Joe Cuba Sextet (With Cheo Feliciano) - Tico 470 (1965)

Just woke to the tragic news that 78 year old José 'Cheo' Felciano died in a single car accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico last night.

Johnnie Miller's New Orleans Frolickers - Columbia 1546 (1928)

Here are the only two sides released (a third was unissued) by this New Orleans outfit...at least under this name.

Sharkey Bonano c / Sidney Arodin cl / Hal Jordy as / Johnnie Miller p / Steve Brou bj / Chink Martin bb / Leo Adde d.

Recorded in New Orleans on April 25, 1928.

Lidya (Lydia) Mendoza Y Su Grupo - Bluebird 2928 (1936)

From wikipedia...

Lydia Mendoza (May 21, 1916 – December 20, 2007) was an American guitarist and singer of Tejano, conjunto, and traditional Mexican-American music. She is known as "La Alondra de la Frontera" (or "The Lark of the Border" in English).

Mendoza was born on May 21, 1916, in Houston, Texas. She learned to sing and play stringed instruments from her mother and grandmother. In 1928, as part of the family group, Cuarteto Carta Blanca, she made her first recordings for the Okeh Records label in San Antonio, Texas.

In the early 1930s, Mendoza came to the attention of Manuel J. Cortez, a pioneer of Mexican-American radio broadcasting. Her live radio performances set the stage for her 1934 recordings on the Bluebird Records label, a subsidiary of RCA Victor. Her recording, "Mal Hombre", became an overnight success and led to an intensive schedule of touring and recording.

After World War II, Mendoza recorded for many of the major Mexican-American record labels mostly located in Texas. She continued actively performing and recording up until a stroke in 1988 slowed her schedule down. Many of her recordings are still available including those issued by Arhoolie Records, a California-based label specializing in the release of regional forms of American music.

Over the years, Lydia Mendoza was the recipient of numerous awards and honors: In 1982, she became the first Texan to receive the National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1999, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts, and in 2003, she was among the second group of recipients to be awarded the Texas Medal of Arts by the Texas Cultural Trust.

Lydia Mendoza died on December 20, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 91. She is interred at San Fernando Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Recorded on October 22, 1936.

Fiddlin' Powers & Family - Edison 51662 (1925)

From wikipedia...

Cowan Powers and his Family Band was a Virginia string band from the 1920s, considered pioneers in early country music. They were the first family string band to make a commercial record (1924). The band consisted of Cowan Powers and his children, Charles, Orpha, Carrie and Ada. Cowan also played with his wife, Matilda, until her death in 1916.

Record companies of the time were trying to get "old time" or "hill country" music to sell, and tried using professional musicians such as Vernon Dalhart to imitate the sound. When it became clear the customers wanted the "real thing" the companies sought musicians to travel from the south to the recording studios in New York and Chicago.

The Powers family made records with Victor Talking Machine Company, Edison Records and Okeh Records. They recorded at least 26 songs, of which 15 were issued. Their recording of Old Joe Clark in 1924 was the third best selling album for that year.

They performed live in "the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and perhaps a dozen other states". They played dances. At the time of the Bristol Sessions they were performing live over the radio, WOPI in Bristol, Virginia, and were among the first country acts to do so.

The daughters restarted the band in the 1970s, with Orpha's husband Eugene D. Ireson.

Victor 1924

The Powers family did a trial recording with Victor Recordings in New York City, August 8, 1924, recording Way Down to Georgia.

They started recording records for Victor, doing six records 10 days later on August 18. Of those recordings, three records were issued, The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane, Old Joe Clark, and Sour Wood Mountains.

They continued recording the next day, August 19. They recorded eleven songs of which five were issued, Patty on the Turnpike, Callahan's Reel, Sugar in the Gourd, Cripple Creek, and Ida Red.

Edison 1925

The family recorded with Edison in 1925, October 2, 3, 6 and 7 in New York City. Seven of the nine that they recorded were issued, Old Joe Clark, Sour Wood Mountains, Ida Red, Cripple Creek, Cluck Old Hen, Rocky Road to Dinah's House, and Sugar in the Gourd.

Charlie Powers, Cowan's son, also recorded a song on his own with Edison, Wild and Reckless Hobo.

Okeh 1927

The last recording session was for Okeh records in Winston–Salem, North Carolina, September 28, 1927. Within three years the band would be no more, as the girls married and began families. They recorded six songs, of which four were issued, Did You Ever See the Devil, Uncle Joe?, Old Molly Hair, Old Virginia Reel — Part 1, and Old Virginia Reel — Part 2.

Recorded on October 5 & 6, 1925.

Bill Robinson & The Quails - Deluxe 6047 (1954)

Apparently not much is known about this group.

Recorded in Cincinnati? in 1954.

Jilson Setters (J.W. Day) - Victor 40127 (1928)

Great write-up on Kentuckian Jilson Setters here.

Setters fiddle / Carson Robison g.

Recorded in New York on February 27, 1928.

Big Bob Kornegay - Herald 506 (1957)

Bob Kornegay recorded with:

Julian Dash Orchestra as 'Texas Bob' (Mercury)
The Du-Droppers (Red Roin, RCA Victor, Groove)
Back up for Big John Greer (RCA Victor)
The Dixiaires (Harlem)
The Bells (Rama)
? The 4 Loggers (Van Ryder)
The Ravens (Argo)
The Valiants (Joy)

...and on his own as Big Bob:

Benny Goodman & His Orchestra - Victor 25442 (1936)

Benny Goodman cl, dir / Gordon Griffin, Zeke Zarchy, Ziggy Elman t / Red Ballard, Murray McEachern tb / Hymie Schertzer, Bill DePew as / Arthur Rollini, Vido Musso ts / Jess Stacy p / Allen Reuss g / Harry Goodman sb / Gene Krupa d / Helen Ward v.

Recorded in New York on October 7, 1936.

Peetie Wheatstraw (The Devil's Son-In-Law) - Decca 7798 (1940)

When the blues meets jazz...

Peetie Wheatstraw v / Jonah Jones t / ? Lil Armstrong p / Sid Catlett d.

Recorded in New York on April 4, 1940.

Taskiana Four - Victor 20852 (1927)

Wonder if there is any relation between bass vocalist James Ricks here and bass vocalist Jimmy Ricks of The Ravens.

The Taskiana Four are:

Norman Allen tenor / Edward Foster baritone / Daniel Johnson tenor / James Ricks bass / Mike Jackson p (Dixie Bo Bo)

Recorded in New York on July 18, 1927.