Jimmie Tarlton

Early 20th century old time country singer and (lap steel) guitarist who recorded from 1927 to 1933 (mostly as part of the duo Darby & Tarlton) and was rediscovered in the 1960s.

b. May 8, 1892 in Chesterfield County, SC
d. Nov. 29, 1979 in Columbus, GA

Born to sharecroppers, Tarlton began his interest in music at an early age. His parents taught him to play traditional songs on both the banjo and harp. By the age of 12 he had learned to play the slide guitar by several local black musicians. In his teens Tarlton became a traveling street musician living off of tips. He eventually made his way across the country, performing and playing wherever he could find work. During the 1920s, while on the West Coast he met a musician named Frank Ferera, who taught him how to use the steel slide guitar to play the more free-flowing Hawaii guitar. After his encounter with Frank Ferera he ended up in Columbus, Georgia, where he settled and soon met his future partner Tom Darby, who was at the time living in Columbus and was learning his vocal stylings from local black singers. Convinced by a local talent agent to play together, the two men decided to form the Darby & Tarlton duo and were quickly given an audition for Columbia Records.