20 in mind. They convinced themselves that they could make records playing fiddle tunes.

The two planned to convince the Victor Talking Machine Company of the same thing. On

June 20, 1922, the two fiddlers got their wish, cutting four songs. The two that Victor

released, "Sallie Goodin" and "Arkansas Traveler," may be the first country songs played by

Southern musicians ever to be offered for sale." Robertson probably made quite an

impression on New York, as photographs show him clad cowboy style in a Stetson hat,

neckerchief, vest, and shirtsleeves.

Okeh Records, a company based in New York, sent their field scout, Ralph Peer, to

Atlanta in 1923 to record local talent for possible release. While conducting the field

recording sessions, he recorded two old-time fiddle tunes played and sung by a local fiddle

champion, "Fiddlin'" John Carson. Peer did not expect the recordings of "The Little Old

Log Cabin in the Lane," and "The Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Going to Crow," to

sell nationally, so he had only enough discs pressed to stock the shelves of local Atlanta

record dealers. In an instance of perfect timing, the record order arrived in Atlanta the day

of a big fiddle contest, which Carson won. This victory allowed him to advertise the record

from stage, and all five hundred copies sold on the first day. Victor pressed a second order

immediately. 12

Carson, who often performed with his daughter "Moonshine Kate," eventually became

known for his boisterous singing style as well as his fiddling. As previously stated, Ralph

Peer pronounced Carson's loud, nasal singing "pluperfect awful," but their comedy skits in

which they portrayed a mountain moonshiner and his daughter, proved to be some of the

earliest examples of what would become a permanent marriage between comedy and country

music. 13