C. T. Suddeth

Clayton “Pappy” McMichen (1900-1970) was a championship-winning fiddler, famous as part of the 1920s Skillet Lickers, possibly the first hit country act. His most famous song is “Peach pickin’ time in Georgia.” In the 1930s, he formed a dance band, the Georgia Wildcats, which played mostly jazz, but people such as Lester Flatt and Merle Travis played with him. My father, Charles G. Suddeth, listened to him over WAVE and WHAS live broadcasts in Louisville. My ex-mother-in-law, Mary Lorraine Horton (Dever), met him when she performed on radio.

He retired his band in 1955, but he continued to perform at his Louisville bar, Pappy McMichen’s (It continued as a bar until 2020, Spring Street Bar & Grill). Folklorists persuaded him to perform at the 1964 Newport Festival where I learned about him. He also appeared at the 1964 and 1966 Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festivals.