Cleve Chafin (March 4, 1885 – December 10, 1959) was a carnival musician who recorded

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...

during the 1920s.

Biography

Chafin was from Wayne County, West Virginia, the son of Alice Adkins and Bob Chafin. He first recorded a solo session in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

for

Gennett Records Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and H ...

on November 16, 1927, but the recordings were never issued. He may also have recorded a session for

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

in 1928 with two men named Stevens and Bolar as

Fruit Jar Guzzlers Fruit Jar Guzzlers was an old-time music group who recorded during the 1920s. Biography Fruit Jar Guzzlers is one of the most mysterious old-time groups to ever record. In 1928, another old-time musician Cleve Chaffin from Wayne County, West Vir ...

. In

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Chaffin recorded six songs with John & Emery McClung for

. These records were released as by Cleve Chaffin and The McClung Brothers. Chaffin continued his professional music career, but never recorded again. He died on December 10, 1959 in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

at the age of 74. Chafin died in

at the age of 74. He was never married. According to the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910, a Cleve Chafin, who was born in Kentucky and aged 22, was a prisoner at the city jail in Cabell County, West Virginia at the time of the census.

Discography

Unreleased 1927 Gennett recordings

* Sweet Bunch of Daisies * Aged Mother * The Night My Mother Died * Curtain Of Night * Wreck Of The C&O * Railroad Bill

Cleve Chaffin & The McClung Brothers

* Babylon Is Falling Down/I Got A Home In The Beulah Land (Paramount #3160) (3/1929) * Trail Blazer's Favorites/Alabama Jubilee (Paramount #3161) (3/1929) * Rock House Gamblers/Curtains Of Night (Paramount #3170) (3/1929)

Various artists compilations

* My Rough And Rowdy Ways Volume One (Yazoo #2039) (1998) * Old Time Music Of West Virginia Volume Two (County #CD-3519) (1999) * The Half Ain’t Never Been Told Volume Two (Yazoo #2050) (1999) * Country Music Classic (Vintage78 #C-53) (cassette) * Paramount Old Time Recordings (JSP) (3-CD set) (2006)

Notes

External links

* Allmusic
Find A Grave Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffin, Cleve 1885 births 1959 deaths Old-time musicians Gennett Records artists