Kelly Harrell

about

Kelly Harrell (September 13, 1889 - July 9, 1942) was a country music singer in the 1920s. He recorded more than a dozen songs for Okeh and Victor Records and wrote songs which were recorded by other artists, including Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest Stoneman, in his own lifetime. Harrell was born in Draper's Valley, Wythe County, Virginia and from his early teens worked in various textile mills. In early 1925, when Harrell was already 35 years old, he went to New York and recorded four tracks for Victor Records, among them "New River Train" (made famous by Bill Monroe and "The Roving Gambler". He recorded for OKeh later that year, including a version of "The Wreck of the Old 97" and "I Was Born 10,000 Year Ago" (the latter often known as "The Bragging Song" and recorded by Elvis Presley, The New Christy Minstrels, Odetta and several others). He made more records for Victor in 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1929. "The Butcher's Boy" and "I Wish I Was Single Again" on Victor 19563 on 1/7/25. "The Dying Hobo" (1926) is a variant of the traditional English folksong George Collins. "My Name Is John Johannah" was recorded in 1927 at RCA Victor's studios in Camden, NJ, with Posey Rorer on fiddle, Alfred Steagal on guitar, and R.D. Hundley on banjo. Variations of this song ("Maggie Walker Blues", "State of Arkansas", "For Dave Glover") were performed and recorded by Bob Dylan. After 1929, his recording career came to a halt, owing to his inability to play an instrument—Harrell always required bac

top songs

albums

Textile Mill Blues

Worried Blues (CD C)

Anthology of American Folk Music

▥

Kelly Harrell Vol. 1 (1925-1926)

Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days

▥

Anthology of American Folk Music Volume 1 Disc 1 Ballads

▥

Victrola Favorites

▥

People Take Warning 3: Man Vs. Man

▥

Anthology of American Folk Music, Volume 1: Ballads

▥

American Murder Ballads

▥

Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 1-3 Disc 1

▥

Anthology of American Folk Music (1-A)

similar artists