Born 133 Years Ago Today, the Virginia Native Who Became One of Country Music’s First Commercial Recording Stars

Born on this day, May 25, way back in 1893, was one Ernest Van “Pop” Stoneman. If his name is unfamiliar, that might be because he was part of the earliest iteration of the commercial country music movement, way back in the 1920s. In fact, Stoneman is one of the first pioneers of country music as we know it, as he was one of the most prominent recording musicians in country music during what many believe was the genre’s earliest commercial decade.

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The Life and Career of Ernest Stoneman

Ernest Stoneman was born in a log cabin on May 25, 1893, in Monarat, Carroll County, Virginia. His mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by his father and cousins. Those cousins were musicians who taught him Stoneman Blue Ridge Mountain culture, instruments, and vocal traditions. Naturally, the young Stoneman became a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He could play the jaw harp, banjo, autoharp, guitar, and harmonica. When he married his wife Hattie in 1918, with whom he had a staggering 23 children, he connected with another music-driven family. 

Stoneman didn’t start out his working life as a musician. Rather, he worked odd jobs in mines and mills, and also did carpentry. Music was more of a hobby. But after hearing Henry Whitter play via a record in 1924, he decided to give professional music a shot. He traveled to New York that year and recorded two songs under Okeh Records. He returned for another session the following year.

His debut single was “Sinking Of The Titanic”, which would become one of the biggest and most successful songs of the 1920s, selling a whopping two million copies. 

He employed the talents of some of his family members to form a string band. Then, in 1927, he helped conduct the famous Bristol sessions, known for helping the likes of the Carter Family make it big. All the while, he continued to record commercially successful songs. Music historians believe he recorded 200 tracks in the 1920s alone.

Sadly, the Great Depression came and took a toll on Stoneman and his family, who were left in poverty. He would move on from music to working at a gun factory for the Navy. Thankfully, after a series of talent contest wins, he and his family band, The Stonemans, were able to pull themselves out of poverty.

Ernest Stoneman passed away at the age of 75 on June 14, 1968. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. He was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

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