G.B. Grayson
Musician · 1887–1930 · Ashe County, North Carolina
Best known for
Songwriter
G.B. Grayson was a blind East Tennessee old-time fiddler whose 1927–1930 Victor and Gennett sessions with guitarist Henry Whitter — among them “Train 45,” “Handsome Molly,” “Tom Dooley,” and a version of “The Wreck of the Old 97” — helped lay the foundations of the early commercial country and bluegrass repertoire. His songbook has since been carried by Bob Dylan, Doc Watson, the Kingston Trio, and the Stanley Brothers.
Assisted by AI.
Spot something off? Help us fix it.
- Born Gilliam Banmon Grayson on November 11, 1887, in rural Ashe County, North Carolina.
- Lost most of his sight in infancy — family tradition holds that as a six-week-old he stared too long at sun-glare on snow through a window.
- Spent almost his entire life in Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee, working as a fiddler and singer.
- Met guitarist Henry Whitter at a fiddler’s convention in Mountain City, Tennessee in 1927.
- Cut eight sides with Whitter for Gennett in October 1927.
- The pair’s subsequent Victor session produced “Train 45” backed with “Handsome Molly,” which sold more than 50,000 copies in five years.
- Was killed on August 16, 1930, when he fell from the running boards of a car outside Damascus, Virginia, at age 42.
- His repertoire has since been recorded by the Stanley Brothers, Doc Watson, Mac Wiseman, the Kingston Trio, and Bob Dylan, among many others.