Ernest Stoneman
Musician · 1893–1968 · Monarat, Virginia
Ernest "Pop" Stoneman was a Virginia-born multi-instrumentalist and singer whose 1925 recording of "The Sinking of the Titanic," role helping organize Ralph Peer's 1927 Bristol sessions, and patriarchal leadership of the Stoneman Family band place him at the headwaters of country and bluegrass recorded music — a 2008 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
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- Born May 25, 1893 in Monarat (Iron Ridge), Carroll County, Virginia; raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains musical tradition.
- Multi-instrumentalist on autoharp, guitar, harmonica, clawhammer banjo, and jaw harp; lead singer and songwriter.
- His 1925 recording of "The Sinking of the Titanic" became one of the biggest country hits of the 1920s, reportedly selling over two million copies.
- Helped Ralph Peer organize and conduct the landmark 1927 Bristol sessions, which led to the discoveries of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.
- Recorded over 200 songs between 1925 and 1929, ranking him among the most prolific recording artists of country music's first commercial decade.
- Patriarch of the Stoneman Family band (with wife Hattie Frost and their 13 surviving children); the group won CMA Vocal Group of the Year in 1967.
- Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
- Died June 14, 1968 at age 75; interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville.
