Uncle Dave Macon
| Uncle Dave Macon | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Harrison Macon |
| Also known as | "Dixie Dewdrop" |
| Born | October 7, 1870 Smartt Station, Tennessee, USA |
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Died | March 22, 1952 (aged 81) Murfreesboro, Tennessee USA |
| Genres | Old-time music |
| Occupation(s) | Vaudeville entertainer |
| Instruments | Banjo |
| Years active | 1920s–1952 |
| Associated acts | Fruit Jar Drinkers |
Uncle Dave Macon (October 7, 1870 – March 22, 1952), born David Harrison Macon—also known as "The Dixie Dewdrop"—was an American old-time banjo player, singer, songwriter, and comedian. Known for his chin whiskers, plug hat, gold teeth, and gates-ajar collar, he gained regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before becoming the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade.
Macon's music is considered the ultimate bridge between 19th-century American folk and vaudeville music and the phonograph and radio-based music of the early 20th-century. Music historian Charles Wolfe wrote, "If people call yodelling Jimmie Rodgers 'the father of country music,' then Uncle Dave must certainly be 'the grandfather of country music'." Macon's polished stage presence and lively personality have made him one of the most enduring figures of early country music.
Macon was born in Smartt Station (about five miles south of McMinnville), Tennessee, the son of Confederate Captain John Macon and his wife Martha Ramsey. In 1884, when David Macon was 13 years old, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee to run the Old Broadway Hotel, which they had purchased. The hotel became a center for Macon and his growing musical interests, and was frequented by artists and troupers traveling along vaudeville circuit and circus acts. In 1885, he learned to play the banjo from a circus comedian called Joel Davidson. He attended Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville. Tragedy struck the family in 1886 when Macon's father was murdered outside the hotel. His widowed mother sold the hotel and the family moved to Readyville, Tennessee, where his mother ran a stagecoach inn. Macon began entertaining passengers at the rest stop, playing a banjo on a homemade stage.
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