Vernon Dalhart
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Marion Try Slaughter, better known by his stage name Vernon Dalhart, was an American country music singer and songwriter who recorded music prolifically from 1917 into the 1930s. He aspired to be an o
Dalhart in 1917
Vernon Dalhart in 1917
Wreck of the Old 97
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The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on
Vernon Dalhart
…began his career this way, but soon began recording country music inspired by his roots in farming and ranching. His recording of the classic ballad "Wreck of the Old 97" was the first country song reputed to have sold one million copies, although sales figures for pre-World War Two recordings are difficult to verify…
The Wreck of Old 97 at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, 1903. The photograph is believed to have been taken a few days after the occurrence of the wreck as the locomotive, Southern Railway 1102, which had overturned, has been righted.