Charlie
Poole was one of a handful of individuals recording country music in the days
before The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers made the music popular in the late Twenties.
Poole and his band, “The North Carolina Ramblers,” were one of the most popular
and prolific of the “hillbilly” bands to record in the mid-Twenties. Traditional
country was rich and colorful, and Poole was one of the best from its early
days.
Poole was
born in Eden, North Carolina, in 1892. He was a banjo player, and he and his
band, the North Carolina Ramblers, made their first recording, “Don’t Let Your
Deal Go Down.” in 1925. Poole wrote songs that reflected the harsh realities of
life for the southern poor and his own struggles with alcoholism, a disease
which would eventually kill him.
Songs
such as "You Ain't Talking To Me," “Can I Sleep in your Barn Tonight Mister,” “Take a Drink on Me,” and
“All Go Hungry Hash House” paint vivid pictures of that life. Poole even
dabbled in the political arena with his classic, “White House Blues.”
Several
compilations exist with these songs and many more.
