Big Chief Henry's Indian String Band was a
Choctaw Indian string band from
Oklahoma,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The band was composed of members of the Hall family—Henry, father, on vocals and fiddle; and sons Clarence on guitar and Harold on banjo. They played from
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
.
H. C. Speir, a music promoter from Jackson, Mississippi, heard them playing at the
Choctaw Indian Fair For centuries the Mississippi Choctaws have gathered at the ripening of the first corn. This gathering was called "The New Corn Ceremony" or " Green Corn Festival." The present day "Choctaw Indian Fair" has roots in this ancient celebration.
The Fa ...
in
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 census.
History
Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality; it was given its current name in 1903, two years ...
. He got them a recording contract with RCA Victor, who recorded a number of songs in Dallas, October 14, 1929.
Discography
:Original recording date October 14, 1929, Dallas.
[Spottswod, ''Ethnic Music on Records'', p. 2928.]
:
References
Bibliography
*Sisson, Richard; Christian K. Zacher; Andrew Robert Lee Cayton (eds.). ''The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia''. Indiana University Press, 2007.
*Spottswood, Richard K. ''Ethnic Music on Records: A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893-1942 & etc. (Vol. 5)''. University of Illinois Press. 1990.
*Wardlow, Gayle Dean. ''Chasin' That Devil Music: Searching for the Blues''. Backbeat Books, 1998.
External links
Choctaw Indian Fairmdash;Philadelphia, Mississippi.
{{Authority control
Choctaw culture
Music of Oklahoma
Culture of the Western United States