Kelly Harrell (September 13, 1889 – July 9, 1942) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer in the 1920s. He recorded more than a dozen songs for

OKeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

and

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

and wrote songs which were recorded by other artists, including

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

and

Ernest Stoneman Ernest Van "Pop" Stoneman (May 25, 1893 – June 14, 1968) was an American musician, ranked among the prominent recording artists of country music's first commercial decade. Biography Born in a log cabin in Monarat (Iron Ridge), Carroll Count ...

, in his own lifetime.

Biography

Harrell was born in Draper's Valley,

Wythe County, Virginia Wythe County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,290. Its county seat is Wytheville. History Wythe County was formed from Montgomery County in 1790. It was ...

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 City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and recorded four tracks for Victor Records, among them " New River Train" (also recorded that year by Henry Whitter, a decade later by Charlie and

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

) 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 Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

The New Christy Minstrels The New Christy Minstrels are an American large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961. The group has recorded more than 20 albums and scored several hits, including " Green, Green", "Saturday Night", "Today", "Denver", and " ...

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

and several others). He made more records for Victor in 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1929. "The Butcher's Boy" and "I Wish I Was A Single Girl Again" on Victor 19563 on 1/7/25. "The Dying Hobo" (1926) is a variant of the traditional English folk song "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.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

used the tune of "John Johannah" as the basis of his song "Long Time Gone". In a prose piece, "For Dave Glover" (Newport Folk Festival programme 1963), Dylan writes: "I can't sing "John Johannah" cause it's his story and his people's story." After 1929, his recording career came to a halt, owing to his inability to play an instrument — Harrell always required backing by other musicians, and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

had so damaged the recording business that Victor was unwilling to pay the cost of hiring backup musicians. Harrell's "My Name Is John Johannah" and “Charles Giteau” appeared on Harry Smith's '' Anthology of American Folk Music'' (1952), which was extremely influential on the

folk revival The American folk music revival began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Billie Holiday, Richard Dyer-Benn ...

of the 1950s-60s. Harrell's complete recorded music was reissued by Bear Family on a triple-LP set in the 1970s, and he is also represented by an LP on the County label. More recently, ''Worried Blues'' was released 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrell, Kelly 1889 births 1942 deaths People from Wythe County, Virginia American country singer-songwriters Old-time musicians Country musicians from Virginia 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Virginia