Born on This Day in 1908, the Alabama Country Music Pioneer Who Was One Half of an Iconic Brother Duo and an Early Grand Ole Opry Star

On this day (December 25) in 1908, Alton Delmore was born in Elkmont, Alabama. Delmore became part of the iconic early country outfit, The Delmore Brothers. Alongside his brother, Rabon, the duo helped pioneer country music as a marketable genre rather than a folk tradition. Learn more about the Delmore Brothers’ indelible touch on country music below.

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Origins

As with many country singers in the ’30s, the Delmore Brothers’ early musical ambitions revolved around gospel music. Growing up in Alabama, the duo learned how to perform from songbooks. Moreover, their mother, Mollie, composed songs for them to sing. This early musical education would inform their work as country stars, putting them in a league above many of their peers in technical proficiency.

Around the same time, music was becoming a business rather than a pastime. Their burgeoning fame earned them an early record for Columbia in 1931, “Got the Kansas City Blues,” and a job at the Grand Ole Opry several years later.

The Grand Ole Opry

The Delmore Brothers were one of the most popular acts on the Grand Ole Opry by 1936. Their fandom had reached heights not standard for that time. Their Opry tenure moved them to record new material, earning songs that country purists deem the lifeblood of the genre. “Southern Moon” and “When It’s Time for the Whippoorwill to Sing,” for example.

Their honeymoon period on the Opry came to a close in 1939. Booking disagreements sullied their relationship with the country institution. This wasn’t the end of their popularity, though. A few years later, Alton reinvented himself as a gospel singer.

Alton’s gospel quartet, Brown’s Ferry Four, earned oodles of fame. Alongside Merle Travis and Grandpa Jones, the quartet married gospel music with blues and boogie.

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End of the Delmore Brothers

The end of The Delmore Brothers came in 1952 when Rabon died of lung cancer. Alton continued as a solo act, but eventually left the music world behind. Despite their wavering success over the years, the Delmore Brothers earned many hits that became standard in country music. To many modern listeners, they don’t have name recognition, but country music wouldn’t be the mammoth force it is today without pioneers like this duo.

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