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197:, where James and Willie were born in 1904 and 1909, respectively. William's grandfather and mother had been fiddle players, and his children later recalled that most everyone in the family played an instrument of some sort. William's wife, Myrtle McKinney, occasionally sang with the band in its early years. Aside from his parents, William's influences included an obscure Knoxville fiddle player known as "Old Bill" Jones (
264:. The recordings included "Cackling Pullet," which is based on the traditional tune "Hen Cackle," and "Fiddler Contest," which includes a guitar solo by Willie and a banjo solo by James. The session also produced "Preacher Got Drunk and Laid His Bible Down," which, as the chorus suggests, is based on the 1909
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lessons, but quit after her instructor told her she would only learn an instrument by "playing it by ear." She took up guitar shortly thereafter, and would later go on to win several contests. Within a few years, James and his sister Willie were playing at school assemblies. The two developed what
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The
Tennessee Ramblers disbanded with the death of William Sievers in 1954. The following year, James and Willie decided to focus on Hawaiian music, and formed a band called "Mack's Novelty Hawaiians." This band, which included Jo Adkins on drums, played regularly in downtown Knoxville through the
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In August 1929, Brunswick began the first of a series of large-scale recording sessions at the St. James Hotel in
Knoxville. At this session, the Tennessee Ramblers recorded "Ramblers March," which was written by James, and "Garbage Can Blues," which they typically used to open performances. The
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William
Sievers and his two children formed the Tennessee Ramblers in 1922. Walter McKinney typically appeared with the band playing steel guitar or Hawaiian guitar. James chose the name "Tennessee Ramblers" one night while they were driving to a show in Virginia. Throughout the 1920s, the band
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group recorded several sides at
Brunswick's follow-up Knoxville session in April of the following year, but no recordings from this session were released. Willie, however, is believed to have supplied the brief guitar solo on
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player named Jerry Taylor, who played with the
Ramblers throughout the 1930s. In 1938, the Ramblers also added J.T. Jones. The band continued playing at various gatherings around the region, including a large concert in
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group known as Mack's
Novelty Hawaiians. Willie Sievers' guitar solos recorded with the band in 1928 and 1929 are among the first by a female lead guitarist in
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would become a lifelong interest in
Hawaiian music during this period, at the same time learning old-time music their father taught them.
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253:. At the fiddler conventions held by Frank Murphy at Market Hall in Knoxville, the Tennessee Ramblers were often paired with fiddlers
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played at various venues across the eastern United States. They appeared on numerous radio stations, including WNOK in
Knoxville,
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James
Sievers began playing banjo with his cousin, Walter McKinney, in 1913, and learned much of his technique from a north
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during the 1920s through the 1940s, gaining initial fame as a backing band in fiddle contests held at
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In
February 1928, the Tennessee Ramblers recorded their first record at a Brunswick session in
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originally consisting of William "Fiddlin' Bill" Sievers (1875–1954) on
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William Sievers (the name is sometimes spelled "Seivers") was born in
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in 1932, and continued playing various venues in downtown Knoxville.
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musician Howard Armstrong (the "Louie Bluie" of the title).
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In 1931, Walter McKinney left the group and moved to the
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Willie Sievers appeared briefly in the 1985 documentary
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banjo player named Steve Cole. Willie initially took
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also claimed Jones as an influence) and a Knoxville
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in 1928 and 1929, which were issued on the Vocalion
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418:Eugene Chadbourne, "
282:Uncle Jimmy Thompson
235:Museum of Appalachia
155:Knoxville, Tennessee
100:James "Mack" Sievers
494:Old-time musicians
381:2013-07-20 at the
257:and Earl Johnson.
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159:Brunswick/Vocalion
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84:Brunswick/Vocalion
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319:Louie Bluie
292:Later years
151:Market Hall
123:string band
473:Categories
347:References
247:Cincinnati
193:in nearby
108:J.T. Jones
439:(p. 5) .
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187:Oak Ridge
76:1922–1954
424:Allmusic
379:Archived
302:mandolin
201:fiddler
120:old-time
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268:song, "
199:Georgia
195:Clinton
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