The Maddox Brothers and Rose, known as America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band from the 1930s to the 1950s, consisted of four brothers, Fred (1919-1992), Cal (1915-1968), Cliff (1912-1949), and Don Maddox (1922-2021), along with their sister Rose (1925-1998). Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by brother Henry (1928-1974). The group disbanded in 1956.
The family hailed from Boaz, Alabama, United States, but rode the rails and hitch-hiked to California in 1933 when the band members were still children, following the failed efforts of their sharecropper parents during the early part of the Depression. They were a little in advance of the flood of Okies who were to flood the state in the 1930s. They struggled to make a living as itinerant fruit and vegetable pickers, following the harvest as far north as Washington and as far east as Arizona, as well as the San Joaquin Valley. They often worked from dawn to dusk, sleeping and eating on the ground.[1]
Having settled in Modesto, California, the family developed their musical ability, and in 1937, performed on the radio, sponsored by a local furniture store. In 1939, they entered a hillbilly band competition at the centennial Sacramento State Fair after driving to Sacramento in their Model A. When they took the stage, they tore through "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down" with rocking rhythms and risqué lyrics. They became, officially, California's best hillbilly band.
After the death of Don Maddox in September 2021, none of the brothers and sister are alive anymore.
Links to Peel[]
Peel seemed to first play the group in the 80's, as well as playing a Rose Maddox tune in 2002 from a Bluegrass compilation album.
Shows Played[]
- 26 April 1984: Theme & A Cowboy Has To Yell
- 31 March 1987: Theme & A Cowboy Has To Yell (LP - On The Air: 1940 And 1945) Arhoolie
- 17 March 1998: Let Me Ride My Pony Down The Sunset Trail (album On The Air: The 1940s) Arhoolie
- Rose Maddox
- 13 August 2002: 'Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms (v/a LP - As Good As it Gets - Blue Grass)' (Disky Records)
- 11 September 2002: Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms (LP – Good As it Gets – Bluegrass) Disky Records