- Active: '20s, '30s
- Genres: Country
Biography
In the early years of the new millennium, the discovery of an American named John Walker Lindh fighting on the side of the Taliban of Afghanistan hopefully won't permanently prejudice the conservative country & western audience on the subject of Walker's Corbin Ramblers, which like much old-time Appalachian music recorded in the historic era of the '20s and '30s has been under increased scrutiny. While this band's name sounds more like some kind of a country militia than an old-time music string band, with one trembling at the anticipation of just what kind of militia that might be with John Walker leading the charge, the group's name makes much more sense if read backwards; beginning with "Ramblers," a word of such common currency as a band name in the Appalachian scene that it is hardly like having a name at all, always requiring some kind of identifying city or county name to come before it. In this case that would be Corbin, as in Corbin, KY, a tiny town that looms large in old-time music history. The town was certainly some kind of a hotbed of classic old-time music recording.In 1927, anyone desiring a shave or a haircut for their two bits would have to hang ten. The barber Frank Shelton was busy cutting two classic records featuring the tunes "Pretty Polly" and "Darlin' Cory." Then there was Hayes Shepard, a "two finger" banjo player and singer from Letcher County, also known as the Appalachian Vagabond, although how much that helped him standout from his peer group is questionable. "Blind" Jim Howard, legendary fiddler and singer from nearby Cawood, was also on the scene. As mayor of Corbin, John Walker is possibly the most powerful elected government official in the history of Appalachian music, that is until Ralph Stanley gets nominated for the new head of Homeland Security. Speaking of security, it was Walker's job as a mayor to establish priorities for the town, and in the case of Corbin the priority was old-time music. Walker nabbed a talented picker named Larry Hensley in 1933; Hensley had been playing in several area string bands including the Yellow Jackets, no relation to the jazz fusion band of the future with the same name. The mayor enlisted his brother Albert Walker to play tenor guitar, and as the legend goes brought in the mandolinist Mack Taylor from another county.
Walker's Corbin Ramblers cut sides for Vocalion in 1934, all of which are quite marvelous. Often discussed by musicologists is the epic "E Rag," which supposedly mystifies some listeners by appearing to be in the key of B. Walker gets a free ride here; the glitch is usually blamed on either Taylor or Hensley. The latter player was the most talented of the group, and made influential solo recordings. Walker's Corbin Ramblers benefited greatly in its acceptance from the leader's position in the community, since the mayor of a town is sure to have a better success ratio drumming up audiences for gigs than the typical musician shreeve; with the likelihood of being hired for local gigs also bound to be influenced by the presence of the town's mayor on the bandstand. As for Walker, he dropped out of music completely following the band's run of eight 78 releases; but perhaps he couldn't face the idea of running a band when he wasn't mayor anymore. Much information about this group was presented as part of a traveling exhibition entitled "The Awfulest Gang of Records you've Ever Seen: Ed Ward and the Golden Era in Country Music," produced by record collector Ed Ward in conjunction with the spring 2000 American Music program at Southeast Community College. This John Walker is also of no relation to the rock artist of the same name, nor to a country artist who recorded the album Soul of a Gypsy Cowboy in 2000. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
