Cliff Carlisle (May 6, 1903* – April 5, 1983) was an American country and blues musician, singer and songwriter.
White country bluesman Cliff Carlisle was among the most prolific recording artists of the 1930s; a blue yodeler in the tradition of Jimmie Rodgers, he helped pioneer the popularity of the Hawaiian steel guitar in country music, while the ribald imagery of his material established him among the wittiest and most reckless composers of his day.
Clifford Raymond Carlisle was born in a log cabin on a tobacco farm in Taylorsville, Kentucky. As a child the Hawaiian guitar recordings of Sol Hoopi and Frank Ferera enamored young Carlisle. His father bought him a Sears and Roebuck guitar and imitating Ferera, he eventually placed a steel nut under the strings of his own guitar to achieve a similar sound. Rural blues was also an early influence, and while working on his family's farm he also absorbed the inspiration of old-timey string bands and sacred songs.
In 1930, Carlisle and Ball debuted on Louisville radio WHAS, a fledgling station their popularity helped establish; that same year Carlisle made his first recordings on the Gennett and Champion labels, virtually all of them firmly in the tradition of Jimmie Rodgers.
In 1931, he and Ball actually recorded with the Singing Brakeman himself; that same year Carlisle also cut "Shanghai Rooster Yodel," the first in a series of ribald barnyard-themed outings that served him throughout his career, and might have influenced similar tracks
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by Charley Patton ("Banty Rooster Blues") and Howlin' Wolf ("Little Red Rooster").
by Charley Patton ("Banty Rooster Blues") and Howlin' Wolf ("Little Red Rooster").Carlisle also recorded under various names during the early 30’s. He recorded as Amos Greene for Supertone records in 1930, Otto Fletcher for Superior records in 1931/2, and as Bob Clifford for Vocallion in 1933.
Upon signing to ARC in late 1931, Carlisle's career truly took flight, as he landed a regular spot on Charlotte, NC, station WBT, followed by subsequent gigs at Chicago's WLS and Cincinnati's WLW. His younger brother, Bill, replaced Ball as rhythm guitarist circa 1934, and when Carlisle resumed recording in 1936 after a lengthy hiatus, his material became even saltier -- "Get Her By the Tail on a Down Hill Drag" was a classic barroom boast.
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Cliff Carlisle, Shannon Grayson, Bill Carlisle |
In 1939, he recorded "Footprints in the Snow," later to become a bluegrass standard; the song offered clear proof that consumers' appetite for blue yodels was on the wane; in the years to follow, Carlisle was a regular on WMPS in Memphis, but by the early '50s he was essentially retired from the music industry, having recorded well over 300 sides during his heyday.
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He was rediscovered a decade later when the Rooftop Singers covered his "Tom Cat Blues," leading to a handful of reunion performances with Wilber Ball and even the recording of new material for the Rem label. Cliff Carlisle died in Lexington, KY, on April 2, 1983; he was 78.
(Edited mainly from All Music bio by Jason Ankeny. * Some sources give birth date as 1904)