Search - Clifford Hayes & Dixieland Jug Blowers :: Clifford Hayes & Dixieland Jug Blowers

Clifford Hayes came from a musical family that performed together as a string band in Barren County, Kentucky, before moving to Louisville's hot music scene around 1912, when Clifford was 17. Local jug master Earl McDonald hired the youth to play fiddle with his Louisville Jug Band, and soon the group was playing major engagements in New York City and Chicago. His glimpse of the big time and exposure to the exploding jazz scene fired Hayes's fantasies of fame and fortune far beyond his role as country fiddler in a jug band. Tall, handsome, and charming, Hayes became a notorious swindler, which led to his breakup with McDonald until their reunion with the Dixieland Jug Blowers, a supergroup formed by record-company suits. These unique performances transcend the typical skiffle riffs of most street bands with a jazz-tinged sense of style, particularly when Earl Hines sits in on "Everybody Wants My Tootelum." --Alan Greenberg