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 County, Virginia, United States,

Stoneman worked at a variety of jobs, in mines, mills, but mostly carpentry, and played music for his own enjoyment and that of his neighbors, but when he heard a Henry Whitter record in 1924, he determined to better it and changed his life. Ralph Peer directed him through several sessions for Okeh and Victor, and he freelanced on other labels such as Edison, Gennett, and Paramount Records. In 1926, he added family musicians to his group for a full string-band sound. Ernest appeared at the Second Annual UCLA Folk Music Festival in 1964.

In 1965, the Stonemans went to Nashville, where they worked with Jack Clement, signing a contract with MGM Records and starting a syndicated TV show. They received CMA's "Vocal Group of the Year" in 1967. They appeared in the 1967 film Hell on Wheels and in The Road to Nashville (1967).

Death Pop Stoneman died in 1968 at age 75. He is interred in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

Honors On February 12, 2008, Pop Stoneman was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2009, his wife Hattie Frost Stoneman and he were enshrined in the Gennett Records Walk of Fame.

The first major retrospective of his musical career, Ernest Stoneman: The Unsung Father of Country Music 1925–1934 (5 String Productions) was issued in 2008 by the Grammy award-winning reissue team of Christopher C. King and Henry Sapoznik, and was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes.

The Stonemans discography Albums Year Album US Country Label 1962 Bluegrass Champs — Starday 1964 Big Ball in Monterey — World Pacific 1966 Those Singin' Swingin' Stompin' Sensational Stonemans 39 MGM 1967 Stoneman's Country 13 1968 All in the Family 42 The Great Stonemans 45 Pop Stoneman Memorial Album — Stoneman Christmas — 1969 Dawn of the Stonemans' Age — RCA 1970 In All Honesty — California Blues —

Compilations Year Album US Country Label 1986 With Family And Friends Vol. I — Old Homestead 1985 With Family And Friends Vol. II — Old Homestead

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album US Country CAN Country 1924 "The Face That Never Returned" — — The Face That Never Returned / The Sinking of the Titanic 1924 "The Sinking of the Titanic" — — The Face That Never Returned / The Sinking of the Titanic 1926 "When the Work's All Done This Fall" — — 5188: Edison Blue Amberol 11054: Edison Record 1926 "Wild Bill Jones" — — 5196: Edison Blue Amberol 11056: Edison Record 1927 "Two Little Orphans" — — 5338: Edison Blue Amberol 11464: Edison Record 1928 "The Old Maid and the Burgler" — — 5531: Edison Blue Amberol E18442: Edison Record 1962 "Talking Fiddle Blues" — — Bluegrass Champs 1964 "Ground Hog" — — Big Ball in Monterey 1966 "Tupelo County Jail" 40 — Those Singin' Swingin' Stompin' Sensational Stonemans "The Five Little Johnson Girls" 21 — Stoneman's Country 1967 "Back to Nashville, Tennessee" 40 — "West Canterbury Subdivision Blues" 49 — All in the Family 1968 "Cimarron" — — "Christopher Robin" 41 17 The Great Stonemans "Travelin' Man" — — single only 1969 "Tecumseh Valley" — — Dawn of the Stonemans' Age 1970 "Get Together" — — In All Honesty "Who Will Stop the Rain" — — "California Blues" — — California Blues