The Delmore Brothers
Band · Active 1931–present · Elkmont, Alabama
Classic Country
The Delmore Brothers — Alton and Rabon — were one of the most influential brother duets in American music history, a Grand Ole Opry mainstay from the early 1930s whose sophisticated close-harmony singing, acoustic guitar and tenor guitar interplay, and original songwriting laid essential groundwork for bluegrass, early country, rockabilly, and boogie. The Louvin Brothers, Monroe Brothers, Everly Brothers, and Stanley Brothers all cited them as formative influences.
- Alton Delmore (b. December 25, 1908, Elkmont, Alabama) was the primary songwriter and lead singer; younger brother Rabon (b. December 3, 1916, Elkmont) played tenor guitar and sang harmony.
- Raised in a Sacred Harp and shape-note singing family in north Alabama; the brothers learned close vocal harmony from childhood church and family singings.
- Signed to Columbia in 1931. Joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1932 and became one of the show's most popular acts throughout the 1930s alongside Uncle Dave Macon and DeFord Bailey.
- Recorded extensively for Bluebird (RCA) through the 1930s — over 100 sides. Signature early songs include “Brown's Ferry Blues,” “Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar,” “Nashville Blues,” and “Blues Stay Away from Me.”
- Left the Opry in 1938 after disputes over pay. Recorded for Bluebird and Decca in the early 1940s.
- Joined the King Records roster in Cincinnati in 1944, entering their most successful commercial era. Hits included “Hillbilly Boogie” (1946), “Freight Train Boogie” (1946), “Blues Stay Away from Me” (1949, #1 on the country chart), “Pan American Boogie,” and “Mississippi Shore.”
- Founding members of the Brown's Ferry Four, a gospel quartet with Grandpa Jones and Merle Travis (later also Red Foley). The quartet's King recordings became gospel standards.
- The Delmore Brothers sound — tenor guitar lead, close brother harmony, blues-influenced boogie rhythms — directly influenced Bill and Charlie Monroe (who were personal friends), Ira and Charlie Louvin, Phil and Don Everly, and countless other brother duets.
- Rabon Delmore died of lung cancer on December 4, 1952, at age 36, ending the duet. Alton continued to write and teach, publishing a memoir Truth Is Stranger Than Publicity before his death on June 8, 1964.
- Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001 (under the “Early Country” category) and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Alton Delmore was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971 for his prolific songwriting.
- “Blues Stay Away from Me” has been covered by Doc Watson, Johnny Burnette, the Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, and many bluegrass acts — one of the most-recorded Delmore compositions.
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Blues Stay Away From MeSingle: Blues Stay Away From Me (1949)
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Alton DelmorePlayed on recordings with The Delmore Brothers
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Rabon DelmorePlayed on recordings with The Delmore Brothers