The Skillet Lickers Centennial Podcast

The Reunion (1934 and After)

In this episode, we pick up in 1934—San Antonio—where a reunion session turned into a million-selling record and cemented a legacy few could have predicted. We follow a young Gordon Tanner at just seventeen, stepping into a sound that was already shaping the future. Songs like “Down Yonder” and “Back Up and Push” didn’t just travel—they carried a style that would help define early country music. But this story isn’t only about success. It’s about what comes after the spotlight fades. We reflect on the later years of Gid Tanner, his passing in 1960, and what remained when the noise quieted—what lasts when the moment is gone. Because history doesn’t disappear. It settles in!

The Original Skillet Lickers (1880s-1930s)

In this opening episode of the Skillet Lickers 100 miniseries, we begin the story where it all started — in a studio building with its own connection to the legend himself. The location is fitting: the very place where Gid Tanner once famously crashed into the building, a moment that captures the larger-than-life personality of one of Georgia’s most influential musicians. We go back to the beginning, exploring where Gid Tanner was born, what his early life was like in North Georgia, and how he first picked up a fiddle. The episode also dives into the world of early 20th-century fiddle conventions, which were a vital gathering place for musicians and helped shape the emerging sound of Southern string band music. Along the way, we look at how Atlanta briefly beat Nashville to the punch in the country music recording industry, thanks to talent scout Frank Walker and the early recording sessions happening across Georgia. That path ultimately brought Gid Tanner together with Riley Puckett, leading to their first recordings in 1924. From there, the story moves into the official formation of the Skillet Lickers in 1926, and the remarkable success they enjoyed between 1926 and 1931 — years that helped define early country music and introduce the group to a national audience before the band eventually disbanded in 1931. In the next episode, we’ll pick up the story with the 1934 recording sessions, explore what came after the group’s initial run, and examine the lasting influence the Skillet Lickers had on the early country music industry — including the generation of stars who followed in their footsteps.