Monday, July 09, 2007
Getting Your Pucketts All In A Row - A Discographic Mystery
I forget where I found this record - perhaps in the thrift store or somewhere. The record was so filthy that I couldn't even read the label when I turned it up, but it was an old Silvertone, and I always pick those up when I see them, as many of them carry Gennett material. After I cleaned it up, I learned that it was an undocumented Silvertone number 25064, "The Key Hole in the Door" and "The Bright Sherman Valley" which included the racy song above. Sorry for the heavy application of noise reduction software here - it is one of the dirtiest, most scratched up, beat to hell records I have ever seen. Without the noise reduction you really would not be able to understand his words, and not all of them are clear even with it.
It was credited to "Holland Puckett - Old Time Singin' and Playin' Acc. by Guitar." I sure as hell have never heard of no Holland Puckett, and while there was no matrix number on the record the pitch of the end groove had the tell-tale tight spiral pitch of Gennett, so I went into the ledger. This artist recorded 24 sides for Gennett during sessions held in Richmond, Indiana in April-May 1927 and again in May 1928. These two numbers were among his most popular - they appeared on three Silvertone issues including this one, and also on Gennett, Challenge (two issues), Supertone and Herwin. This guy has a gazillion names - he first went into the books as Harvey Watson, and I suspect that this was his real name, but someone must have gotten the bright idea to rename him "Harvey Puckett" to knock off the popularity of Riley Puckett, a blind singer in Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers that recorded mainly for Columbia. He appears in the ledgers as Harvey Watson, Harvey Puckett (most often), Henry Puckett, Holland Puckett, Si Puckett and R. Puckett.
Naturally my question is "who the hell is this guy and what was his real name after all?" I don't expect anyone to know - do you know just how many totally unknown artists recorded in the 78 era? Plenty! However I would certainly appreciate any insight any of you may have into solving this mystery. And I hope you enjoy this naughty little ditty, which comes from his May 1927 session.
Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis@hotmail.com
I forget where I found this record - perhaps in the thrift store or somewhere. The record was so filthy that I couldn't even read the label when I turned it up, but it was an old Silvertone, and I always pick those up when I see them, as many of them carry Gennett material. After I cleaned it up, I learned that it was an undocumented Silvertone number 25064, "The Key Hole in the Door" and "The Bright Sherman Valley" which included the racy song above. Sorry for the heavy application of noise reduction software here - it is one of the dirtiest, most scratched up, beat to hell records I have ever seen. Without the noise reduction you really would not be able to understand his words, and not all of them are clear even with it.
It was credited to "Holland Puckett - Old Time Singin' and Playin' Acc. by Guitar." I sure as hell have never heard of no Holland Puckett, and while there was no matrix number on the record the pitch of the end groove had the tell-tale tight spiral pitch of Gennett, so I went into the ledger. This artist recorded 24 sides for Gennett during sessions held in Richmond, Indiana in April-May 1927 and again in May 1928. These two numbers were among his most popular - they appeared on three Silvertone issues including this one, and also on Gennett, Challenge (two issues), Supertone and Herwin. This guy has a gazillion names - he first went into the books as Harvey Watson, and I suspect that this was his real name, but someone must have gotten the bright idea to rename him "Harvey Puckett" to knock off the popularity of Riley Puckett, a blind singer in Gid Tanner's Skillet Lickers that recorded mainly for Columbia. He appears in the ledgers as Harvey Watson, Harvey Puckett (most often), Henry Puckett, Holland Puckett, Si Puckett and R. Puckett.
Naturally my question is "who the hell is this guy and what was his real name after all?" I don't expect anyone to know - do you know just how many totally unknown artists recorded in the 78 era? Plenty! However I would certainly appreciate any insight any of you may have into solving this mystery. And I hope you enjoy this naughty little ditty, which comes from his May 1927 session.
Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis@hotmail.com
Labels: 78rpm, mystery, obscure singers, old time singing
Comments:
Thanks CPR! I have gotten feedback from some folks on this singer:
Russell notes that Holland Puckett's real name may be Hartsell Watson, I meant to add.
Peter Fraissinet
and:
Uncle Dave,
I have the Silvertone issue you digitized and one of the other Puckett records (Challenge 270, Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet / Weeping Willow Tree), both of which are documented in Tony Russell's book and in Kip Lornell's discography on Virginia country, blues, and gospel music.
Lornell has a short biography of Holland Puckett. It says he was born in 1899 in The Hollows, Virginia, in Patrick County, and lived between Ararat, VA, and Mt. Airy, NC. It also says he was closely associated with Ben
Jarrell and Da Costa Woltz. He further states that he was a bookkeeper at a tobacco warehouse and was stabbed to death over a poker game in 1934. Lornell reproduces an ad from a Gennett catalogue with a picture of Puckett that gives his birthplace. Lornell states, and Russell agrees, that his real name was Holland Puckett. Tony reports that "Puckett made the trip to Richmond, IN, with the Woltz crew, but his recordings were (as far as we can tell) entirely separate."
Gregg Kimball
So that answers the mystery, as far as it can be known as of now. My express thanks to Peter Fraissenet and Gregg Kimball for weighing in on this mystery. Uncle Dave Lewis
Russell notes that Holland Puckett's real name may be Hartsell Watson, I meant to add.
Peter Fraissinet
and:
Uncle Dave,
I have the Silvertone issue you digitized and one of the other Puckett records (Challenge 270, Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet / Weeping Willow Tree), both of which are documented in Tony Russell's book and in Kip Lornell's discography on Virginia country, blues, and gospel music.
Lornell has a short biography of Holland Puckett. It says he was born in 1899 in The Hollows, Virginia, in Patrick County, and lived between Ararat, VA, and Mt. Airy, NC. It also says he was closely associated with Ben
Jarrell and Da Costa Woltz. He further states that he was a bookkeeper at a tobacco warehouse and was stabbed to death over a poker game in 1934. Lornell reproduces an ad from a Gennett catalogue with a picture of Puckett that gives his birthplace. Lornell states, and Russell agrees, that his real name was Holland Puckett. Tony reports that "Puckett made the trip to Richmond, IN, with the Woltz crew, but his recordings were (as far as we can tell) entirely separate."
Gregg Kimball
So that answers the mystery, as far as it can be known as of now. My express thanks to Peter Fraissenet and Gregg Kimball for weighing in on this mystery. Uncle Dave Lewis
Actually his real name was Holland Puckett. It is my understanding alot of singers would use a different name.
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