They Heard Georgia Singing--Right Here In Dacula

(With apologies to former Governor Zell Miller)

Every Friday night in Dacula around 7:00 p. m., "gig" schedule permitting, you can hear the sounds of blue grass and old-time string band music on Auburn Avenue. The music, made famous during the dark days of the Depression Era of the 20s and 30s by James Gideon "Gid" Tanner and the Skillet Lickers string band, still rings out at the Chicken House on his son/grandson/great grandson's property. It is a celebration of music in America and all the forms of American music made possible from the old-time country sounds popularized by Gid Tanner and his band and aired on that new-fangled, affordable invention, radio.

In his book, They Heard Georgia Singing, Governor Miller made the following comment, "When historians sit down to sort out the what and why of 20th Century American Music, they will have to accord high ranking to the influence of Gid Tanner on all of its forms."

Mr. Miller argues that Gid Tanner never really understood the importance of the bridge he and the Skillet Lickers built between traditional folk and modern popular music. Mr. Miller further argues that the Skillet Lickers and Gid Tanner served as the initial catalyst which makes common all the forms of American music we know today.

In America of today, we can't realize the effect that recording, air time on the radio, and the music of Gid Tanner had on the American psyche in those dark depression days. The final album, recorded in 1934, sold over a million copies.

The current Skillet Lickers band is led by Gid's grandson, Phil Tanner. You can find the Skillet Lickers on the internet by clicking the link. The picture accompanying this post is how I personally remember Mr. Tanner.  Gid would come and perform for the students at Dacula School, and did he ever put on a performance! I guess he would say that he was a performer first, a fiddler second, and maybe a dancer third. He really put on a good show. In his prime, Mr. Tanner would perform on  downtown streets in Atlanta, and it is said that he stopped the street cars, created traffic jams, drove customers to Davidson's and Rich's, and was asked to move on by the police.

If you would like to join in a "jam" session and help keep our cultural and musical history alive, the Chicken House doors open to the public around 5:30 p. m. each Friday night at 2652 Auburn Avenue, Dacula, Georgia 30019. The music starts about 7:00 p. m. Unless it's a special occasion, admission is free. If you are a player, I think you can bring you instrument to join in, though it might be polite to ask first.