For anyone interested in Asheville's country music history from the late 1920s, I recently compiled everything concerning Jimmie Rodgers and Emmett Miller [that] I could find from the microfilm of Asheville's papers of the day. Among the findings are two unpublished photographs of Miller, indisputably one of the most singular and dynamic voices ever to record American music. There are also a few beautiful ads announcing the triumphant 1929 return of Jimmie Rodgers to Asheville, a town he had struggled in, living "on the bum" for the six months prior to his first recordings and subsequent super-stardom. Amongst the Emmett Miller file will also be found articles concerning the Okeh label's recordings here in Asheville, as written about in the wonderful Xpress article by Kent Priestley [“Okeh Records’ Historic Session in Asheville,” April 2, 2008].
The [findings from my research] can be found by searching for "Jimmie Rodgers" and "Emmett Miller" at Pack Library downtown, in the North Carolina Room. I must thank the kind ladies who work in the North Carolina Room for their help and instruction navigating their material.
— Brody Hunt
Port Townsend, Wa.
