The Knoxville Sessions and the Black Voices That Shaped Music History

The Knoxville Sessions: An Overlooked Turning Point

In 1929–1930, producers from Brunswick-Vocalion set up recording equipment inside the St. James Hotel and captured what would become one of the most important — and underrecognized — chapters in Southern music history. Unlike many sessions of the era, Knoxville’s recordings reflected a notable degree of inclusion. Sixteen percent of the artists recorded were African American — a remarkable number in the Jim Crow South.

These sessions weren’t just documenting music. They were documenting cultural exchange in real time.

Breaking the Lines: The Tennessee Chocolate Drops

Among those recorded were Howard Armstrong, Roland Armstrong, and Carl Martin — known as the Tennessee Chocolate Drops. Their sound defied neat categories. Blues blended with old-time fiddle tunes. Jazz phrasing met mountain string traditions. Country influences moved alongside ragtime rhythms.

At a time when the recording industry was beginning to separate music into rigid racial marketing categories, these musicians were doing the opposite. They were proving that American roots music had always been shared, shaped across communities, and richer because of it.

A Crossroads for Black Musicians

Knoxville was more than a recording location — it was a cultural waypoint. East Tennessee sat along travel routes for Black musicians moving from rural Southern communities toward larger stages in cities like Chicago and New York City.

Here, artists refined their sound, built audiences, and exchanged ideas. The region became part of a creative pipeline that would influence national and eventually international music scenes.

Songs That Told the Truth

Music in East Tennessee also carried community stories. Leola Manning — a writer and songstress — recorded “Satan Is Busy in Knoxville,” a song believed to reference two real murders in East Knoxville. It wasn’t just entertainment. It was documentation. Commentary. Local history set to melody.

Other influential artists passed through the region, including blues vocalists Clarence Beeks, Ida Cox, and Brownie McGhee, along with noted percussionist Samarai Celestial. Each contributed to a living exchange of style and story that helped define American folk and blues traditions.

Radio Reaches the Nation

When WNOX went on the air in 1921, it became Tennessee’s first radio station and one of the first ten in the nation. Its powerful AM signal carried East Tennessee’s sounds across the South and as far north as New York.

Though operating in a segregated era, WNOX aired a more diverse musical mix than is often remembered — including jazz, swing, and blues. Artists such as the Dixieland Swingsters and jazz musician Charlie Boyd found airtime, helping Black music travel well beyond regional borders.

A Broader Creative Legacy

The impact of these artists extended beyond sound. Howard Armstrong was also a visual artist whose creative life spanned decades. Knoxville native Beauford Delaney became a major figure in modern art, influencing creatives from Harlem to Paris. Poet Nikki Giovanni continues that lineage, carrying the voice and experience of East Tennessee into national and global conversations.

Music, visual art, literature — the creative current runs deep.

Investing in the Next Generation

That legacy continues through education. The University of Tennessee developed its Jazz Studies program in the 1970s, nurturing new generations of musicians and connecting formal study with deep regional roots.

The influence of Black artists in East Tennessee is not confined to the past. It is studied, performed, and reimagined every day.

The Soundtrack of East Tennessee

Together, these artists, recordings, and institutions tell a fuller story of the region — one where Black musicians were central to innovation, storytelling, and cultural exchange.

During Black History Month, the Knoxville Sessions remind us that the sounds shaping America weren’t only recorded in the places we expect. They were recorded, broadcast, and built right here in East Tennessee.