Charlie Poole

Charles Cleveland Poole (March 22, 1892 – May 21, 1931) was an American old-time musician and string band leader. His group, the North Carolina Ramblers, recorded many highly popular renditions of traditional songs from 1925 through 1930.

Poole is widely regarded as a pioneer of American country and folk music. His instrumental style and sound led to the development of bluegrass over the decade following his death, and in the years since, he has continued to have an influence on prominent recording artists, from Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia to John Mellencamp and Billy Strings.

Biography Poole was born near the mill town of Franklinville, North Carolina. He was the son of John Philip Poole and Elizabeth Johnson. In 1918, he moved to the town of Spray, North Carolina, now part of Eden. As a child, he learned to play the banjo.

For the next five years, Poole and the Ramblers were a popular band.

Poole composed few of his recordings, mostly covering old folk songs. Nevertheless, his dynamic renditions were popular with a broad audience in the Southeastern United States. He is considered a primary source for old-time music revivalists and aficionados. Songs like "Bill Morgan and His Gal", "Milwaukee Blues", and "Leavin' Home", have been resurrected by banjo players. Poole developed a unique fingerpicking style, a blend of melody, arpeggio, and rhythm (distinct from clawhammer/ frailing and Scruggs' variations).

Columbia Records issued a three-CD box set of his music titled You Ain't Talkin' to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music in 2005. The album, produced by Henry "Hank" Sapoznik, was nominated for three Grammy Awards. It chronicles the music Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers recorded for Columbia from 1925 through 1931, including such important songs as "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down", "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight, Mister?", "Old and Only in the Way" (the title of which was adapted by Jerry Garcia for the name of his 1970s bluegrass band with David Grisman, Old and in the Way), and the politically charged "White House Blues", which John Mellencamp updated in 2004 under the title "To Washington". In addition to 43 of Poole's original recordings, the package features performances by other early roots musicians, including Fred Van Eps, Arthur Collins, Billy Murray, the Floyd Country Ramblers, Uncle Dave Macon, and the Red Fox Chasers.

The original liner notes, by Peter Stampfel, state, "Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers recorded an incredible number of songs that are personal favorites of mine. Poole is, in fact, one of the great musicians of the century. No doubt about it." The album's cover art was created by Robert Crumb, a celebrated illustrator and an old-time music aficionado.

Poole's grandnephew Kinney Rorer (sometimes spelled Rorrer) penned the highly regarded biography Ramblin' Blues: The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole in 1982. Rorer, who is also the grandnephew of Poole's fiddler Posey Rorer, is the banjo player for the old-time music group the New North Carolina Ramblers.

A double-CD tribute to Poole was released by singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III in August 2009. The album, titled High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, features 30 tracks, including new versions of songs originally recorded by Poole, as well as tunes on the artist's life and times composed by Wainwright and producer Dick Connette. The album earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album for 2009.

Discography Matrix Title Record # Recording date 140786 "The Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee" Columbia 15043-D July 27, 1925 140787 "I'm the Man That Rode the Mule 'Round the World" Columbia 15043-D July 27, 1925 140788 "Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight Mister?" Columbia 15038-D July 27, 1925 140789 "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" Columbia 15038-D July 27, 1925 142627 "Flying Clouds" Columbia 15106-D September 16, 1926 142631 "Wild Horse" Columbia 15279-D September 16, 1926 142632 "Forks of Sandy" Columbia 15106-D September 16, 1926 142633 "Mountain Reel" Columbia 15279-D September 16, 1926 142637 "Good-Bye Booze" Columbia 15138-D September 17, 1926 142638 "Monkey on a String" Columbia 15099-D September 17, 1926 142641 "Too Young to Marry" Columbia15127-D September 18, 1926 142642 "Ragtime Annie" Columbia 15127-D September 18, 1926 142643 "Little Dog Waltz" Unissued September 18, 1926 142644 "A Kiss Waltz" Unissued September 18, 1926 142645 "Leaving Home" Columbia 15116-D September 18, 1926 142646 "Budded Rose" Columbia 15138-D September 18, 1926 142657 "There'll Come a Time" Columbia 15116-D September 20, 1926 142658 "White House Blues" Columbia 15099-D September 20, 1926 142659 "The Highway Man" Columbia 15160-D September 20, 1926 142660 "Hungry Hash House" Columbia 15160-D September 20, 1926 144509 "If I Lose, I Don't Care" Columbia 15215-D July 25, 1927 144510 "On the Battle Fields of Belgium" Unissued July 25, 1927 144511 "You Ain't Talkin' to Me" Columbia 15193-D July 25, 1927 144512 "Coon from Tennessee" Columbia 15215-D July 25, 1927 144513 "When I Left My Good Old Home" Unissued July 25, 1927 144514 "The Letter That Never Came" Columbia 15179-D July 25, 1927 144515 "Take a Drink on Me" Columbia 15193-D July 25, 1927 144516 "Falling by the Wayside" Columbia 15179-D July 25, 1927 144517 "Down in Georgia" Unissued July 25, 1927 144518 "Sunset March" Columbia 15184-D July 26, 1927 144519 "Teasin' Fritz" Unissued July 26, 1927 144521 "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Medley" Columbia 15184-D July 26, 1927 146767 "A Young Boy Left His Home One Day" Columbia 15584-D July 23, 1928 146768 "My Wife Went Away and Left Me" Columbia 15584-D July 23, 1928 146769 "I Cannot Call Her Mother" Columbia 15307-D July 23, 1928 146770 "I Once Loved a Sailor" Columbia 15385-D July 23, 1928 146771 "Husband and Wife Were Angry One Night" Columbia 15342-D July 23, 1928 146772 "Hangman, Hangman, Slack the Rope" Columbia 15385-D July 23, 1928 146773 "Ramblin' Blues" Columbia 15286-D July 23, 1928 146774 "Took My Gal a-Walking" Columbia 15672-D July 23, 1928 146775 "What Is Home Without Babies" Columbia 15307-D July 23, 1928 146776 "Jealous Mary" Columbia 15342-D July 23, 1928 146778 "Old and Only in the Way" Columbia 15672-D July 23, 1928 146779 "Shootin' Creek" Columbia 15286-D July 23, 1928 148469 "Bill Mason" Columbia 15407-D May 6, 1929 148470 "Goodbye Mary Dear" Columbia 15456-D May 6, 1929 148471 "Leaving Dear Old Ireland" Columbia 15425-D May 6, 1929 148472 "Baltimore Fire" Columbia 15509-D May 6, 1929 148474 "The Wayward Boy" Columbia 15456-D May 7, 1929 148475 "Sweet Sunny South" Columbia 15425-D May 7, 1929 148476 "He Rambled" Columbia 15407-D May 7, 1929 148477 "The Mother's Plea For Her Son" Columbia 15509-D May 7, 1929 2913 "San Antonio" Broadway 8288 May 9, 1929 149900 "Sweet Sixteen" Columbia 15519-D January 23, 1930 149901 "My Gypsy Girl" Columbia 15519-D January 23, 1930 149902 "The Only Girl I Ever Loved" Columbia 15711-D January 23, 1930 149904 "Write Letter to My Mother" Columbia 15711-D January 23, 1930 149906 "If the River Was Whiskey" Columbia 15545-D January 23, 1930 149907 "It's Movin' Day" Columbia 15545-D January 23, 1930 149908 "Southern Medley" Columbia 15615-D January 23, 1930 149909 "Honeysuckle" Columbia 15615-D January 23, 1930 150773 "Goodbye Sweet Liza Jane" Columbia 15601-D September 9, 1930 150774 "Look Before You Leap" Columbia 15601-D September 9, 1930 150775 "One Moonlit Night" Columbia 15688-D September 9, 1930 150777 "Just Keep Waiting Till the Good Times Come" Columbia 15636-D September 9, 1930 150779 "Milwaukee Blues" Columbia 15688-D September 9, 1930 150780 "Where the Whippoorwill Is Whispering Goodnight" Columbia 15636-D September 9, 1930

Compilations Charlie Poole and the Highlanders: The Complete Paramount and Brunswick Recordings 1929 (Tompkins Square Records, April 20, 2013)