Wade Mainer, R.I.P.

Country music pioneer Wade Mainer died at his home in Flint on Monday at the age of 104. Joe DePriest of The Telegraph reports:

As a professional singer and banjo player, he would introduce that music to audiences throughout the nation and also pass it on to new generations of performers.

Mainer, one of the most popular and influential figures in early country music, died Monday at his home in Flint, Mich. He was 104.

Some called him “the godfather of North Carolina country music” and “the grandfather of bluegrass.”

He performed in the White House for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and in New York City with folk legend Woody Guthrie.

“He was one of the most remarkable musicians of his era,” said music historian Dick Spottswood, author of “Banjo on the Mountain: Wade Mainer’s First Hundred Years,” published in 2010 by the University Press of Mississippi.

Whitey Morgan and the 78's

Country music...from Flint?

Cliff England at Saving Country Music writes:

"With the passing of Waylon Jennings, and so many country heroes, fans will be hard pressed to find some true outlaws nowadays, but I’ve come to find Michigan still has a few. Just head up I-75 and you can’t miss them. Once you hear the first track of Honky Tonks and Cheap Motels you’ll understand what I mean. Whitey Morgan and the 78’s hailing from the cold and bitter streets of Flint, Michigan recently released their first full length album. This isn’t your modern day pop-country ensemble. In fact they are far from that.

"Whitey Morgan, lead singer, is backed by an astounding group of musicians: Jeremy 'Leroy' Blitz and Benny James on guitar, as well Jeremy Mackinder on bass and Mike 'Pops' Popovich on the drums. Get these boys together and they are sure to bring out the inner honky-tonker in us all."

Shutting Detroit Down