The Montgomery Museum of Art and History will host a tribute concert of the work of Vernon Dalhart on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m.
With words and music, this program celebrates one of the most influential country music stars of the 1920s and 1930s. Dalhart was the first artist to record a million-selling hit, the two-sided 78 RPM disc featuring “The Wreck of The Old ‘97” and “The Prisoner’s Song.” Both of those recordings are enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and Dalhart was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
During the first decade of country music, Dalhart was a bigger star than Riley Puckett, Uncle Dave Macon, Jimmie Rodgers, or the Carter Family. He was a prolific artist by any standard, making over 4,000 recordings between 1916 and 1939. Dolly Parton, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, and Mac Wiseman are just a few of the many artists who have covered songs first recorded by Vernon Dalhart. But despite his significant impact, Dalhart has been overlooked for decades.
Drawing on five years of extensive research, music historian Dr. Ted Olson shares the story of Dalhart’s diverse and influential recordings and discusses the reasons for his relative obscurity today. Olson is a Grammy Award-nominated music historian. Country music has been profoundly influenced by Dalhart’s legacy, and his repertoire continues to be interpreted by musicians today in such genres as country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and rock. Dalhart’s fascinating career is the subject of a forthcoming four-CD/100-page book box set curated and produced by Olson for Rivermont Records.
Multi-instrumentalist and singer Jack Hinshelwood provides the live soundtrack for the program, rendering faithful versions of Dalhart classics like “Wreck of the Old ’97,” “The Prisoner’s Song,” “Home On The Range,” “Jesse James,” “The Freight Wreck at Altoona,” “The Big Rock Candy Mountains,” and other traditional and original songs that formed the core repertoire of early country music. Hinshelwood is the former Director of The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, and has taught, performed, produced and recorded the heritage music of the Appalachian region for over 50 years. He is a guitarist, fiddler, singer and winner of the Knoxville World’s Fair Guitar Championship, the Wayne Henderson Guitar Championship, and a two-time winner of the Galax Fiddler’s Convention guitar contest.
The program is 60 to 75 minutes in duration. Tickets can be purchased at thelyric.com. This concert is made possible due to a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
Montgomery Museum of Art and History
