North Carolina Ramblers
| Charlie Poole | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Cleveland Poole |
| Born |
March 22, 1892 Franklinville, North Carolina |
| Origin | New York City |
| Died | May 21, 1931 (aged 39) |
| Genres | Country, old-time |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Banjo |
| Years active | 1918–1931 |
| Associated acts | North Carolina Ramblers |
Charlie Poole (March 22, 1892 – May 21, 1931) was an American old time banjo player and country musician and the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, a string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 and 1930.
Poole was born near the mill town of Franklinville in Randolph County, North Carolina, and in 1918 he moved to the town of Spray, now part of Eden. He learned banjo as a youth. He played baseball, and his three-fingered technique was the result of an accident. He bet that he could catch a baseball without a glove. He closed his hand too soon, the ball broke his thumb and resulted in a permanent arch in his right hand.
Poole bought his first banjo, an Orpheum No. 3 Special, with profits from making moonshine. Later, he appeared in the 1929 catalog of the Gibson Company, promoting their banjo.
He spent much of his adult life working in textile mills.
Poole and his brother-in-law, fiddler Posey Rorer, whom he had met in West Virginia in 1917 and whose sister he married, formed a trio with guitarist Norman Woodlief called the North Carolina Ramblers. The group auditioned in New York for Columbia Records. After landing a contract, they recorded the successful "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" on July 27, 1925. This song sold over 106,000 copies at a time when there were estimated to be only 6,000 phonographs in the southern United States, according to Poole's biographer and great-nephew, Kinney Rorer. The band was paid $75 for the session. Former railroad engineer Roy Harvey also played guitar. Fiddlers in various recording sessions were Posey Rorer, Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith.
Bill C. Malone, in his history of country music, Country Music, U.S.A., says, "The Rambler sound was predictable: a bluesy fiddle lead, backed up by long, flowing, melodic guitar runs and the finger-style banjo picking of Poole. Predictable as it may be, it was nonetheless outstanding. No string band in early country music equaled the Ramblers' controlled, clean, well-patterned sound."
For the next five years, Poole and the Ramblers were a popular band. The band's sound remained consistent though several members came and left, including Posey Rorer and Norm Woodlief. The band recorded over 60 songs for Columbia Records during the 1920s, including "Sweet Sunny South", "White House Blues", "He Rambled", and "Take a Drink on Me".
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