Roane County Ramblers was a bluegrass/Appalachian quartet, with roots in Roane County, who recorded for Columbia Records in 1928 and 1929.  They were part of the important “Johnson City Sessions,” which produced records for a national audience. 

The Ramblers recorded 14 sides (7 records) in Johnson City and Atlanta.  The County Sales label compiled the Ramblers’ recordings on a single vinyl album that is occasionally for sale on-line.  Digital versions of their recordings are available on the Internet — just search!

Jimmy McCarroll formed the group and played fiddle.  The original members were Luther Claude “Luke” Brandon (guitar), John Kelley (mandolin) and William Howard Wyatt (banjo). The nationally renowned fiddler “Curly” Fox appeared on a few recordings. The Ramblers never struck out on the professional music pathway.

Born in 1892 in Emory Gap, Jimmy McCarroll was considered an extremely talented fiddler.  Jim‘s son, Tom, recalled his father played fiddle up to three or four weeks before he died at age 94.

The Loudon County News-Herald newspaper featured Tom McCarroll and his daughter, Tammie, in 2009.  Click here to read the article.

Click here to view the Knoxville Old Time Music site that has photos and additional information about the Ramblers.

Fiddler Joseph DeCosimo wrote a fascinating stufy of the McCarroll family’s music for his 2012 UNC-Chapel Hill Master’s thesis, entitled Unexpected Vibrations in Unexpected Places: Making New, Old Music in the McCarroll Family, which is available for free download (click here).