John Baltzell

John Baltzell was one of the earliest old-time fiddlers to be captured by the newly developing recording technology of the early '20s. The first sessions he recorded for Edison in the fall of 1923 came only three months after the recording debut of Fiddlin' John Carson, perhaps the first historic American old-time fiddler to be documented for posterity. Baltzell's work was obviously valued highly by the Edison company, as the payment he received for one series of recordings would have still been considered decent session pay some 75 years later. His first recordings were cylinders, and then came the flat wedges known as "diamond discs." He recorded as well for labels such as Okeh and Plaza. The pieces recorded for the latter label were particularly successful, despite the fact that by 1927 this type of unaccompanied fiddle recording was starting to go out of style. Baltzell's records on the other hand were in such demand that labels released them under several names rather than compete with themselves. Thus his rendition of "Arkansas Traveler," for example, came out on one label under the name of John Barton and on another as Hiram Jones.