On This Day 16 Years Ago, We Said Goodbye to the “Father of Country Music’s” Last Surviving Collaborator

Jimmie Rodgers more or less single-handedly created country music as the genre exists today. He recorded more than 100 songs, toured with Will Rogers, recorded with the Carter Family, and performed alongside legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Sadly, Rodgers would only enjoy five years of success before he died from tuberculosis in 1933 at age 35. While his work influenced everyone from Johnny Cash to George Harrison, precious few artists had the opportunity to perform with the man hailed as the “Father of Country Music”. And on this day (May 28) in 2010, we bade farewell to Slim Bryant, the final surviving musician to record with Rodgers. At 101 years old, he was also one of the few remaining country artists who began recording in the 1920s.

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The Life and Career of Slim Bryant

Born in Atlanta on December 7, 1908, Thomas Hoyt “Slim” Bryant had a front-row seat to the evolution of country music.

With its annual Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention and popular radio station WSB, Georgia’s capital city was an early outpost for what would become known as country.

According to the Guardian, Bryant took an early interest in the guitar when the Black man who delivered ice to his family’s home would occasionally pause to play the instrument.

Under the tutelage of renowned Atlanta banjo and guitar teacher Perry Bechtel, he soon earned the nickname “The Boy With A Thousand Fingers.” By age 20, Bryant had made his first recording “Ain’t She Sweet”, as a member of a stringed band called The Harmony Boys.

Next, he spent the next nine years alongside legendary Georgia fiddler Clayton McMichen as part of his group, the Georgia Wildcats. The band’s influence soon spread far beyond Atlanta, leading to performances on radio stations throughout Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Louisville.

How Did He Meet Jimmie Rodgers?

Slim Bryant’s partnership with Jimmie Rodgers had everything to do with McMichen. The two met on a theater tour through the Carolinas, and in the summer of 1932, MicMichen received a telegram.

The “Singing Brakeman” wanted the iconic fiddler to join his next session. McMichen agreed, also recommending Slim Bryant. And with that, the pair headed to Victor Records’ studio in New York City.

Dying of tuberculosis, Rodgers recorded Bryant’s song “Mother, the Queen of My Heart”, with Bryant accompanying him on guitar. Not only did Rogers give him writing credit, he insisted on listing Bryant’s name first.

[RELATED: 93 Years Ago Today, the “Father of Country Music” Recorded His Final Song]

Slim Bryant was living in the Pittsburgh suburb of Dormont, Pennsylvania, at the time of his death. Survivors included his wife, Mary Jane, and their son, Thomas.

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