Alabama Country & Bluegrass

Title

Description

Photographs, recordings, and ephemera documenting country, bluegrass, and related music traditions in Alabama.

If you've got personal or family materials related to country music in Alabama, the Southern Music Research Center would love to help preserve them. We also welcome additional information about any of the lesser-known artists documented in this and our other collections. If you've got artifacts or insights to share, please contact our director, Burgin Mathews (burgin@southernmusicresearchcenter.org), and thank you for your help in documenting the American South's rich music histories and traditions.

Please note: materials in these collections may not be reproduced without permission and citation. For usage requests, please contact burgin@southernmusicresearch.org.

Collection Items

Paw Perkins and the Pea Pickers Poster

Poster for Paw Perkins and the Pea Pickers at the Jasper (Alabama) City Auditorium. Featuring the Phillip Sisters, Roving Ramblers, and Dixie Slim. Date unknown. Courtesy John Horton.

Uncle Bob Helton's Blue Ridge Boys

Uncle Bob Helton and his Blue Ridge Boys at Montgomery radio station WMGY, circa 1940s. Left to right: Luke Sheahan, George Mayhew, Cuss Thorpe, "Uncle" Bob Helton, Duff Sherer, Todd Williams, and Kilroy Entreken. Helton’s band performed and…

Zeke Clements Photo Postcard

Addressed to a fan at Rt. 1 in Brilliant, Alabama, the publicity postcard offers a short biography of Clements, "The Dixie Yodeler":

"Born September 6, in the hills of Central Alabama, of English and Cherokee Indian descent. Has dark brown hair…

Happy Hal Burns, Wartime Publicity Photo

Happy Hal Burns, Birmingham radio personality, “and his little dog ‘Sissy’” in a wartime promotional photo. Photo is addressed to Mrs. M. R. Daniels in Thomasville, NC, and accompanied by a form letter from Happy Hal’s sponsor, the American Snuff…

Sponsor Letter to Fan, Happy Hal Burns

Letter from the American Snuff Company to a fan of Birmingham’s Happy Hal Burns. (See previous image).

Happy Hal Burns, 1955 Publicity Photo

Happy Hal Burns (Harold Frank Byrnes) was a popular, longtime Birmingham radio personality and a mentor to many of the city’s “hillbilly” and country acts, including Hank Penny, Sidney “Hardrock” Gunter, and Gordon Edwards “Country Boy Eddie” Burns…

Happy Hal Burns on his Tractor

Birmingham radio personality Happy Hal Burns on his tractor, 1955.

Hardrock Gunter (2 Photos)

Two fan-made photos of Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter (1925-2013). The Birmingham, Alabama-born country musician got his start in the 1930s as a member of the Hoot Owl Ramblers and, then, Happy Wilson's Golden River Boys. His first two singles on the…

Hardrock Gunter and Band

Fan-made photo of Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter (1925-2013) and his band, onstage at the Santa Fe Ranch. The Birmingham, Alabama-born country musician got his start in the 1930s as a member of the Hoot Owl Ramblers and, then, Happy Wilson's Golden…

Hardrock Gunter and Family

Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter (1925-2013) poses with his wife and daughter.

The Birmingham, Alabama-born country musician got his start in the 1930s as a member of the Hoot Owl Ramblers and, then, Happy Wilson's Golden River Boys. His first two…

Hardrock Gunter and Fans (3 Photos)

Sidney Louie "Hardrock" Gunter (1925-2013) poses with fans at Pennsylvania's Santa Fe Ranch. The Birmingham, Alabama-born country musician got his start in the 1930s as a member of the Hoot Owl Ramblers and, then, Happy Wilson's Golden River Boys.…

Royce Green

Publicity photo for Royce Green (1937-2014). Courtesy John Horton.An obituary in the [Ashtabula, OH]Star Beaconreads, in part: “Royce Hoyt Green, age 76, of Conneaut, Ohio, passed away Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Born Dec. 22, 1937, in Birmingham, Ala., he…