Rosa Lee Carson
Moonshine Kate (born Rosa Lee Carson, October 10, 1909, Atlanta, Georgia - 1992, Bainbridge, Georgia) was an American country and folk guitarist and banjo player who is best known for recording with her father Fiddlin' John Carson and his band, the Virginia Reelers. Kate was among the earliest recorded women in country music, and arguably her best remembered song was a rendition of her father's composition "Little Mary Phagan". Carson was born the youngest of nine children in Atlanta, Georgia. As early as the age of five, she appeared as a vocalist and dancer at stage shows and political rallies as an accompaniment to her father's musical act. By age 14, Carson proficiently performed with the guitar and banjo as she played alongside her father on Atlanta's flagship radio station, WSB, and toured with him and the Virginia Reelers throughout Georgia. When Carson graduated from high school, she became a permanent member of the band. In June 1925, Carson made her recording debut accompanying her father on guitar on four sides for OKeh Records. In the same session, she also recorded two solo efforts, "The Lonely Child", which was about a lonely wandering orphan, and "Little Mary Phagan". The somber ballad was composed by Fiddlin' Jon Carson in 1915, as a response to the notorious, and highly publicized murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, which was allegedly perpetrated by her manager, Leo Frank. She played and recorded with the Virginia Reelers until 1934, adopting the stage name Moonshine Kate in 1928 at the suggestion of Okeh Records man Polk Brockman. Many of Kate's recordings for Okeh play up her name, consisting of short musical passages interspersed with quick-witted dialogues revolving around the moonshine trade. The Great Depression ended the Carsons' recording days, and she continued to perform intermittently, also working with Eugene Talmadge on his 1932 bid for Governor of Georgia and for the Atlanta Department of Recreation. She married in 1944 and retired in Georgia. In 1983, both she and her father were inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. |
Birth and Death Data: Born October 10, 1909 (Atlanta), Died 1992 (Bainbridge)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1934
Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, speaker, banjo, songwriter, composer, lyricist, yodeling
Notes: Daughter of John Carson ("Fiddlin' John Carson"). Also known as "Moonshine Kate."
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 76-100 of 131 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | W402554 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | Welcome the travelers home, no. 2 | Fiddlin' John Carson | Instrumental trio, with female-male vocal duet | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402555 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | You'll never miss your mother until she's gone, no. 2 | Fiddlin' John Carson | Instrumental trio, with female-male vocal duet | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402556 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | John makes good licker | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with talk and female-male vocal duet | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402557 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | John makes good licker | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with talk and female-male vocal duet | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist, speaker | |
OKeh | W402558 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | She's more like her mother everyday | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with talk and male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W402559 | 10-in. | 8/5/1929 | Times are not like they used to be | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with talk and male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W402988 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W402989 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker | |
OKeh | W402992 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402997 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402998 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker, vocalist | |
OKeh | W402999 | 10-in. | 9/25/1929 | The medicine show | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Emmett Miller | Descriptive scene, with vocal and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar, speaker, vocalist | |
OKeh | W403446 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Pa's birthday party | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue and mixed vocal trio | speaker, instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist | |
OKeh | W403447 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Corn licker and barbecue | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue and mixed vocal trio | speaker, vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403448 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Corn licker and barbecue | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue and mixed vocal trio | speaker, vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403449 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Who's the best fiddler? | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue | speaker, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403500 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Who bit the wart off Grandma's nose? | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue and male vocal solo | speaker, instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403501 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Kate's snuff box | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Instrumental trio, with dialogue | speaker, instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403502 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Sunny Tennessee | Fiddlin' John Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403503 | 10-in. | 12/17/1929 | Whatcha gonna do when your licker gives out? | Fiddlin' John Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin), banjo, and guitar | instrumentalist, banjo | |
OKeh | W403916 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The last old dollar is gone | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Moonshine Kate | Female vocal solo, with 2 guitars and talk | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403917 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | Texas blues | Moonshine Kate | Female vocal solo and yodeling, with 2 guitars | vocalist, composer, lyricist, instrumentalist, guitar, yodeling | |
OKeh | W403918 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | Raggedy Riley | Moonshine Kate | Female vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, composer, lyricist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403919 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The dying hobo | Moonshine Kate | Female vocal solo, with 2 guitars | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W403920 | 10-in. | 4/24/1930 | The raccoon and the possum | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Carson, Rosa Lee," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
Carson, Rosa Lee. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
"Carson, Rosa Lee." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Moonshine Kate, 1911-1992 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n00067126
Wikidata: Moonshine Kate - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1946761
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/62778869
MusicBrainz: Moonshine Kate - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e97176e7-f1f8-47f3-8520-bfae90660296
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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