The Blue Sky Boys – Are You From Dixie (1936)

The Blue Sky Boys were an American country music duo consisting of the brothers Earl Bolick (November 16, 1919 — April 19, 1998) and Bill Bolick (October 28, 1917 — March 13, 2008), whose careers spanned over forty years. The brothers were born and raised in East Hickory, North Carolina, as the fourth and fifth sibling in a family of six children.[1][2] Their parents, who were deeply religious and belonging to the “First Church of God”,[3] taught them to sing hymns and gospel music. A neighbour taught Bill how to play guitar and banjo while Earl on the other hand learned to play mandolin and guitar.[2] Eventually, they decided to switch instruments and Bill chose the mandolin while Earl concentrated on the guitar. They made their radio debut in 1935 at local radio station WWNC in Asheville, North Carolina as part of the “Crazy Hickory Nuts”.[4][2] Sponsored by the “JF Goodson Coffee Company and together with Homer Sherrill of the “Crazy Hickory Nuts” they formed the “Good Coffee Boys” in the late 1935.[3] Six months later, in June 1936, the Bolick brothers moved to Atlanta, Georgia to perform at radio station WGST.[5] Because they were sponsored by the “Crazy Water Crystal”, they had to perform using the name “(Crazy) Blue Ridge Hillbillies”.[6][2] In Atlanta, the Bolick brothers went to RCA Records for an audition. At first, Eli Oberstein, the A & R man was reluctant to hear the brothers sing accusing them of copying the Monroe Brothers. Anyhow, he changed his mind …