History
The Birds may be added to the remarkable list of old-time recordists who lived in the vicinity of Corbin, Kentucky. The known musicians are Louis Bird, his son Elmer Bird, Connie Bird, Jack Hicks, and Charlie Dykes. (2) Fiddler Ed Hayes also performed with the group.
Connie Bird, although he shared the same last name, was not related. Jack Hicks, whose full name was John Bird Hicks, was a cousin to Louis and Elmer.
Louis Bird (1882 - 1967), the paterfamilias, worked at different times as a coal miner, a piano tuner, and a commercial traveler in music. He lived in the community of Pleasant View, a few miles south of Williamsburg, where he and his wife Vina raised a family of eleven. (2)
Louis Bird (1905).
Louis & Vina Bird (1905).
Mountain Advocate. (August 8, 1919). Barbourville, Kentucky.
The Journal and Tribune. (May 9, 1920). Knoxville, Tennessee.
Louis Bird (1920).
The Dayton Herald. (August 5, 1920). Dayton, Ohio.
The Harlan Daily Enterprise. (February 13, 1923). Harlan, Kentucky.
The Sentinel-Echo. (February 13, 1930). London, Kentucky.
The Harlan Daily Enterprise. (December 17, 1934). Harlan, Kentucky.
The Corbin Times-Tribune. (April 3, 1936). Corbin, Kentucky.
Elmer (1905 - 1973), by the age of twenty-five, was running a music store. In later years, he lived in Tennessee where he worked as a traveling salesman in beauty products. (2)
Elmer Bird (1925).
"Elmer Bird's Four." (November 15, 1929). The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio.
Elmer Bird (1930).
"Elmer Bird & His Happy Four." (January 15, 1930). Gennett Records Release Announcement. Richmond, Indiana.
"Bird's Kentucky Corn Crackers." (1932). Victor Catalog.
"Crossed Old Jordan's Stream; words and melody by Elmer Bird." (1932). Catalogue of Copyright Entries.
"Ship (The) That's Sailing High; words and melody by Elmer Bird." (1932). Catalogue of Copyright Entries.
The Greeneville Sun. (December 4, 1963). Greeneville, Tennessee.
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