Ernest & Hattie Frost Stoneman
Ernest & Hattie Frost Stoneman
(2009 INDUCTEE) ERNEST “POP” AND HATTIE FROST STONEMAN, ALONG WITH THEIR CHILDREN, BECAME FAMOUS IN BROADCAST COUNTRY MUSIC AS THE STONEMAN FAMILY. ERNEST AND HATTIE RECORDED FOR GENNETT IN THE MID-1920’S
Medallion Donation: DONATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF LIZETA CAMPBELL JOHNSON BY ALICE MARTIN KARLEBACH
“Uniquely American” best describes the music of the Stoneman family. Ernest “Pop” and Harriet “Hattie” Stoneman (nee Frost) are the first couple to be inducted into the Gennett Records Walk of Fame. The Stonemans came from musical families, with roots deep in the tradition of bluegrass found throughout the Blue Ridge Mountain area of Virgina. Ernest and Hattie made certain that their children were exposed to music, too. Pop was instrumental in the popular development of “mountain” or “hill” music, and recorded on Gennett and other labels throughout the 1920’s. The Great Depression was hard on the Stonemans, causing the family to move from Virginia to the Washington, D.C. area in 1932 and then to Maryland in 1941. In 1947, Ernest, Hattie and the younger children entered a musical contest as The Blue Grass Champs, competing against their older boys. The Champs won and ended up being on television for 62 straight weeks. The band evolved into “The Stonemans”, playing and recording for the next three decades. They eventually landed in Nashville, Tennessee, where more recording, live appearances, and syndicated televisions spread their country and western music throughout America.