Earl McDonald, Jugband Pioneer - Louisville, Kentucky - Occupational/Hobby Grave Stones on Waymarking.com

Earl MacDonald's grave in Louisville Cemetery was unmarked for 60 years, before this new headstone was placed at the site in September 2009. As the headstone states, MacDonald was a "jugband pioneer".

Earl McDonald started his first jug band as a teenager in 1902, and as a young man, he performed on the street, at house parties and at Churchill Downs during the Kentucky Derby. By 1914, he was travelling with his band to performances in New York and Chicago.

In 1924, McDonald became the first commercially recorded jug player when his band backed Louisville singer Sara Martin (also buried in Louisville Cemetery) for a recording session in New York. Over the next few years, he recorded approximately 30 songs under various band names and with various instrumentations. He also organized bands to play for sponsors like Old Grand-Dad Whiskey and Ballard Flour; as the Ballard Chefs, one of Earl’s bands performed on WHAS radio for three years, spreading jug band music throughout the South and inspiring jug bands in Memphis and other cities.

Today, McDonald’s music is considered among the most sophisticated of all the jug bands for its complex arrangements, jazz progressions and virtuosic soloing, and few jug players have matched the bright, clear tone he first recorded 85 years ago.

Many thanks to Arlotone for the biographical information.

Is Gravestone Showing Occupation or Hobby?: Both What is depicted occupation or hobby?: Jugband musician Date of birth: 01/01/1885 Date of death: 01/01/1949 Access hours and days: Not listed

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