The WBT Briarhoppers: Eight Decades of a Bluegrass Band Made for Radio

by Tom Warlick, Lucy Warlick

Overview

In 1934, WBT radio announcer Charles Crutchfield formed a spur-of-the-moment musical group to satisfy a potential sponsor looking for a "hillbilly" radio program to showcase its products. Known as the WBT Briarhoppers, this group went on to become one of the longest lasting bluegrass/country ensembles in America, staying on the air until 1951 and then continuing to perform. Compiled from firsthand interviews, this work tells the story of the WBT Briarhoppers, analyzing the band's history and its connection to the growth of American radio and radio advertising. Using the Briarhoppers as a common thread, it examines changes in culture and the group's contribution to country and bluegrass music. The work also discusses legendary performers including the Tennessee Ramblers, The Johnson Family, and Bill and Charlie Monroe. A discography is included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786431441
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	10/08/2007
Pages:	215
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Environmental engineer Tom Warlick is a banjoist and founder of Bluegrass Thursday Nights and the Clover Barn Dance in Clover, South Carolina. Lucy Warlick is an artist, potter and poet who was a finalist in the James Hearst National Poetry Awards. They live in Clover.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword by Robert Inman     
Preface     

1. The 1920s: The Big Bang of Country Music     
2. The 1930s: Charles Crutchfield Goes Rabbit Hunting     
3. The 1940s: The Golden Age of the WBT Briarhoppers     
4. The 1950s: Elvis Who?     
5. The 1960s: This Was a Time for Rock and Roll     
6. The 1970s: The Phoenix Rises     
7. The 1980s: The Charlotte Country Music Story     
8. The 1990s: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door     
9. The 2000s: The WBT Briarhoppers at Twilight     

Afterword     
Appendix A: Letters to the Briarhopper Fans     
Appendix B: Partial Discography of the WBT Briarhoppers
and Individual Band Members     
Appendix C: WBT Briarhopper Comings and Goings     
Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

fascinating”—The Bluegrass Blabber; “required reading for anyone interested in Southern music...a labor of love”—Charlotte Observer; “‘defiinitive...labor of love’...exhaustively researched and documented study...fascinating...a valuable contribution”—Bluegrass Unlimited; “compelling...delightful...comprehensive”—The Old Radio Times; “compelling...a study encompassing more than music and musicians...delightful...conprehensive”—Metropolitan Washington OTR Club Newsletter; “The WBT Briarhoppers have influenced lovers of old time mountain music for over 60 years. They are an institution”—David Holt, Grammy Award-Winning Musician and Storyteller; “During eight decades running from the Golden Age of Radio to Folk Heritage honors at the North Carolina’s governor’s mansion, the WBT Briarhoppers was everybody’s favorite radio band. Don’t touch that dial...Hit’s Briarhopper Time!”—Dr. Tom Hanchett, Historian for the Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte, North Carolina.

From the Publisher

'defiinitive...labor of love'...exhaustively researched and documented study...fascinating...a valuable contribution

Bluegrass Unlimited

required reading for anyone interested in Southern music...a labor of love

Charlotte Observer

fascinating

The Bluegrass Blabber