Carl T. Sprague

Carl T. "Doc" Sprague (born May 10, 1895 Houston, Texas - died February 21, 1979 Bryan, Texas) was an American country musician. He was often dubbed "The Original Singing Cowboy". Sprague was one of the first country musicians on record, recording in the early 1920s.

Biography

Sprague grew up on a farm and learned traditional cowboy songs as a child. During his college years at Texas A&M, he played in a band and later on, worked as an athletic trainer. He also found time to conduct a weekly radio program on campus. He graduated from college in 1922. Sprague served in World War I, and was offered occasional work performing on radio. He received a recording contract by Victor in 1925. In August, the same year, he went to Camden, New Jersey to record his first ten songs. His debut sides were "When the Work's All Done This Fall" and "Bad Companions"; the former would go on to sell over 900,000 copies. His recording of "The Dying Cowboy" became a hit in 1926. Other successful recordings was "The Boston Burglar" and "The Two Soldiers". He recorded with Victor until 1929, releasing 33 songs. In the 1930s he moved to Bryan, Texas and ceased recording, though he would return to play folk festivals during the genre's resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s.

References

* [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gzfixq95ldhe~T1 Carl T. Sprague] at Allmusic
* [http://www.westernmusic.org/HallOfFamefiles/carlsprague.html Carl T. Sprague] , Western Music Association
* [http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/sfc1/hillbilly/HTML/Biographies/bio_Sprague.htm Biography]
*"Stars of Country Music", (University of Illinois Press, 1975)