Dock Boggs

Moran Lee "Dock" Boggs (February 7, 1898 – February 7, 1971) was an American old-time singer, songwriter and banjo player. His style of banjo playing, as well as his singing, is considered a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues. Contemporary folk musicians and performers consider him a seminal figure, at least in part because of the appearance of two of his recordings from the 1920s, "Sugar Baby" and "Country Blues", on Harry Smith's 1952 collection Anthology of American Folk Music. Boggs was first recorded in 1927 and again in 1929, although he worked primarily as a coal miner for most of his life.

He was rediscovered during the folk music revival of the 1960s and spent much of his later life playing at folk music festivals and recording for Folkways Records.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 7, 1898 (Norton), Died February 7, 1971 (Norton)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, banjo, lyricist, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick E21795-E21796 10-in. 3/10/1927 Country blues Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21797-E21798 10-in. 3/10/1927 Sammie, where have you been so long Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo and guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21799-E21800 10-in. 3/10/1927 Down South blues Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo and guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21801-E21802 10-in. 3/10/1927 Sugar baby Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo and guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21811-E21812 10-in. 3/10/1927 Danville girl Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21813-E21814 10-in. 3/10/1927 Pretty Polly Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21815-E21816 10-in. 3/10/1927 New prisoner’s song Dock Boggs ; Hub Mahaffey Male vocal solo, with banjo and guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  
Brunswick E21817-E21818 10-in. 3/10/1927 Hard luck blues Dock Boggs Male vocal solo, with banjo and guitar vocalist, instrumentalist, banjo  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Boggs, Dock," accessed November 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109980.

Boggs, Dock. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109980.

"Boggs, Dock." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/109980

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.