Dan Hornsby

Isaac Daniel (Dan) Hornsby (February 18, 1900 – May 18, 1951) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, recording artist, producer and arranger, studio engineer, band leader, artists and repertoire (A&R) man with Columbia Records, and radio personality. Dan Hornsby spent most of his childhood in Atlanta, GA where he lived in 1910 Joseph T Hornsby, Dan & Louise Hornsby’s was the first born of five children of two sons and three daughters. Joe registered for the draft at age 18 and was a student at North Georgia College. He lived in Fulton County, Georgia, at that time. They married about 1920 Their children were Joseph, Dorothy, Helen, Robert, and Silvia. Hornsby died on May 18, 1951,

Nikki Hornsby, Dan Hornsby's granddaughter, became a singer and songwriter in the late 20th and early 21st century. She inherited her grandfather's music archive after her parents died and has worked to keep the memory of his music career alive.

Career

Bands

Hornsby entered show business in the 1920s.

Besides his quartet and trio, Hornsby created or joined Skillet Lickers, Young Brothers Tennessee Band, Georgia Organ Grinders, Lowe Stokes and His North Georgians, He had his own program, sponsored by a bakery, on Atlanta's WSM Radio station where he acquired the nickname "Cheerful Dan". He sang in two octaves and had speaking roles under the name "Tom Dorsey" for drama shows. He also often wrote the scripts and performed for recordings with Gid Tanner and the Skillet-Lickers for Columbia Records.

On August 28, 1928, a building collapsed in Shelby, North Carolina, killing six people and injuring twice as many. Hornsby composed a song, "Shelby Disaster":

Let the tears of fond remembrance, flow gently, full and free; Let all who read my story, extend their sympathy.

But the whispering hope of ages, with true ambition shod, leaps forth with reconstruction, for hope is part of God.

And remember there's a city, whose streets should be our goal, where buildings never crumble, that city of the soul. Dan Hornsby|The Shelby Disaster published in 1931 by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co.

He returned to radio and worked with several stations, including WGST and WSB, where he was a scriptwriter, announcer, and entertainer until his death. In 1934, he joined RCA Victor Records.

In 2013, Hornsby was given a display for the Columbia Records display in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California, for one year. Other artifacts were donated by his granddaughter, Nikki Hornsby, including records, posters, and recordings of Bessie Smith, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, and others.

Discography Year Songs 1927 Are You From Dixie Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home Dear Old Girl (Columbia 15769D) The Banquet In Misery Hall Cubanola Glide (Columbia 1268D) I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad) (Columbia 15276D) Goodbye Alexander Oceana Roll The Shelby Disaster (Columbia 15321D) The Story Of C.S. Barnes (Columbia 15321D) She Was Bred In Old Kentucky (Columbia 15381D) Can't Yo' Hear Me Callin' Caroline (Columbia 15381D) Ho! By Jingo (Columbia 1637D) Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (Columbia 1637D) Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight (Columbia 15578D) I'm Sorry I Made You Cry (Columbia 15578D) Arkansas Traveler Part 1 (with Clayton McMichen, Columbia 15253D) Arkansas Traveler Part 2 (with Clayton McMichen, Columbia 15253D) 1929thumb|Take Me Out To The Ball Game The Vamp Take Me Out To The Ball Game (Columbia 15444D) Hinky Dinky Dee (Columbia 15444D) Wynkyn, Blynkyn and Nod (Victor BS-037380) All Alone Lovin' Henry Old Weary Blues Four Thousand Years Ago A Night In A Blind Tiger 1930 History In A Few Words (Columbia 15628D) The Lunatic's Lullaby (Columbia 15628D) 1931 Katinka A Sailor's Sweetheart (Columbia 15771D) Three Blind Mice (Columbia 15771D) So This Is Venice 1934 Whoa, Mule, Whoa Hinkey-Dinkey-Dee Prosperity And Politics Practice Night With The Skillet Lickers 1939 I Found You Among The Roses unknown Little Brown Jug You Are My Sunshine Strolling Down The Lane