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 26-50 of 131 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | 9187 | 10-in. | 7/1/1925 | The hawk and the buzzard | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Instrumental quartet | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | 9189 | 10-in. | 7/1/1925 | Soldiers' joy | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Virginia Reelers | Instrumental trio | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | 9259 | 10-in. | 7/7/1925 | The drinker's child | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist | |
OKeh | 9260 | Not documented | 7/7/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist | |
OKeh | 9261 | Not documented | 7/7/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rose Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist | |
OKeh | 9262 | Not documented | 7/7/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rose Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist | |
OKeh | S-73456 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | Sally Ann | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Rosa Lee Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73457 | Not documented | 6/24/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Fiddlin' John Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73458 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | There's a hard time coming | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Rosa Lee Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73459 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | The Boston burglar | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Rosa Lee Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73460 | Not documented | 6/24/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73461 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | Little Mary Phagan | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, songwriter, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73462 | Not documented | 6/24/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73463 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | The honest farmer | Fiddlin' John Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73464 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | To welcome the travellers home | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Rosa Lee Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73465 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | Run along home with Lindy | Fiddlin' John Carson ; Rosa Lee Carson | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin) and guitar | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73467 | Not documented | 6/24/1925 | [Unknown title(s)] | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | S-73468 | 10-in. | 6/24/1925 | The lone child | Rosa Lee Carson | Female vocal solo, with guitar | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | 74000 | 10-in. | Feb. 1926 | Little Mary Phagan | Tobe Little | Male vocal solo and whistling, with fiddle (violin), guitar, and harmonica | songwriter | |
OKeh | W80550 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | Be kind to a man when he's down | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W80551 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | Welcome the traveler home | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W80552 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | In my old cabin home | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W80553 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | Old and in the way | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W80554 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | Papa's billy goat | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar | |
OKeh | W80555 | 10-in. | 3/17/1927 | I'm glad my wife's in Europe | Virginia Reelers | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Carson, Rosa Lee," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
Carson, Rosa Lee. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/201619.
"Carson, Rosa Lee." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 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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