Gilliam Banmon Grayson (1887 - 1930)

Born 11 Nov 1887 in Johnson County, Tennessee

Descendants

Died 16 Aug 1930 at age 42 in Damascus, Washington, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Gilliam Grayson is Notable.

Gilliam was an Appalachian Old Time Musician

Gilliam Banmon Grayson (November 11, 1887 – August 16, 1930) was an Old-time music Appalachian fiddle player and singer.

Mostly blind from infancy, Grayson is chiefly remembered for a series of sides recorded with guitarist Henry Whitter between 1927 and 1930 that would later influence numerous country, bluegrass, and rock musicians. Grayson wrote much of his own material, but was also instrumental in adapting several traditional Appalachian ballads to fiddle and guitar formats. His music has been recorded or performed by musicians such as Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, Mick Jagger, the Kingston Trio, and dozens of bluegrass artists, including the Stanley Brothers and Mac Wiseman.

Grayson met Henry Whitter at a fiddlers' convention in Mountain City, Tennessee. Together they formed the successful duo Grayson & Whitter, recording for Gennett Records and Victor. Their output included songs that later became bluegrass standards such as "Banks of the Ohio", "Nine Pound Hammer", "Handsome Molly" and "Little Maggie". They were the first artists to record the song "Tom Dooley" in 1929, which later became a huge hit in the Folk Music boom of the 1950s and 60s. Grayson died in an automobile accident outside Damascus, Virginia, in 1930. Whitter did not record again. Whitter died of diabetes in Morganton, North Carolina, in 1941.

• Fact: Burial at Gentry Cemetery, Laurel Bloomery, Johnson County, Tennessee, USA

Sources

• Gilliam Banmon “G.B.” Grayson (1887-1930) on Find A Grave: Memorial #94940780 retrieved 9 November 2019

See Also:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._B._Grayson
• "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNG4-GT1 : 3 February 2021), G B Grayson, 1920.

• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SP4J-5H5 : accessed 17 May 2023), Gillum B Grayson, District 01, Johnson, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1, sheet 11B, line 78, family 214, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2257; FHL microfilm 2,341,991.

See Also

• "Tennessee, Birth Records (ER Series), 1908-1912", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2H5-3VLW : 17 March 2018), Banman Grayson in entry for Clarence Grayson, 1912.

• "Tennessee Deaths, 1914-1966," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSVK-WVD : 23 February 2021), Gilliam B. Grayson in entry for Lessie Francis Grayson, 12 Nov 1919; Death, Johnson, Tennessee, United States, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94940780/gilliam-banmon-grayson: accessed 17 May 2023), memorial page for Gilliam Banmon “G.B.” Grayson (11 Nov 1887–16 Aug 1930), Find a Grave Memorial ID 94940780, citing Gentry Cemetery, Laurel Bloomery, Johnson County, Tennessee, USA

• "North Carolina, Department of Archives and History, Index to Vital Records, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPRH-KVZW : 13 November 2019), G. B. Grayson in entry for Walter Clarence Grayson, 11 Oct 1982; citing Death, North Carolina State Archives, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh; FHL microfilm 102549452.