, 2004). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Taylor & Francis. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-203-48427-2. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
3. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research.
4. "Decca matrix DLA 11. Tumbling tumbleweeds / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
5. "Complete National Recording Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
6. "BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5500 - 6000". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
7. "BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
8. "Decca matrix C 9355. Cattle call / Tex Owens - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
9. "Conqueror 78rpm numerical listing discography: 8000 - 8499". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
10. "Decca matrix C 9428. Milk cow blues / Kokomo Arnold - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
11. "Vocalion 78rpm numerical listing discography: 2522 - 3000". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
12. "PERFECT 78rpm numerical listing discography (12500 - 13000)". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
13. "Victor matrix BS-77228. I've got the big river blues / Delmore Brothers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
14. "Victor matrix BVE-82700. Ragged but right / Riley Puckett - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
15. "BLUEBIRD 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 - 5500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
16. "MELOTONE 78rpm numerical listing discography: 13000 to end". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
17. "Decca matrix DLA 2. Texas plains / Stuart Hamblen Jubilee - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
18. "Victor matrix BS-77319. Since the angels took mother away / Eva Overstake; Evelyn Overstake; Lucille Overstake; Three Little Maids - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
19. "Decca matrix DLA 10. Way out there / Sons of the Pioneers - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
20. "Victor matrix BS-76873. Beautiful Texas / Jimmie Davis - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
21. "Victor matrix BVE-47245. A little talk with Jesus / Holiness Singers; Ernest Phipps - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
22. 'All my Ex's live in Texas' songwriter dies at 84